Nahum 2

Nahum sees the attack on Nineveh, the proud capital of Assyria, as if it were happening before his eyes. The enemy storms in, the city’s defenses fail, and its great wealth is carried off. Behind it all stands the LORD, who is against the violent empire and who will restore His own people.

Nahum 2:1

A destroyer is marching on Nineveh. The people are told to man the walls, watch the roads and gather their strength, but the commands are bitter irony. No defense will hold against what God has sent.

Nahum 2:2

In the middle of the warning comes comfort for God’s people. Assyria had stripped and ruined Israel and Judah like a vine cut back to nothing. The LORD promises to bring back their splendor, so Nineveh’s fall is also mercy for His own.

See also: Psalm 80:8-16; Isaiah 5:7.

Nahum 2:3

Nahum describes the invading army. Their shields and uniforms are red, and their chariots gleam like fire in the sun. The sight is dazzling and terrible, like a coming storm of metal and color.

Nahum 2:4

The chariots race wildly through the streets and squares, flashing like torches and lightning. The city’s own streets, once the center of Assyrian pride, have become a battlefield. The scene is fast, noisy and out of control.

Nahum 2:5

Nineveh’s commanders rush to defend the wall, but they stumble over each other in their haste. The protective cover is set up, yet it comes too late. A proud army is already confused and shaken.

Nahum 2:6

The river gates open and the palace collapses. Nineveh’s strength lay in its walls, waters and royal house, and all of these give way. The picture is of a city dissolving. The exact event is not described, but the point is clear: what looked secure is gone in a moment.

Nahum 2:7

God has decided that the city will go into exile, as it once sent others into exile. Its women moan like doves and beat their breasts in grief. The oppressor now knows the sorrow it caused others.

See also: Isaiah 10:5-12.

Nahum 2:8

Nineveh had long been like a full pool, rich with people and wealth. Now it drains away. Officers shout for the people to stop and fight, but no one turns back. Panic has taken hold, and the water cannot be called back.

Nahum 2:9

The attackers are told to take the silver and gold. Nineveh had piled up wealth by plundering other nations, and now its treasures are plundered in turn. What the proud city stored up for itself is taken from it.

Nahum 2:10

The city is left empty and wasted. Nahum describes the terror in the body: melting hearts, trembling knees and pale faces. When God’s judgment arrives, even the strong lose their courage.

See also: Isaiah 13:7-8.

Nahum 2:11

Nahum asks where the great lion’s den has gone. Assyria’s kings liked to see themselves as lions, strong and without fear. The question mocks the ruins that now stand where that proud and safe lair once was.

Nahum 2:12

The lion tore apart prey to feed its family and filled its dens with the kill. This pictures Assyria feeding on other nations and growing rich on their blood. Nahum shows that its prosperity rested on violence, which God sees and will answer.

Nahum 2:13

God Himself speaks. He is against Nineveh, and He will burn its chariots, kill its young lions and end its plundering. The voices of its messengers will be silent, those who carried its threats to other lands. The Lord of Hosts rules over the nations, including the strongest.

See also: Ezekiel 38:3; Zephaniah 2:13.