Nahum 2:13
in Nahum 2“Behold, I am against you,” declares the LORD of Hosts. “I will send your chariots up in smoke, and the sword will devour your young lions. I will cut off your prey from the earth, and the voices of your messengers will no longer be heard.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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.
KJV
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.
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This verse in Nahum 2
Commentary
9 notes on this verseBehold, I am against thee, saith the Lord of hosts,.... Against Nineveh, and the whole Assyrian empire, for such rapine, violence, and oppression, their kings had been guilty of; and if he, who is the Lord of hosts, of all the armies of heaven and earth, was against them, nothing but ruin must inevitably ensue: or, "I come unto thee" (s); or will shortly come unto thee, and reckon with thee for all this; will visit thee in a way of wrath and vengeance.
This site's exposition
the dwelling of the lions
on Nahum 2:11-13
The taunt closes the chapter at the empty den: where is the dwelling of the lions, where the lion walked and none made them afraid? The lion was Assyria's own royal emblem, carved on its palace walls, and the prophet turns the heraldry into an epitaph, the lion that tore for his whelps and filled his holes with prey now hunted out of history, which the bench sets beside the monuments' lion hunts. The last word is not the armies' but the Lord's, behold, I am against thee, saith the Lord of hosts, the sentence repeated at 3:5: one adversary decided this siege, and the voice of thy messengers shall no more be heard, the empire's dispatches ended.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(v. 13) Behold, I am coming to you, says the Lord of hosts, and I will set fire to your chariots until they are smoking, and the sword will devour your young lions, and I will eliminate your plunder from the land, and the voice of your messengers will no longer be heard.
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
Thy messengers - Embassadors or muster-masters. Probably this refers to Rabshaketh who had blasphemed the living God. Those are not worthy to be heard again, that have once spoken reproachfully against God.
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.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
In the streets - Of Nineveh, when taken. Justle - By reason of their multitude and fury. In the broad ways - Where is most room, and yet scarce enough for them to move.
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.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Behold I, Myself, am against thee - (Literally, “toward thee”). God, in His long-suffering, had, as it were, looked away from him; now He looked toward (as in Psa 37:20) him, and in His sight what wicked one should stand? “Saith the Lord of hosts,” whose power is infinite and He changes not, and all the armies of heaven, the truly angels and evil spirits and men are in His Hand, whereto He directs or overrules them. “And I will burn her chariots in the smoke.” The Assyrian sculptures attest how greatly their pride and strength lay in their chariots.
Behold, I am against thee - Assyria, and Nineveh its capital. I will deal with you as you have dealt with others. The voice of thy messengers - Announcing thy splendid victories, and the vast spoils taken - shall no more be heard - thou and thy riches, and ill-got spoils, shall perish together.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
The grown lion tore enough for his whelps —As Jonathan renders it: The kings would bring much plunder, until there was enough for the members of their households.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
Where is the lions’ den? —This is a lamentation over Nineveh, which was the dwellings of kings, hard and strong as lions.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
19 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הִנְנִ֣י | hini | here I | H2005 → | |
| אֵלַ֗יִךְ | ʾelayikh | [am] against you | H413 → | 5510 times |
| נְאֻם֙ | neum | [the] utterance of | H5002 → | |
| יְהוָ֣ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| צְבָא֔וֹת | tzevaot | of hosts | H6635 → | |
| וְהִבְעַרְתִּ֤י | vehivarti | and I will burn | H1197 → | |
| בֶֽעָשָׁן֙ | veashan | in <the> smoke | H6227 → | |
| רִכְבָּ֔הּ | rikhbah | chariotry its | H7393 → | 119 times |
| וּכְפִירַ֖יִךְ | ukhefirayikh | and young lions your | H3715 → | |
| תֹּ֣אכַל | tokhal | it will consume | H398 → | 810 times |
| חָ֑רֶב | charev | [the] sword | H2719 → | 413 times |
| וְהִכְרַתִּ֤י | vehikhrati | and I will cut off | H3772 → | 288 times |
| מֵאֶ֙רֶץ֙ | meeretz | from [the] earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
| טַרְפֵּ֔ךְ | tarpekh | prey your | H2964 → | 22 times |
| וְלֹֽא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יִשָּׁמַ֥ע | yishama' | it will be heard | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| ע֖וֹד | od | again | H5750 → | 490 times |
| ק֥וֹל | kol | [the] voice of | H6963 → | 506 times |
| מַלְאָכֵֽכֵה׃ ס | malakhekheh | messengers your | H4397 → |
הִנְנִ֣יhere I
hiniH2005 →
אֵלַ֗יִךְ[am] against you
ʾelayikhH413 →5510 times
נְאֻם֙[the] utterance of
neumH5002 →
יְהוָ֣הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
צְבָא֔וֹתof hosts
tzevaotH6635 →
וְהִבְעַרְתִּ֤יand I will burn
vehivartiH1197 →
בֶֽעָשָׁן֙in <the> smoke
veashanH6227 →
רִכְבָּ֔הּchariotry its
rikhbahH7393 →119 times
וּכְפִירַ֖יִךְand young lions your
ukhefirayikhH3715 →
תֹּ֣אכַלit will consume
tokhalH398 →810 times
חָ֑רֶב[the] sword
charevH2719 →413 times
וְהִכְרַתִּ֤יand I will cut off
vehikhratiH3772 →288 times
מֵאֶ֙רֶץ֙from [the] earth
meeretzH776 →2504 times
טַרְפֵּ֔ךְprey your
tarpekhH2964 →22 times
וְלֹֽא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
יִשָּׁמַ֥עit will be heard
yishama'H8085 →1159 times
ע֖וֹדagain
odH5750 →490 times
ק֥וֹל[the] voice of
kolH6963 →506 times
מַלְאָכֵֽכֵה׃ סmessengers your
malakhekhehH4397 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 46:9He makes wars to cease throughout the earth; He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; He burns the shields in the fire.
it leads to
- Isaiah 2:4
Then He will judge between the nations and arbitrate for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer take up the sword against…
- Micah 4:3–4
Then He will judge between many peoples and arbitrate for strong nations far and wide. Then they will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer take…
- Micah 5:10
“In that day,” declares the LORD, “I will remove your horses from among you and wreck your chariots.
- Isaiah 60:18
No longer will violence be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders. But you will name your walls Salvation and your gates Praise.
- Joshua 11:9
Joshua treated them as the LORD had told him; he hamstrung their horses and burned up their chariots.
- Isaiah 2:4
Through
Nahum 3:5“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.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 13:26
So I will pull your skirts up over your face, that your shame may be seen.
- Ezekiel 23:29
They will treat you with hatred, take all for which you have worked, and leave you naked and bare, so that the shame of your prostitution will be exposed. Your indecency and promiscuity
- Jeremiah 13:26
Through
Jeremiah 21:13Behold, I am against you who dwell above the valley, atop the rocky plateau—declares the LORD—you who say, “Who can come against us? Who can enter our dwellings?”
it leads to
- Lamentations 4:12
The kings of the earth did not believe, nor any people of the world, that an enemy or a foe could enter the gates of Jerusalem.
- Lamentations 4:12
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Nahum
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Edward Bouverie Pusey, The Minor Prophets: A Commentary; Jerome, Commentary on Nahum; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.