Nahum 3:16

Nahum 3:16 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Thou hast multiplied thy merchants above the stars of heaven: the cankerworm spoileth, and flieth away.
• New International Version (NIV)You have increased the number of your merchants till they are more numerous than the stars in the sky, but like locusts they strip the land and then fly away.
• English Standard Version (ESV)You increased your merchants more than the stars of the heavens. The locust spreads its wings and flies away.
• New King James Version (NKJV)You have multiplied your merchants more than the stars of heaven. The locust plunders and flies away.

Context of Nahum 3:16

14Draw thee water for the siege; strengthen thy fortresses; go into the clay, and tread the mortar; make strong the brickkiln. 15There shall the fire devour thee; the sword shall cut thee off; it shall devour thee like the canker-worm: make thyself many as the canker-worm; make thyself many as the locust. Thou hast multiplied thy merchants above the stars of heaven: the canker-worm ravageth, and fleeth away. 17Thy princes are as the locusts, and thy marshals as the swarms of grasshoppers, which encamp in the hedges in the cold day, but when the sun ariseth they flee away, and their place is not known where they are. 18Thy shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria; thy nobles are at rest; thy people are scattered upon the mountains, and there is none to gather them.

Nahum 3:16 word by word

הִרְבֵּית֙ רֹֽכְלַ֔יִךְ מִכּוֹכְבֵ֖י הַשָּׁמָ֑יִם יֶ֥לֶק פָּשַׁ֖ט וַיָּעֹֽף׃Read the interlinear

• multipliedרָבָהrâbâh · to multiplyH7235
• starsכּוֹכָבkôkâb · starH3556
• heavenשָׁמַיִםshâmayim shâmeh · heavenH8064

Cross-references for Nahum 3:16

• Genesis 15:5And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and number the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.
• Genesis 22:17that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heavens, and as the sand which is upon the sea-shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;
• Nehemiah 9:23Their children also multipliedst thou as the stars of heaven, and broughtest them into the land concerning which thou didst say to their fathers, that they should go in to possess it.
• Jeremiah 33:22As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured; so will I multiply the seed of David my servant, and the Levites that minister unto me.

Commentaries on Nahum 3:16

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 16Thou hast multiplied thy merchants - Like Tyre, this city was a famous resort for merchants; but the multitudes which were there previously to the siege, like the locusts, took the alarm, and fled away.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 16Thou hast multiplied thy merchants above the stars of heaven - Not numerous only but glorious in the eyes of the world, and, as thou deemest, safe and inaccessible; yet in an instant all is gone. The commerce of Nineveh was carried back to prehistoric times, since its rivers bound together the mountains of Armenia with the Persian gulf, and marked out the line, by which the distant members of the human family should supply each others‘ needs. “Semiramis”…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. 16Assyrian merchants spread across the Near East like locusts, bringing great wealth to Nineveh. However, like locusts that eat and leave, the merchants took their goods and departed during Nineveh's difficult times, leaving the people in need.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1616. multiplied thy merchants--(Eze 27:23, 24). Nineveh, by large canals, had easy access to Babylon; and it was one of the great routes for the people of the west and northwest to that city; lying on the Tigris it had access to the sea. The Phoenicians carried its wares everywhere. Hence its merchandise is so much spoken of. the cankerworm spoileth, and fleeth away--that is, spoiled thy merchants. The "cankerworm," or licking locust, answers to the…Read the comment

Topics related to Nahum 3:16

• Cankerworm
• Commerce
• Merchant

In the dictionaries

• Cankerworm
• Depart
• Rattling
• Canker-Worm
• Captivity
• Locust
• Nahum; the Book of
• Nahum
• 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