Nahum 3

Berean Standard Bible

Chapter summary

Nahum 3 pronounces woe upon the bloody city of Nineveh, filled with lies, plunder, and endless warfare caused by her sorceries and prostitution. The Lord declares that He is against Nineveh, stating He will expose her shame, pelt her with filth, and make her a spectacle so that all who see her will recoil and note her devastation. The prophet compares Nineveh's fate to that of Thebes, which went into captivity despite its immense river defenses, powerful allies like Cush and Egypt, and strong fortifications. Nineveh's own fortresses will easily fall like ripe figs, her troops will become weak, and her gates will remain wide open to consuming fire and the sword despite desperate preparations for a siege. The chapter concludes by comparing her merchants, guards, and scribes to locusts that vanish, leaving the king of Assyria with slumbering officers, scattered people, and a severe wound that prompts universal applause from all who experienced her cruelty.

Summary automatically generated from the Bible text.

Words of Jesus in red

¹Woe to the city of blood, full of lies, full of plunder, never without prey. ²The crack of the whip, the rumble of the wheel, galloping horse and bounding chariot! ³Charging horseman, flashing sword, shining spear; heaps of slain, mounds of corpses, dead bodies without end— they stumble over their dead— ⁴because of the many harlotries of the harlot, the seductive mistress of sorcery, who betrays nations by her prostitution and clans by her witchcraft. ⁵“Behold, I am against you,” declares the LORD of Hosts. “I will lift your skirts over your face. I will show your nakedness to the nations and your shame to the kingdoms. ⁶I will pelt you with filth and treat you with contempt; I will make a spectacle of you. ⁷Then all who see you will recoil from you and say, ‘Nineveh is devastated; who will grieve for her?’ Where can I find comforters for you?” ⁸Are you better than Thebes, stationed by the Nile with water around her, whose rampart was the sea, whose wall was the water? ⁹Cush and Egypt were her boundless strength; Put and Libya were her allies. ¹⁰Yet she became an exile; she went into captivity. Her infants were dashed to pieces at the head of every street. They cast lots for her dignitaries, and all her nobles were bound in chains. ¹¹You too will become drunk; you will go into hiding and seek refuge from the enemy. ¹²All your fortresses are fig trees with the first ripe figs; when shaken, they fall into the mouth of the eater! ¹³Look at your troops— they are like your women! The gates of your land are wide open to your enemies; fire consumes their bars. ¹⁴Draw your water for the siege; strengthen your fortresses. Work the clay and tread the mortar; repair the brick kiln! ¹⁵There the fire will devour you; the sword will cut you down and consume you like a young locust. Make yourself many like the young locust; make yourself many like the swarming locust! ¹⁶You have multiplied your merchants more than the stars of the sky. The young locust strips the land and flies away. ¹⁷Your guards are like the swarming locust, and your scribes like clouds of locusts that settle on the walls on a cold day. When the sun rises, they fly away, and no one knows where. ¹⁸O king of Assyria, your shepherds slumber; your officers sleep. Your people are scattered on the mountains with no one to gather them. ¹⁹There is no healing for your injury; your wound is severe. All who hear the news of you applaud your downfall, for who has not experienced your constant cruelty?