seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Nahum 3:1 Woe to the city of blood,
full of lies,
full of plunder,
never without victims!
2 The crack of whips,
the clatter of wheels,
galloping horses
and jolting chariots!
3 Charging cavalry,
flashing swords
and glittering spears!
Many casualties,
piles of dead,
bodies without number,
people stumbling over the corpses—
4 all because of the wanton lust of a prostitute,
alluring, the mistress of sorceries,
who enslaved nations by her prostitution
and peoples by her witchcraft.
full of lies,
full of plunder,
never without victims!
2 The crack of whips,
the clatter of wheels,
galloping horses
and jolting chariots!
3 Charging cavalry,
flashing swords
and glittering spears!
Many casualties,
piles of dead,
bodies without number,
people stumbling over the corpses—
4 all because of the wanton lust of a prostitute,
alluring, the mistress of sorceries,
who enslaved nations by her prostitution
and peoples by her witchcraft.
5 “I am against you,” declares the Lord Almighty.
“I will lift your skirts over your face.
I will show the nations your nakedness
and the kingdoms your shame.
6 I will pelt you with filth,
I will treat you with contempt
and make you a spectacle.
7 All who see you will flee from you and say,
‘Nineveh is in ruins—who will mourn for her?’
Where can I find anyone to comfort you?”
“I will lift your skirts over your face.
I will show the nations your nakedness
and the kingdoms your shame.
6 I will pelt you with filth,
I will treat you with contempt
and make you a spectacle.
7 All who see you will flee from you and say,
‘Nineveh is in ruins—who will mourn for her?’
Where can I find anyone to comfort you?”
8 Are you better than Thebes,
situated on the Nile,
with water around her?
The river was her defense,
the waters her wall.
9 Cush[a] and Egypt were her boundless strength;
Put and Libya were among her allies.
10 Yet she was taken captive
and went into exile.
Her infants were dashed to pieces
at every street corner.
Lots were cast for her nobles,
and all her great men were put in chains.
11 You too will become drunk;
you will go into hiding
and seek refuge from the enemy.
situated on the Nile,
with water around her?
The river was her defense,
the waters her wall.
9 Cush[a] and Egypt were her boundless strength;
Put and Libya were among her allies.
10 Yet she was taken captive
and went into exile.
Her infants were dashed to pieces
at every street corner.
Lots were cast for her nobles,
and all her great men were put in chains.
11 You too will become drunk;
you will go into hiding
and seek refuge from the enemy.
12 All your fortresses are like fig trees
with their first ripe fruit;
when they are shaken,
the figs fall into the mouth of the eater.
13 Look at your troops—
they are all weaklings.
The gates of your land
are wide open to your enemies;
fire has consumed the bars of your gates.
with their first ripe fruit;
when they are shaken,
the figs fall into the mouth of the eater.
13 Look at your troops—
they are all weaklings.
The gates of your land
are wide open to your enemies;
fire has consumed the bars of your gates.
14 Draw water for the siege,
strengthen your defenses!
Work the clay,
tread the mortar,
repair the brickwork!
15 There the fire will consume you;
the sword will cut you down—
they will devour you like a swarm of locusts.
Multiply like grasshoppers,
multiply like locusts!
16 You have increased the number of your merchants
till they are more numerous than the stars in the sky,
but like locusts they strip the land
and then fly away.
17 Your guards are like locusts,
your officials like swarms of locusts
that settle in the walls on a cold day—
but when the sun appears they fly away,
and no one knows where.
strengthen your defenses!
Work the clay,
tread the mortar,
repair the brickwork!
15 There the fire will consume you;
the sword will cut you down—
they will devour you like a swarm of locusts.
Multiply like grasshoppers,
multiply like locusts!
16 You have increased the number of your merchants
till they are more numerous than the stars in the sky,
but like locusts they strip the land
and then fly away.
17 Your guards are like locusts,
your officials like swarms of locusts
that settle in the walls on a cold day—
but when the sun appears they fly away,
and no one knows where.
18 King of Assyria, your shepherds[b] slumber;
your nobles lie down to rest.
Your people are scattered on the mountains
with no one to gather them.
19 Nothing can heal you;
your wound is fatal.
All who hear the news about you
clap their hands at your fall,
for who has not felt
your endless cruelty?
your nobles lie down to rest.
Your people are scattered on the mountains
with no one to gather them.
19 Nothing can heal you;
your wound is fatal.
All who hear the news about you
clap their hands at your fall,
for who has not felt
your endless cruelty?
a. Nahum 3:9 That is, the upper Nile region
b. Nahum 3:18 That is, rulers
Wow.... this guy Nahum sure knows how to paint a word picture. I can see the soldiers cutting down everyone on the streets. I can see the rapes..... I can see the blood in the gutters. I think I would be being flip if I said "well what goes around". The men who accomplished this slaughter were Nebuchadnezzar's soldiers. They're the same bunch who castrated the prophet Daniel. This is horrible violence set to poetry.
This is from bible-studys.org.
Nineveh is called the “bloody city” and is pictured as a “harlot” whose “witchcrafts” and “whoredoms” shall be brought down to the dust. “Discover” means to “uncover.” Thus, Nineveh shall be exposed for what she is: the “mistress” of the “nations.”
In this lesson, we see some of the reasons why God judged them so harshly. They were ruthless people, and they killed people without reason. They are called bloody, because of all the innocent blood they shed.
They were not satisfied with their own wealth, but cheated and stole to get what belonged to others. They looted the countries that they took of all of their wealth.
These verses reach back to the scene portrayed. Assyria was so overrun that she is filled with corpses, causing the defenders to stumble over them.
Their Worship was of a sensual nature and whoredom in the physical was part of it. They practiced sorcery and witchcraft, as well. They conquered other countries and drug them into their idolatrous way of life. There was really nothing good that could be said about their mode of worship.
Nahum sets forth the third and final charge against Nineveh: they hadn’t learned from No-amon, also known as Thebes.
No-amon was the great capital of southern Egypt, 400 miles south of Cairo. One of the most magnificent ancient civilizations of the world, it was renowned for its 100 gates, a temple measuring 330 feet long and 170 feet wide, and its network of canals.
It fell to Ashurbanipal of Assyria (in 663 B.C.). Like No-amon by the Nile, Nineveh was situated by the Tigris River, enjoying the security of conquered nations around her. However, her end would be like that of No-amon.
The prophet taunted the people with sarcasm, urging them to prepare for battle, to fortify the city’s defenses, only to be destroyed. As the locust leaves nothing, stripping all the foliage, so there would be nothing left of Nineveh (Amos 7:1).
The destiny of Nineveh was certain. She had received the death blow; she would not recover. And all who hear of it would rejoice. Assyria had devastated the nations with her atrocities and cruelties; the news of her downfall brought happiness and mirth among the nations.
Nahum really knew how to make words sing. This is from the easy English site.His words here do not make sentences. Instead, they make sounds like what happens.
- the ‘crack’ (sharp sound) of a whip,
- the ‘rattle’ (sound of wood when it hits wood) of chariot wheels,
- the ‘gallop’ (sound of their feet on the ground) of horses,
- the ‘scream’ (like someone who is crying) of the chariots,
- and so on.
This is from enduringword.com.
Woe to the bloody city! In his prophetic vision, Nahum took a tour of the city of Nineveh and observed how ripe it was for judgment. He saw it was a busy city, full of the noise of a whip and the noise of rattling wheels, of galloping horses, of clattering chariots. Yet it was busy with violence, deception, and idolatry.
Not only were the rulers of Assyria terribly cruel, they boasted of their cruelty on monuments that exist in museums to this day. Boice quotes some of the boasts from various monuments:
- "I cut off their heads and formed them into pillars.”
- “Bubo, son of Buba, I flayed in the city of Arbela and I spread his skin upon the city wall.”
- “I flayed all the chief men who had revolted, and I covered the pillar with their skins.”
- “Many within the border of my own land I flayed, and spread their skins upon the walls.”
- “I cut off the limbs of the officers, the royal officers who had rebelled.”
- “3,000 captives I burned with fire.”
- “Their corpses I formed into pillars.”
- “From son I cut off their hands and their fingers, and from other I cut off their noses, their ears, and their fingers, of many I put out their eyes.”
- “I made one pillar of the living, and another of heads, I bound their heads to posts round about the city.”
I am reminded of an episode of "the Big Bang" on tv. Sheldon told Leonard, " they will write great ballots of you"..... and he sang about some loving thing Leonard and Penny had just experienced..... and then he sang "and a fi fi fiddle de de". That reminds me of what Nahum is doing here.... he's singing the demise of Assyria at the hands of the Babylonians.....
A child was shot in Phoenix yesterday or the day before. He was shot by another boy who brought a gun from home. It was an accident.... the gun was loaded. Now there is talk about arresting the parents for leaving a loaded weapon where the child could get it. Hubby and I were talking about it. In Phoenix people can just walk around with their guns showing on their hips. Some people even wear their guns in church. In other countries.... children the age of these two boys would be in an army..... carrying their AK on their side everywhere they went..... they eat with it by their side.... they sleep with it by their side. They are soldiers at the age of 14 and 16. Back in the days of Nahum.... children were soldiers..... a boy became a man by the age of 12 or 13. I don't know how I would have dealt with the Assyrian cruelty..... or the Babylonian cruelty..... but I can see there is that kind of cruelty in the world today. It's pretty bad when babies start shooting babies. Then again back in the days of Assyria.... babies were bashing babies on the rocks to kill them.
It's a very vivid picture of horror.....
