Nahum 3:18

Nahum 3:18 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Thy shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria: thy nobles shall dwell in the dust: thy people is scattered upon the mountains, and no man gathereth them.
• New International Version (NIV)King of Assyria, your shepherds slumber; your nobles lie down to rest. Your people are scattered on the mountains with no one to gather them.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Your shepherds are asleep, O king of Assyria; your nobles slumber. Your people are scattered on the mountains with none to gather them.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Your shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria; Your nobles rest in the dust. Your people are scattered on the mountains, And no one gathers them.

Context of Nahum 3:18

16You have increased your traders more than the [visible] stars of heaven— The creeping locust strips and destroys and then flies away. 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. Your shepherds are asleep, O king of Assyria; Your nobles are lying down [in death]. Your people are scattered on the mountains And there is no one to gather them. 19There is no relief and healing for your hurt; Your wound is incurable. All who hear the news about you Clap their hands over [what has happened to] you. For on whom has your [unceasing] evil not come continually?

Nahum 3:18 word by word

נָמ֤וּ רֹעֶ֙יךָ֙ מֶ֣לֶךְ אַשּׁ֔וּר יִשְׁכְּנ֖וּ אַדִּירֶ֑יךָ נָפֹ֧שׁוּ עַמְּךָ֛ עַל־הֶהָרִ֖ים וְאֵ֥ין מְקַבֵּֽץ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Thy shepherdsרָעָהrâ‛âh · to pastureH7462
• slumberנוּםnûm · to slumberH5123
• O kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
• of Assyriaאַשּׁוּר'ashshûr 'ashshûr · AssyriaH804
• thy noblesאַדִּיר'addîyr · greatH117
• shall dwellשָׁכַןshâkan · to dwellH7931
• thy peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• is scatteredפּוּשׁpûsh · be scatteredH6335
• upon the mountainsהַרhar · mountain: mountH2022
• and no man gatherethקָבַץqâbats · to gatherH6908

Cross-references for Nahum 3:18

• Nahum 2:6The gates of the rivers [surrounding Nineveh] are opened And the palace [of sun-dried brick] is dissolved [by the torrents].
• Exodus 15:16Terror and dread fall on them; Because of the greatness of Your arm they are as still as a stone; Until Your people pass by and [into Canaan], O Lord, Until the people pass by whom You have purchased.
• Psalms 76:5The stouthearted have been stripped of their spoil, They have slept the sleep [of death]; And none of the warriors could use his hands.
• Isaiah 56:9All you beasts of the field, All you beasts (hostile nations) in the forest, Come to eat.
• Jeremiah 51:39When they are inflamed [with wine and lust during their drinking bouts], I will prepare them a feast [of My wrath] And make them drunk, that they may rejoice And may sleep a perpetual sleep And not wake up,” declares the Lord.
• Jeremiah 50:18Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Behold, I will visit (inspect, examine) and punish the king of Babylon and his land, just as I visited and punished the king of Assyria.
• Ezekiel 31:3Behold (listen carefully), Assyria was a cedar in Lebanon With beautiful branches and with forest shade, And of high stature, With its top among the clouds.
• Ezekiel 32:22“Assyria is there with all her warriors; their graves are all around her. All of them are slain, fallen by the sword,
• Isaiah 47:1“Come down and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon; Sit on the ground [in abject humiliation]; there is no throne for you, O daughter of the Chaldeans, For you will no longer be called tender and delicate.
• Revelation 6:15Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the military commanders and the wealthy and the strong and everyone, [whether] slave or free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains;
• 1 Kings 22:17And he said, “I saw all Israel Scattered upon the mountains, Like sheep that have no shepherd. And the Lord said, ‘These have no master. Let each of them return to his house in peace.’ ”
• 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.

Commentaries on Nahum 3:18

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 18Thy shepherds slumber - That is, the rulers and tributary princes, who, as Herodotus informs us, deserted Nineveh in the day of her distress, and came not forward to her succor. Diodorus Siculus says, lib. ii., when the enemy shut up the king in the city, many nations revolted, each going over to the besiegers, for the sake of their liberty; that the king despatched messengers to all his subjects, requiring power from them to succor him; and that he…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 18Thy shepherds - that is, they who should counsel for the people‘s good and feed it, and “keep watch over their flocks by night,” but are now like their master, the “King of Assyria,” are his shepherds not the shepherds of the people whom they care not for; these slumber, at once through listlessness and excess, and now have fallen asleep in death, as the Psalmist says, “They have slept their sleep” Psalm 76:6. The prophet speaks of the future, as already…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
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 18shepherds: With the leaders gone, Nineveh’s people would scatter like sheep. sleep (see John 11:11–14): Assyria’s leaders, asleep during Nineveh’s crisis, would sleep in death. In contrast, Israel’s Protector does not slumber (Psalm 121:3), and he will gather Israel’s lost sheep (Jeremiah 23:3; Ezekiel 36:35).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1818. Thy shepherds--that is, Thy leaders. slumber--are carelessly secure [Maurer]. Rather, "lie in death's sleep, having been slain" [Jerome] (Ex 15:16; Psa 76:6). shall dwell in the dust--(Psa 7:5; 94:17). thy people is scattered--the necessary consequence of their leaders being laid low (1Ki 22:17).Read the comment

In the dictionaries

• Assyria
• Assyria, Assyrian, Assyrian Empire
• Depart
• Prophecy
• Rattling
• Shepherd
• Nahum; the Book of
• Noble; Nobles; Nobleman
• 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