Nahum 2:5
in Nahum 2He summons his nobles; they stumble as they advance. They race to its wall; the protective shield is set in place.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
He remembereth his nobles: they stumble in their march; they make haste to the wall thereof, and the mantelet is prepared.
KJV
He shall recount his worthies: they shall stumble in their walk; they shall make haste to the wall thereof, and the defence shall be prepared.
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This verse in Nahum 2
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
He shall recount his worthies - The Assyrian king wakes as out of a sleep, literally, “he remembers his mighty men” (as Nah 3:18; Jdg 5:13; Neh 3:5); “they stumble in their walk,” literally, paths , not through haste only and eager fear, but from want of inward might and the aid of God. These whom God leads stumble not Isa 63:13. : “Perplexed every way and not knowing what they ought to do, their mind wholly darkened and almost drunken with ills, they reel to and fro, turn from one thing to another, and in all” labor in vain.
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 Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Nebuchadnezzar's commanders are here called his worthies, his gallants (so the margin reads it), his heroes; those he shall recount, and order them immediately and without fail to render themselves at their respective posts, for he is entering upon action, is resolved to take the field immediately, and to open the campaign with the siege of Nineveh.
He shall recount his worthies,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
But in vain; for they shall stumble in their walk--"they shall stumble in their advance" through fear and hurry. the defence shall be prepared--rather, the covering machine used by besiegers to protect themselves in advancing to the wall. Such sudden transitions, as here from the besieged to the besiegers, are frequent (compare Eze 4:2), [MAURER].
He shall recount his worthies - Muster up his most renowned warriors and heroes. Shall make haste to the wall - Where they see the enemies making their most powerful attacks, in order to get possession of the city.
The words behind it
8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| יִזְכֹּר֙ | yizkor | he remembers | H2142 → | |
| אַדִּירָ֔יו | ʾadirav | nobles his | H117 → | |
| יִכָּשְׁל֖וּ | yikashelu | they stumble | H3782 → | |
| בַּהֲלִֽיכָתָ֑ם | vahalikhotam | on journey their | H1979 → | |
| יְמַֽהֲרוּ֙ | yemaharu | they hurry | H4116 → | |
| חֽוֹמָתָ֔הּ | chomatah | wall its | H2346 → | |
| וְהֻכַ֖ן | vehukhan | and it is prepared | H3559 → | |
| הַסֹּכֵֽךְ׃ | hasokhekh | the cover | H5526 → |
יִזְכֹּר֙he remembers
yizkorH2142 →
אַדִּירָ֔יוnobles his
ʾadiravH117 →
יִכָּשְׁל֖וּthey stumble
yikasheluH3782 →
בַּהֲלִֽיכָתָ֑םon journey their
vahalikhotamH1979 →
יְמַֽהֲרוּ֙they hurry
yemaharuH4116 →
חֽוֹמָתָ֔הּwall its
chomatahH2346 →
וְהֻכַ֖ןand it is prepared
vehukhanH3559 →
הַסֹּכֵֽךְ׃the cover
hasokhekhH5526 →
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
Nahum 3:3Charging horseman, flashing sword, shining spear; heaps of slain, mounds of corpses, dead bodies without end—they stumble over their dead—
it leads to
- Ezekiel 39:4
On the mountains of Israel you will fall—you and all your troops and the nations with you. I will give you as food to every kind of ravenous bird and wild beast.
- Habakkuk 3:11
Sun and moon stood still in their places at the flash of Your flying arrows, at the brightness of Your shining spear.
- Isaiah 34:3
Their slain will be left unburied, and the stench of their corpses will rise; the mountains will flow with their blood.
- Ezekiel 39:4
Through
Isaiah 21:5They prepare a table, they lay out a carpet, they eat, they drink! Rise up, O princes, oil the shields!
it leads to
- Jeremiah 51:11
Sharpen the arrows! Fill the quivers! The LORD has aroused the spirit of the kings of the Medes, because His plan is aimed at Babylon to destroy her, for it is the vengeance of…
- Jeremiah 51:57
I will make her princes and wise men drunk, along with her governors, officials, and warriors. Then they will fall asleep forever and not wake up,” declares the King, whose name is the LORD…
- Jeremiah 51:39
While they are flushed with heat, I will serve them a feast, and I will make them drunk so that they may revel; then they will fall asleep forever and never wake up, declares…
- Jeremiah 51:11
Through
Jeremiah 46:12The nations have heard of your shame, and your outcry fills the earth, because warrior stumbles over warrior and both of them have fallen together.”
it leads to
- Nahum 3:8–10
Are you better than Thebes, stationed by the Nile with water around her, whose rampart was the sea, whose wall was the water?
- Nahum 3:8–10
Through
Isaiah 5:27None of them grows weary or stumbles; no one slumbers or sleeps. No belt is loose and no sandal strap is broken.
it leads to
- Joel 2:7–8
They charge like mighty men; they scale the walls like men of war. Each one marches in formation, not swerving from the course.
- Joel 2:7–8
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); 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; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.