Nahum 2:1-13 King James Version (KJV)

¹ He that dasheth in pieces is come up before thy face: keep the munition, watch the way, make thy loins strong, fortify thy power mightily.

² For the LORD hath turned away the excellency of Jacob, as the excellency of Israel: for the emptiers have emptied them out, and marred their vine branches.

³ The shield of his mighty men is made red, the valiant men are in scarlet: the chariots shall be with flaming torches in the day of his preparation, and the fir trees shall be terribly shaken.

⁴ The chariots shall rage in the streets, they shall justle one against another in the broad ways: they shall seem like torches, they shall run like the lightnings.

⁵ He shall recount his worthies: they shall stumble in their walk; they shall make haste to the wall thereof, and the defence shall be prepared.

⁶ The gates of the rivers shall be opened, and the palace shall be dissolved.

⁷ And Huzzab shall be led away captive, she shall be brought up, and her maids shall lead her as with the voice of doves, tabering upon their breasts.

⁸ But Nineveh is of old like a pool of water: yet they shall flee away. Stand, stand, shall they cry; but none shall look back.

⁹ Take ye the spoil of silver, take the spoil of gold: for there is none end of the store and glory out of all the pleasant furniture.

¹⁰ She is empty, and void, and waste: and the heart melteth, and the knees smite together, and much pain is in all loins, and the faces of them all gather blackness.

¹¹ Where is the dwelling of the lions, and the feedingplace of the young lions, where the lion, even the old lion, walked, and the lion's whelp, and none made them afraid?

¹² The lion did tear in pieces enough for his whelps, and strangled for his lionesses, and filled his holes with prey, and his dens with ravin.

¹³ Behold, I am against thee, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will burn her chariots in the smoke, and the sword shall devour thy young lions: and I will cut off thy prey from the earth, and the voice of thy messengers shall no more be heard.

Nahum 2:1-13 King James Version with Strong's Concordance (STRONG)

¹ He that dasheth in pieces ^H6327 is come up ^H5927 before thy face: ^H6440 keep ^H5341 the munition, ^H4694 watch ^H6822 the way, ^H1870 make thy loins ^H4975 strong, ^H2388 fortify ^H553 thy power ^H3581 mightily. ^H3966

² For the LORD ^H3068 hath turned away ^H7725 the excellency ^H1347 of Jacob, ^H3290 as the excellency ^H1347 of Israel: ^H3478 for the emptiers ^H1238 have emptied them out, ^H1238 and marred ^H7843 their vine branches. ^H2156

³ The shield ^H4043 of his mighty men ^H1368 is made red, ^H119 the valiant ^H2428 men ^H582 are in scarlet: ^H8529 the chariots ^H7393 shall be with flaming ^H784 torches ^H6393 in the day ^H3117 of his preparation, ^H3559 and the fir trees ^H1265 shall be terribly shaken. ^H7477

⁴ The chariots ^H7393 shall rage ^H1984 in the streets, ^H2351 they shall justle one against another ^H8264 in the broad ways: ^H7339 they shall seem ^H4758 like torches, ^H3940 they shall run ^H7323 like the lightnings. ^H1300

⁵ He shall recount ^H2142 his worthies: ^H117 they shall stumble ^H3782 in their walk; ^H1979 they shall make haste ^H4116 to the wall ^H2346 thereof, and the defence ^H5526 shall be prepared. ^H3559

⁶ The gates ^H8179 of the rivers ^H5104 shall be opened, ^H6605 and the palace ^H1964 shall be dissolved. ^H4127

⁷ And Huzzab ^H5324 shall be led away captive, ^H1540 she shall be brought up, ^H5927 and her maids ^H519 shall lead ^H5090 her as with the voice ^H6963 of doves, ^H3123 tabering ^H8608 upon their breasts. ^H3824

⁸ But Nineveh ^H5210 is of old ^H3117 like a pool ^H1295 of water: ^H4325 yet they shall flee away. ^H5127 Stand, ^H5975 stand, ^H5975 shall they cry; but none shall look back. ^H6437

⁹ Take ye the spoil ^H962 of silver, ^H3701 take the spoil ^H962 of gold: ^H2091 for there is none end ^H7097 of the store ^H8498 and glory ^H3519 out of all the pleasant ^H2532 furniture. ^H3627

¹⁰ She is empty, ^H950 and void, ^H4003 and waste: ^H1110 and the heart ^H3820 melteth, ^H4549 and the knees ^H1290 smite together, ^H6375 and much pain ^H2479 is in all loins, ^H4975 and the faces ^H6440 of them all gather ^H6908 blackness. ^H6289

¹¹ Where is the dwelling ^H4583 of the lions, ^H738 and the feedingplace ^H4829 of the young lions, ^H3715 where the lion, ^H738 even the old lion, ^H3833 walked, ^H1980 and the lion's ^H738 whelp, ^H1482 and none made them afraid? ^H2729

¹² The lion ^H738 did tear in pieces ^H2963 enough ^H1767 for his whelps, ^H1484 and strangled ^H2614 for his lionesses, ^H3833 and filled ^H4390 his holes ^H2356 with prey, ^H2964 and his dens ^H4585 with ravin. ^H2966

¹³ Behold, I am against thee, saith ^H5002 the LORD ^H3068 of hosts, ^H6635 and I will burn ^H1197 her chariots ^H7393 in the smoke, ^H6227 and the sword ^H2719 shall devour ^H398 thy young lions: ^H3715 and I will cut off ^H3772 thy prey ^H2964 from the earth, ^H776 and the voice ^H6963 of thy messengers ^H4397 shall no more be heard. ^H8085

Nahum 2:1-13 American Standard (ASV)

¹ He that dasheth in pieces is come up against thee: keep the fortress, watch the way, make thy loins strong, fortify thy power mightily.

² For Jehovah restoreth the excellency of Jacob, as the excellency of Israel; for the emptiers have emptied them out, and destroyed their vine-branches.

³ The shield of his mighty men is made red, the valiant men are in scarlet: the chariots flash with steel in the day of his preparation, and the cypress `spears' are brandished.

⁴ The chariots rage in the streets; they rush to and fro in the broad ways: the appearance of them is like torches; they run like the lightnings.

⁵ He remembereth his nobles: they stumble in their march; they make haste to the wall thereof, and the mantelet is prepared.

⁶ The gates of the rivers are opened, and the palace is dissolved.

⁷ And it is decreed: she is uncovered, she is carried away; and her handmaids moan as with the voice of doves, beating upon their breasts.

⁸ But Nineveh hath been from of old like a pool of water: yet they flee away. Stand, stand, `they cry'; but none looketh back.

⁹ Take ye the spoil of silver, take the spoil of gold; for there is no end of the store, the glory of all goodly furniture.

¹⁰ She is empty, and void, and waste; and the heart melteth, and the knees smite together, and anguish is in all loins, and the faces of them all are waxed pale.

¹¹ Where is the den of the lions, and the feeding-place of the young lions, where the lion `and' the lioness walked, the lion's whelp, and none made them afraid?

¹² The lion did tear in pieces enough for his whelps, and strangled for his lionesses, and filled his caves with prey, and his dens with ravin.

¹³ Behold, I am against thee, saith Jehovah of hosts, and I will burn her chariots in the smoke, and the sword shall devour thy young lions; and I will cut off thy prey from the earth, and the voice of thy messengers shall no more be heard.

Nahum 2:1-13 Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

¹ Come up hath a scatterer to thy face, Keep the bulwark, watch the way, Strengthen the loins, strengthen power mightily.

² For turned back hath Jehovah to the excellency of Jacob, As `to' the excellency of Israel, For emptied them out have emptiers, And their branches they have marred.

³ The shield of his mighty ones is become red, Men of might `are in' scarlet, With fiery torches `is' the chariot in a day of his preparation, And the firs have been caused to tremble.

⁴ In out-places shine do the chariots, They go to and fro in broad places, Their appearances `are' like torches, As lightnings they run.

⁵ He doth remember his honourable ones, They stumble in their goings, They hasten `to' its wall, and prepared is the covering.

⁶ Gates of the rivers have been opened, And the palace is dissolved.

⁷ And it is established -- she hath removed, She hath been brought up, And her handmaids are leading as the voice of doves, Tabering on their hearts.

⁸ And Nineveh `is' as a pool of waters, From of old it `is' -- and they are fleeing! `Stand ye, stand;' and none is turning!

⁹ Seize ye silver, seize ye gold, And there is no end to the prepared things, `To' the abundance of all desirable vessels.

¹⁰ She is empty, yea, emptiness and waste, And the heart hath melted, And the knees have smitten together, And great pain `is' in all loins, And the faces of all of them have gathered paleness.

¹¹ Where `is' the habitation of lionesses? And a feeding-place it `is' for young lions Where walked hath a lion, an old lion, A lion's whelp, and there is none troubling.

¹² The lion is tearing parts `for' his whelps, And is strangling for his lionesses, And he doth fill `with' prey his holes, And his habitations `with' rapine.

¹³ Lo, I `am' against thee, An affirmation of Jehovah of Hosts, And I have burned in smoke its chariot, And thy young lions consume doth a sword, And I have cut off from the land thy prey, And not heard any more is the voice of thy messengers!

Nahum 2:1-13 Darby English Bible (DARBY)

¹ He that dasheth in pieces is come up against thy face: keep the fortress, watch the way, make [thy] loins strong, fortify [thy] power mightily.

² For Jehovah hath brought again the glory of Jacob, as the glory of Israel; for the wasters have wasted them, and marred their vine-branches.

³ The shield of his mighty men is made red, the valiant men are in scarlet: the chariots [glitter] with the sheen of steel, in the day of his preparation, and the spears are brandished.

⁴ The chariots rush madly in the streets, they justle one against another in the broad ways: the appearance of them is like torches, they run like lightnings.

⁵ He bethinketh him of his nobles: they stumble in their march; they make haste to the wall thereof, and the shelter is prepared.

⁶ The gates of the rivers are opened, and the palace melteth away.

⁷ And it is decreed: she shall be uncovered, she shall be led away, and her maids shall moan as with the voice of doves, drumming upon their breasts.

⁸ Nineveh hath been like a pool of water, since the day she existed, yet they flee away. ... Stand! Stand! But none looketh back.

⁹ Plunder the silver, plunder the gold; for there is no end of the splendid store of all precious vessels.

¹⁰ She is empty, and void, and waste; and the heart melteth, and the knees smite together, and writhing pain is in all loins, and all their faces grow pale.

¹¹ Where is [now] the den of the lions, and the feeding-place of the young lions, where the lion, the lioness, [and] the lion's whelp walked, and none made them afraid?

¹² The lion tore in pieces enough for his whelps, and strangled for his lionesses, and filled his holes with prey, and his dens with ravin.

¹³ Behold, I am against thee, saith Jehovah of hosts: and I will burn her chariots into smoke; and the sword shall devour thy young lions, and I will cut off thy prey from the earth; and the voice of thy messengers shall no more be heard.

Nahum 2:1-13 World English Bible (WEB)

¹ He who dashes in pieces has come up against you. Keep the fortress! Watch the way! Strengthen your loins! Fortify your power mightily!

² For Yahweh restores the excellency of Jacob, as the excellency of Israel; for the destroyers have destroyed them, and ruined their vine branches.

³ The shield of his mighty men is made red. The valiant men are in scarlet. The chariots flash with steel in the day of his preparation, and the pine spears are brandished.

⁴ The chariots rage in the streets. They rush back and forth in the broad ways. Their appearance is like torches. They run like the lightnings.

⁵ He summons his picked troops. They stumble on their way. They dash to its wall, and the protective shield is put in place.

⁶ The gates of the rivers are opened, and the palace is dissolved.

⁷ It is decreed: she is uncovered, she is carried away; and her handmaids moan as with the voice of doves, beating on their breasts.

⁸ But Nineveh has been from of old like a pool of water, yet they flee away. "Stop! Stop!" they cry, but no one looks back.

⁹ Take the spoil of silver. Take the spoil of gold, for there is no end of the store, the glory of all goodly furniture.

¹⁰ She is empty, void, and waste. The heart melts, the knees knock together, their bodies and faces have grown pale.

¹¹ Where is the den of the lions, and the feeding-place of the young lions, where the lion and the lioness walked, the lion's cubs, and no one made them afraid?

¹² The lion tore in pieces enough for his cubs, and strangled for his lionesses, and filled his caves with the kill, and his dens with prey.

¹³ "Behold, I am against you," says Yahweh of Hosts, "and I will burn her chariots in the smoke, and the sword will devour your young lions; and I will cut off your prey from the earth, and the voice of your messengers will no longer be heard."

Nahum 2:1-13 Bible in Basic English (BBE)

¹ See on the mountains the feet of him who comes with good news, giving word of peace! Keep your feasts, O Judah, give effect to your oaths: for the good-for-nothing man will never again go through you; he is completely cut off.

² A crusher has come up before your face: keep a good look-out, let the way be watched, make yourself strong, let your power be greatly increased.

³ For the Lord will make good the vine of Jacob, as well as the vine of Israel: for the wasters have made them waste and sent destruction on the branches of their vine.

⁴ The body-covers of his fighting men have been made red, the men of war are clothed in bright red: the war-carriages are like flames of fire in the day when he gets ready, the horses are shaking.

⁵ The war-carriages are rushing through the streets, pushing against one another in the wide ways, looking like burning lights, running like thunder-flames.

⁶ He takes the record of his great men: they go falling on their way; they go quickly to the wall, the cover is made ready.

⁷ The river doorways are forced open, and the king's house is flowing away.

⁸ And the queen is uncovered, she is taken away and her servant-girls are weeping like the sound of doves, hammering on their breasts.

⁹ But Nineveh is like a pool of water whose waters are flowing away; Keep your place, they say; but no one is turning back.

¹⁰ Take silver, take gold; for there is no end to the store; take for yourselves a weight of things to be desired.

¹¹ Everything has been taken from her, all is gone, she has nothing more: the heart is turned to water, the knees are shaking, all are twisted in pain, and colour has gone from all faces.

¹² Where is the lions' hole, the place where the young lions got their food, where the lion and the she-lion were walking with their young, without cause for fear?

¹³ Food enough for his young and for his she-lions was pulled down by the lion; his hole was full of flesh and his resting-place stored with meat.

¹⁴ See, I am against you, says the Lord of armies, and I will have your war-carriages burned in the smoke, and your young lions will be food for the sword: you will no longer get your food by force on the earth, and the voice of your she-lions will be stopped for ever.

Commentary on Nahum 2 Matthew Henry Commentary

John Gill Keil & Delitzsch Robert Jamieson: Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

Chapter 2

We now come closer to Nineveh, that great city; she took, not warning by the destruction of her armies and the fall of her king, and therefore may expect, since she persists in her enmity to God, that he will proceed in his controversy with her. Here is foretold,

I. The approach of the enemy that should destroy Nineveh, and the terror of his military preparations (v. 1-5).
II. The taking of the city (v. 6).
III. The captivity of the queen, the flight of the inhabitants, the seizing of all its wealth, and the great consternation it should be in (v. 7-10).
IV. All this is traced up to its true causes-their sinning against God and God's appearing against them (v. 11-13).

All this was fulfilled when Nebuchadnezzar, in the first year of his reign, in conjunction with Cyaxares, or Ahasuerus, king of the Medes, conquered Nineveh, and made himself master of the Assyrian monarchy.

Nah 2:1-10

Here is,

I. An alarm of war sent to Nineveh, v. 1. The prophet speaks of it as just at hand, for it is neither doubtful nor far distant: "Look about thee, and see, he that dashes in pieces has come up before thy face. Nebuchadnezzar, who is noted, and will be yet more so, for dashing nations in pieces, begins with thee, and will dissipate and disperse thee;' so some render the word. Babylon is called the hammer of the whole earth, Jer. 50:23. The attempt of Nebuchadnezzar upon Nineveh is public, bold, and daring: "He has come up before thy face, avowing his design to ruin thee; and therefore stand to thy arms, O Nineveh! keep the munition; secure thy towers and magazines: watch the way; set guards upon all the avenues to the city; make thy loins strong; encourage thy soldiers; animate thyself and them; fortify thy power mightily, as cities do when an enemy is advancing against them' (this is spoken ironically); "do the utmost thou canst, yet thou shalt not be able to put by the stroke of this judgment, for there is no counsel or strength against the Lord.'
II. A manifesto published, showing the causes of the war (v. 2): The Lord has turned away the excellency of Jacob, as the excellency of Israel, that is,
- 1. The Assyrians have been abusive to Jacob, the two tribes (have humbled and mortified them), as well as to Israel, the ten tribes, have emptied them, and marred their vine-branches. For this God will reckon with them; though done long since, it shall come into the account now against that kingdom, and Nineveh the head-city of it. God's quarrel with them is for the violence done to Jacob. Or,
- 2. God is now by Nebuchadnezzar about to turn away the pride of Jacob by the captivity of the two tribes, as he did the pride of Israel by their captivity; He has determined to do it, to bring emptiers upon them, and the enemy that is to do it must begin with Nineveh, and reduce that first, and humble the pride of that. God is looking upon proud cities, and abasing them, even those that are nearest to him. Samaria is humbled, and Jerusalem is to be humbled, and their pride brought low; and shall not Nineveh, that proud city, be brought down too? Emptiers have emptied the cities, and marred the vine-branches in the country of Jacob and Israel; and must not the excellency of Nineveh, that is so much her pride, be turned away too?
III. A particular account given in of the terrors wherein the invading enemy shall appear against Nineveh; every thing shall contribute to make him formidable.
- 1. The shields of his mighty men are made red, and probably their other arms and array, as if they were already tinctured with the blood they had shed, or intended hereby to signify they would put all to the sword; they hung out a red flag, in token that they would give no quarter.
- 2. The valiant men are in scarlet; not only red clothes, to intimate what bloody work they designed to make, but rich clothes, to intimate the wealth of the army, and that is the sinews of war.
- 3. The chariots shall be with flaming torches in the day of his preparation; when they are making their approaches, they shall fly as swiftly as lightning; the wheels shall strike fire upon the stones, and those that drive them shall drive furiously with a flaming indignation, as Jehu drove. Or they carried flaming torches with them in the open chariots, when they made their approach in the night, as Gideon's soldiers carried lamps in their pitchers, to be both a guide to themselves and a terror to their enemies, and with them to set all on fire wherever they went.
- 4. The fir-trees shall be terribly shaken; the great men of Nineveh, that overtop their neighbours, as the stately firs do the shrubs; or the very standing trees shall be made to shake by the violent concussions of the earth, which that great army shall cause.
- 5. The chariots of war shall be very terrible (v. 4): They shall rage in the streets, that is, those that drive them shall rage; you would think the chariots themselves raged; they shall be so numerous, and drive with so much fury, that even in the broad ways, where, one would think, there should be room enough, they shall jostle one another; and these iron chariots shall be made so bright that in the beams of the sun they shall seem like torches in the night; they shall run like the lightnings, so swiftly, so furiously. Nebuchadnezzar's commanders are here called his worthies, his gallants (so the margin reads it), his heroes; those he shall recount, and order them immediately and without fail to render themselves at their respective posts, for he is entering upon action, is resolved to take the field immediately, and to open the campaign with the siege of Nineveh. His worthies shall remember (so some read it); they shall be mindful of the duty of their place, and the charge they have received, and shall thereby be made so intent upon their business that they shall stumble in their walks, shall make more haste than good speed; they stumble, but shall not fall; for they shall make haste to the wall thereof, shall open the trenches; and the defence, or the covered way, shall be prepared (something to shelter them from the darts of the besieged), and they shall so closely carry on the siege, and with so much vigour, that at length the gates of the rivers shall be opened (v. 6); those gates of Nineveh which open upon the river Tigris (on which Nineveh was built) shall be first forced by, or betrayed to, the enemy, and by those gates they shall enter. And then the palace shall be dissolved, either the king's house or the house of Nisroch his god; the same word signifies both a palace and a temple. When the God of heaven goes forth to contend with a people, neither the palaces nor their kings, neither the temples nor their gods, can protect and shelter them, but must all inevitably fall with them.
IV. A prediction of the consequences of this; and it is easy to guess how dismal those will be.
- 1. The queen shall fall into the hands of the enemy (v. 7): Huzzab shall be led away captive; she that was established (so some read it), thought herself safe because she was concealed and shut up in secret, shall be discovered (so the margin reads it) and shall be led away captive, in greater disgrace than that of common prisoners; she shall be brought up in a mock state, and her maids of honour shall lead her, because she is weak and faint, not able to bear such frights and hardships, which are doubly hard and frightful to those that have not been used to them; they shall attend her, not to speak cheerfully to her and to encourage her, but murmuring and moaning themselves, as with the voice of doves, the doves of the valleys (Eze. 7:16), noted for their mourning, Isa. 38:14; 59:11. They shall be tabering upon their breasts, beating their own breasts in grief and vexation, as if they were drumming upon them, for so the word signifies.
- 2. The inhabitants, though numerous, shall none of them be able to make head against the invaders, or stand their ground (v. 8): Nineveh is of old like a pool of water, replenished with people as a pool with water (and waters signify multitudes, Rev. 17:15), or as those waters with fish; it was long ago a populous city; in Jonah's time there were 120,000 little children in it (Jonah 4:11), and, ordinarily, cities and countries are increasing in their number every year; but, though they have so many hands to be employed in the public service, yet they shall not be able to inspire one another with courage, but they shall flee away like cowards. Their commanders shall do what they can to animate them; they shall cry, "Stand, stand, have a good heart on it, and we shall do well enough;' but none shall so much as look back; they shall not have the least spark of courage remaining, but every one shall think it is his wisest course to make his best of the opportunity to escape; they shall not so much as look back to see who calls for them. Note, God can dispirit the strongest and boldest, in the day of distress, so that they shall not be what one would expect from them, but like a pool of water, the water whereof is dried up and gone.
- 3. The wealth of the city shall become a prey, and all its rich furniture shall fall into the hands of the victorious enemy (v. 9); they shall thus animate and excite one another to plunder: Take the spoil of silver; take the spoil of gold; thus the officers shall stir up the soldiers to improve their opportunity; here are silver and gold enough for them, for there is no end of the store of money and plate. Nineveh, having been of old like a pool of water, has gathered a vast deal of mud; and abundance of glory it has out of all the pleasant furniture, all the vessels of desire, which they have gloried in and which shall now be a prey and a pride to the conquerors. Note, Those who prepare raiment as the clay, and heap up silver as the dust, know not who may put on the raiment and divide the silver, Job 27:16, 17. Thus this rich city is empty, and void, and waste, v. 10. See the vanity of worldly wealth; instead of defending its owners, it does but expose them, and enable their enemies to do them so much the more mischief.
- 4. The soldiers and people shall have no heart to appear for the defence of the city. Their spirits shall melt away like wax before the fire; their knees shall smite together (as Belshazzar's did, in his agony, Dan. 5:6), so that they shall not be able to stand their ground, no, nor to make their escape; much pain shall be in all loins, as is the case in extreme frights, so that they shall not be able to hold up their backs. And the faces of them all shall gather blackness, like that of a pot that is every day over the fire; so the word signifies. Note, Guilt in the conscience will fill men with terror in an evil day, and those who place their happiness in the wealth of this world and set their hearts upon it think themselves undone when their silver, and their gold, and their pleasant furniture are taken from them.

Nah 2:11-13

Here we have Nineveh's ruin,

1. Triumphed in by its neighbours, who now remember against it all the oppressions and abuse of power it had been guilty of in its pomp and prosperity (v. 11, 12): Where is the dwelling of the lions? It is gone; there appear no remnants, no footsteps, of it. Where is the feeding place of the young lions, where they glutted themselves with prey? The princes of Nineveh had been as lions, as beasts of prey; cruel tyrants are no better, nay, in this respect much worse-that, being men, humanity is expected from them; nay, if they were indeed lions, they would not prey upon those of their own kind. Savis inter se convenit ursae-Fierce bears agree together. But in the shape of men they had the cruelty of lions: they walked in Nineveh as a lion in the woods, and none made them afraid; every one stood in awe of them, and they were under no apprehensions of danger from any; though nobody loved them, every body feared them, and that was all they desired. Oderint, dum metuant-Let them hate, so that they do but fear. The king himself, as well as every prince, made it his business, by all the arts of violence and extortion, to enrich himself and raise his family; he did tear in pieces enough for his whelps (and no little would be enough for them) and he strangled for his lioness, killed all that came near him, and seized what they had for his children, for his wives and concubines, and filled his holes with prey and his dens with ravin, as lions are wont to do. Note, Many make it an excuse for their rapine and injustice that they have wives and children to provide for, whereas what is so got will never do them any good; those that fear the Lord, and get what they have honestly, shall not want a competency for themselves and theirs; verily they shall be fed, when the young lions, though dens and holes were filled with prey and ravin for them, shall lack, and suffer hunger, Ps. 34:10.
2. It is avowed by the righteous Judge of heaven and earth; it is his doing, and let all the world take notice that it is so (v. 13): Behold, I am against thee, saith the Lord of hosts. And what good can hosts do for her in her defence, when the Lord of hosts is against her for her destruction? The oppressors in Nineveh thought they only set their neighbours against them, who were not a match for them, and whom they could easily overpower; but it proved they set God against them, who is, and will be, the asserter of right and the avenger of wrong. God is against the princes of Nineveh, and then,
- (1.) These military preparations will stand them in no stead: I will burn their chariots in the smoke; he does not say in the fire, but, in contempt of them, the very smoke of God's indignation shall serve to burn their chariots; they shall be consumed as soon as the fire of his indignation is kindled, while as yet it does but smoke, and not flame out. Or, The drivers of the chariots shall be smothered and stifled with the smoke; then the chariots of their glory shall be the shame of their families, Isa. 22:18.
- (2.) Their children, the hopes of their families, shall be cut off: The sword shall devour the young lions, whom they were so solicitous to provide for by oppression and extortion. Note, It is just with God to deprive those of their children, or (which is all one) of comfort in them, that take sinful courses to enrich them, and (as has been said of some) damn their souls to make their sons gentlemen.
- (3.) The wealth they have heaped up by fraud and violence shall neither be enjoyed by them nor employed for them: I will cut off thy prey from the earth; not only thou shalt not be the better for it, but no one else shall. Some understand it of the disabling of them for the future to prey upon their neighbours.
- (4.) Their agents abroad shall not have that respect from their neighbours and that influence upon them which sometimes they had had: The voice of thy messengers shall no more be heard, no more be heeded, which some think refers to Rabshakeh, one of Nineveh's messengers, that had blasphemed the living God, an iniquity which was remembered against Nineveh long after. Those are not worthy to be heard again that have once spoken reproachfully of God.

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