Nahum 3:1-19
1 Woe to the bloodya city! it is all full of lies and robbery; the prey departeth not;
2 The noise of a whip, and the noise of the rattling of the wheels, and of the pransing horses, and of the jumping chariots.
3 The horseman lifteth up both the brightb sword and the glittering spear: and there is a multitude of slain, and a great number of carcases; and there is none end of their corpses; they stumble upon their corpses:
4 Because of the multitude of the whoredoms of the wellfavoured harlot, the mistress of witchcrafts, that selleth nations through her whoredoms, and families through her witchcrafts.
5 Behold, I am against thee, saith the LORD of hosts; and I will discover thy skirts upon thy face, and I will shew the nations thy nakedness, and the kingdoms thy shame.
6 And I will cast abominable filth upon thee, and make thee vile, and will set thee as a gazingstock.
7 And it shall come to pass, that all they that look upon thee shall flee from thee, and say, Nineveh is laid waste: who will bemoan her? whence shall I seek comforters for thee?
8 Art thou better than populousc No, that was situate among the rivers, that had the waters round about it, whose rampart was the sea, and her wall was from the sea?
9 Ethiopia and Egypt were her strength, and it was infinite; Put and Lubim were thy helpers.d
10 Yet was she carried away, she went into captivity: her young children also were dashed in pieces at the top of all the streets: and they cast lots for her honourable men, and all her great men were bound in chains.
11 Thou also shalt be drunken: thou shalt be hid, thou also shalt seek strength because of the enemy.
12 All thy strong holds shall be like fig trees with the firstripe figs: if they be shaken, they shall even fall into the mouth of the eater.
13 Behold, thy people in the midst of thee are women: the gates of thy land shall be set wide open unto thine enemies: the fire shall devour thy bars.
14 Draw thee waters for the siege, fortify thy strong holds: go into clay, and tread the morter, make strong the brickkiln.
15 There shall the fire devour thee; the sword shall cut thee off, it shall eat thee up like the cankerworm: make thyself many as the cankerworm, make thyself many as the locusts.
16 Thou hast multiplied thy merchants above the stars of heaven: the cankerworm spoileth,e and flieth away.
17 Thy crowned are as the locusts, and thy captains as the great grasshoppers, which camp in the hedges in the cold day, but when the sun ariseth they flee away, and their place is not known where they are.
18 Thy shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria: thy noblesf shall dwell in the dust: thy people is scattered upon the mountains, and no man gathereth them.
19 There is no healingg of thy bruise; thy wound is grievous: all that hear the bruit of thee shall clap the hands over thee: for upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually?
The last part of the prophecy is devoted wholly to the vindication of Jehovah's action against Nineveh, and is a fitting defense of the introductory declarations concerning His character.
In the first movement the prophet describes Nineveh as a "bloody city," evil and cruel. A graphic description of vengeance, consisting of seven illustrations, follows.
In the second movement he more particularly describes both the vice and the vengeance. The national method was whoredom, that is, idolatrous practices; and witchcraft, that is, deceptive methods. The national influence had been in selling nations and families. Jehovah's vengeance was then described, and also its unquestioned righteousness in the inquiry, "Who will bemoan her? Whence shall I seek comforters for thee?'
In the third movement vice and vengeance are dealt with in yet greater detail. Addressing himself to Nineveh, Nahum inquired, "Art thou better than No-aman?” The argument was that No-amon, or Thebes, which was not so corrupt as Nineveh, had been destroyed, notwithstanding her strength. How much more certain then, in view of her greater corruption, was the destruction of Nineveh! In the case of Thebes strength had been of no avail. In the case of Nineveh her corruption had canceled her strength. The vengeance of Jehovah was then set forth.
The last section is a weird description of the destruction of Assyria. The shepherds, the nobles, and the people are dealt with in judgment. The universal verdict agrees as to the righteousness of the judgment. There is to be no healing, and because of the universal oppression exercised by Assyria there will be great rejoicing over her downfall.