Nahum 3:13

Nahum 3:13 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Behold, thy people in the midst of thee are women: the gates of thy land shall be set wide open unto thine enemies: the fire shall devour thy bars.
• New International Version (NIV)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.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Behold, your troops are women in your midst. The gates of your land are wide open to your enemies; fire has devoured your bars.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Surely, your people in your midst are women! The gates of your land are wide open for your enemies; Fire shall devour the bars of your gates.

Context of Nahum 3:13

11You too [Nineveh] will become drunk [with the cup of God’s wrath]; You will be hidden. You too [Nineveh] will search [in vain] for a refuge from the enemy. 12All your fortresses are [nothing but] fig trees with ripe figs— When shaken they fall into the mouth of the eater. Behold, your people are [as weak and helpless as] women in your midst! The gates of your land are opened wide to your enemies; Fire consumes the bars across your gates. 14Draw water for a [long, continued] siege! Strengthen your fortresses! Go down to the clay pits, trample the mortar! Prepare the brick kiln [to burn bricks for the rampart]! 15But there [in the very midst of these preparations] the fire will devour you; The sword will cut you down; It will devour you as the locust does. Multiply yourself like the creeping locusts; Multiply yourself like the swarming locusts.

Nahum 3:13 word by word

הִנֵּ֨ה עַמֵּ֤ךְ נָשִׁים֙ בְּקִרְבֵּ֔ךְ לְאֹ֣יְבַ֔יִךְ פָּת֥וֹחַ נִפְתְּח֖וּ שַׁעֲרֵ֣י אַרְצֵ֑ךְ אָכְלָ֥ה אֵ֖שׁ בְּרִיחָֽיִך׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Behold, thy peopleעַם‛am · people: soldiersH5971
• in the midstקֶ֫רֶבqereb · entrails: amongH7130
• womenאִשָּׁה'ishshâh nâshîym · womanH802
• the gatesשַׁ֫עַרsha‛ar · gateH8179
• of thy landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• shall be set wideפָּתַחpâthach · to openH6605
• unto thine enemiesאֹיֵב'ôyêb 'ôyêb · enemyH341
• the fireאֵשׁ'êsh · fireH784
• shall devourאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
• thy barsבְּרִיחַberîyach · barH1280

Cross-references for Nahum 3:13

• Isaiah 19:16In that day the Egyptians will become like [helpless] women, and they will tremble and be frightened because of the waving of the hand of the Lord of hosts, which He is going to wave over them.
• Jeremiah 50:37A sword against their horses and against their chariots And against all the foreign troops that are in her midst, And they will become [as weak and defenseless as] women! A sword against her treasures, and they will be plundered!
• 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.
• Nahum 2:6The gates of the rivers [surrounding Nineveh] are opened And the palace [of sun-dried brick] is dissolved [by the torrents].
• Psalms 107:16For He has shattered the gates of bronze And cut the bars of iron apart.
• Isaiah 45:1This is what the Lord says to His anointed, to Cyrus [king of Persia], Whose right hand I have held To subdue nations before him, And I will ungird the loins of kings [disarming them]; To open doors before him so that gates will not be shut:
• Psalms 147:13For He has strengthened the bars of your gates, He has blessed your children within you.

Commentaries on Nahum 3:13

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 13Thy people - are women - They lost all courage, and made no resistance. O vere Phrygiae, neque enim Phryges: "Verily, ye are Phrygian women, not Phrygian men." So said Numanus to the Trojans. Virg., Aen. ix.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 13Behold, thy people in the midst of thee are women - Fierce, fearless, hard, iron men, such as their warriors still are portrayed by themselves on their monuments, they whom no toll wearied, no peril daunted, shall be, one and all, their whole “people, women.” So Jeremiah to Babylon, “they shall become, became, women” Jeremiah 50:37; Jeremiah 51:30. He sets it before the eyes. “Behold, thy people are women;” against nature they are such, not in tenderness…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 8-19Verses 8-19 Strong-holds, even the strongest, are no defence against the judgments of God. They shall be unable to do any thing for themselves. The Chaldeans and Medes would devour the land like canker-worms. The Assyrians also would be eaten up by their own numerous hired troops, which seem to be meant by the word rendered "merchants." Those that have done evil to their neighbours, will find it come home to them. Nineveh, and many other cities, states…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1313. thy people--thy soldiers. women--unable to fight for thee (Is 19:16; Jr 50:37; 51:30). gates on thy land--the fortified passes or entrances to the region of Nineveh (compare Jr 15:7). Northeast of Nineveh there were hills affording a natural barrier against an invader; the guarded passes through these are probably "the gates of the land" meant. fire shall devour thy bars--the "bars" of the fortresses at the passes into Assyria. So in Assyrian remains…Read the comment

Topics related to Nahum 3:13

• Women

In the dictionaries

• Bar
• Depart
• Media
• Rattling
• Gate
• Nahum; the Book of
• Nineveh

Commentaries on Nahum 3

• 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