Amplified Bible
Nahum 2:8
8Though Nineveh was like a pool of water throughout her days, Now her inhabitants are fleeing; “Stop! Stop!” [a few cry,] But no one turns back.
Nahum 2:8 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)But Nineveh is of old like a pool of water: yet they shall flee away. Stand, stand, shall they cry; but none shall look back.
- New International Version (NIV)Nineveh is like a pool whose water is draining away. “Stop! Stop!” they cry, but no one turns back.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Nineveh is like a pool whose waters run away. "Halt! Halt!" they cry, but none turns back.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Though Nineveh of old was like a pool of water, Now they flee away. “Halt! Halt!” they cry; But no one turns back.
Context of Nahum 2:8
6The gates of the rivers [surrounding Nineveh] are opened And the palace [of sun-dried brick] is dissolved [by the torrents]. 7It is decreed: Nineveh is stripped, and she is carried away, And her handmaids are moaning like the sound of doves, Beating on their breasts [in sorrow]. Though Nineveh was like a pool of water throughout her days, Now her inhabitants are fleeing; “Stop! Stop!” [a few cry,] But no one turns back. 9Plunder the silver! Plunder the gold! For there is no end to the treasure— Wealth from every precious object. 10She is emptied! She is desolate and waste! Hearts melting [in fear] and knees knocking! Anguish is in the whole body, And the faces of all grow pale!
Read all of Nahum 2Nahum 2:8 word by word
וְנִינְוֵ֥ה כִבְרֵֽכַת־מַ֖יִם מִ֣ימֵי הִ֑יא וְהֵ֣מָּה נָסִ֔ים עִמְד֥וּ עֲמֹ֖דוּ וְאֵ֥ין מַפְנֶֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Nahum 2:8
- Genesis 10:11From that land Nimrod went to Assyria, and built Nineveh, and Rehoboth-Ir, and Calah,
- Jeremiah 51:13[O Babylon] you who live by many waters, Rich in treasures, Your end has come, And the line measuring your life is cut.
- Revelation 17:1Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here, I will show you the judgment and doom of the great prostitute who is seated on many waters [influencing nations],
- Nahum 3:17Your guardsmen are like the swarming locusts. Your marshals are like the hordes of grasshoppers Settling in the stone walls on a cold day. When the sun rises, they fly away, And no one knows the place where they are.
- Isaiah 13:14And like the hunted gazelle, Or like sheep that no man gathers, Each [foreign resident] will turn [and go back] to his own people, And each one flee to his own land.
- Isaiah 47:13You are wearied by your many counsels. Just let the astrologers, The stargazers, Those who predict by the new moons [each month] Stand up and save you from the things that will come upon you [Babylon].
- Isaiah 48:20Get out of Babylon! Flee from the Chaldeans [who reign there]! Declare with a voice of jubilation, proclaim this, Send it out to the end of the earth; Say, “The Lord has redeemed His servant Jacob.”
- Jeremiah 50:16Cut off the sower from Babylon And the one who handles the sickle at the time of harvest. For fear of the sword of the oppressor Everyone will return to his own people And everyone will flee to his own land.
- Jeremiah 51:30The mighty warriors of Babylon have ceased to fight; They remain in their strongholds. Their strength and power have failed; They are becoming [weak and helpless] like women. Their dwelling places are set on fire; The bars on her gates are broken.
Commentaries on Nahum 2:8
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8But Nineveh is of old like a pool of water - מימי mimey, from days. Bp. Newcome translates the line thus: "And the waters of Nineveh are a pool of waters." There may be reference here to the fact given in the preceding note, the overflowing of the river by which the city was primarily destroyed. Stand, stand - Consternation shall be at its utmost height, the people shall flee in all directions; and though quarter is offered, and they are assured of safety…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8But Nineveh is of old like a pool of water - that is, of many peoples Revelation 17:1, gathered from all quarters and settled there, her multitudes being like the countless drops, full, untroubled, with no ebb or flow, fenced in, “from the days that she hath been,” yet even therefore stagnant and corrupted (see Jeremiah 48:11), not “a fountain of living waters,” during 600 years of unbroken empire; even lately it had been assailed in vain; now its hour…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 8The people would flee quickly, like water rushing from a broken reservoir (see study note on Nahum 2:6).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 88. But--rather, "Though" [G. V. Smith]. of old--rather, "from the days that she hath been"; from the earliest period of her existence. Alluding to Nineveh's antiquity (Ge 10:11). "Though Nineveh has been of old defended by water surrounding her, yet her inhabitants shall flee away." Grotius, less probably (compare Na 3:8-12), interprets, the "waters" of her numerous population (Is 8:7; Jr 51:13; Re 17:15). Stand, stand, shall they cry--that is, the few…Read the comment
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Nahum 2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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Commentaries