Nahum 2:4
in Nahum 2The chariots dash through the streets; they rush around the plazas, appearing like torches, darting about like lightning.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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.
KJV
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.
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This verse in Nahum 2
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThe chariots shall rage in the streets,.... In the streets of Nineveh when taken; where they shall be drove in a furious manner from place to place, the men in them breathing out slaughter and death wherever they came. Kimchi understands this of the chariots of the Ninevites; who shall drive about in them in the streets of the city like madmen; not daring to go out to fight the enemy, being mightier and more numerous than they.
This site's exposition
The shield of his mighty men is made red
on Nahum 2:3-5
The assault is painted in color and speed: shields red, valiant men in scarlet, chariots with flaming torches raging in the streets and justling in the broad ways, running like the lightnings. The commentators weigh the red, dyed shields or bronze catching sun or blood anticipated, and the readings stand named; the scarlet matches what the monuments show of the Medes and Babylonians who took the city. The recounted worthies stumbling in their walk carry the defense's panic inside the attack's momentum, one poem holding both armies.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 3 and following) The shield of the strong is ablaze, the men of the army in scarlet; the fiery chariots are on the day of its preparation; and the drivers are asleep, they are disturbed on the journey, the chariots collide in the streets. Their appearance is like torches, like lightning running to and fro. They will remember their mighty men, they will rush on their way, they will quickly climb its walls, and the shelter will be prepared.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
The chariots shall rage - Those of the besiegers and the besieged, meeting in the streets, producing universal confusion and carnage.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Large open spaces in the suburbs of Nineveh. they shall seem like torches--literally, "their (feminine in Hebrew) appearance (is)": namely, the appearance of the broad places is like that of torches, through the numbers of chariots in them flashing in the sun (Pr 8:26, Margin). run like the lightnings--with rapid violence (Mt 24:27;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
The words behind it
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בַּֽחוּצוֹת֙ | bachutzot | in the streets | H2351 → | |
| יִתְהוֹלְל֣וּ | yitholu | they drive madly | H1984 → | |
| הָרֶ֔כֶב | harekhev | the chariotry | H7393 → | 119 times |
| יִֽשְׁתַּקְשְׁק֖וּן | yishtakshekun | they rush around ! | H8264 → | |
| בָּרְחֹב֑וֹת | barechovot | in the open places | H7339 → | |
| מַרְאֵיהֶן֙ | mareihen | appearance their | H4758 → | |
| כַּלַּפִּידִ֔ם | kalapidim | [are] like <the> torches | H3940 → | |
| כַּבְּרָקִ֖ים | kaberakim | like <the> lightning flashes | H1300 → | |
| יְרוֹצֵֽצוּ׃ | yerotzetzu | they run around | H7323 → |
בַּֽחוּצוֹת֙in the streets
bachutzotH2351 →
יִתְהוֹלְל֣וּthey drive madly
yitholuH1984 →
הָרֶ֔כֶבthe chariotry
harekhevH7393 →119 times
יִֽשְׁתַּקְשְׁק֖וּןthey rush around !
yishtakshekunH8264 →
בָּרְחֹב֑וֹתin the open places
barechovotH7339 →
מַרְאֵיהֶן֙appearance their
mareihenH4758 →
כַּלַּפִּידִ֔ם[are] like <the> torches
kalapidimH3940 →
כַּבְּרָקִ֖יםlike <the> lightning flashes
kaberakimH1300 →
יְרוֹצֵֽצוּ׃they run around
yerotzetzuH7323 →
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
Jeremiah 4:13Behold, he advances like the clouds, his chariots like the whirlwind. His horses are swifter than eagles. Woe to us, for we are ruined!
it leads to
- Isaiah 5:28
Their arrows are sharpened, and all their bows are strung. The hooves of their horses are like flint; their chariot wheels are like a whirlwind.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 19:1
This is the burden against Egypt: Behold, the LORD rides on a swift cloud; He is coming to Egypt. The idols of Egypt will tremble before Him, and the hearts of the Egyptians will…
- Isaiah 5:28
Through
Isaiah 66:15For behold, the LORD will come with fire—His chariots are like a whirlwind—to execute His anger with fury and His rebuke with flames of fire.
it leads to
- Isaiah 30:33
For Topheth has long been prepared; it has been made ready for the king. Its funeral pyre is deep and wide, with plenty of fire and wood. The breath of the LORD, like a…
- 2 Peter 3:10–12
But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar, the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and its works will be laid…
- 2 Thessalonians 1:6–9
After all, it is only right for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you,
- Matthew 22:7
The king was enraged, and he sent his troops to destroy those murderers and burn their city.
- Psalms 21:9
You will place them in a fiery furnace at the time of Your appearing. In His wrath the LORD will engulf them, and the fire will consume them.
- Isaiah 30:33
Through
Daniel 11:40At the time of the end, the king of the South will engage him in battle, but the king of the North will storm out against him with chariots, horsemen, and many ships, invading…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 4:13
Behold, he advances like the clouds, his chariots like the whirlwind. His horses are swifter than eagles. Woe to us, for we are ruined!
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 4:13
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Nahum
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Carl Friedrich Keil, The Twelve Minor Prophets; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Nahum; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament.