English Standard Version
Nahum 2:5
5He remembers his officers; they stumble as they go, they hasten to the wall; the siege tower is set up.
Nahum 2:5 in other versions
- King James Version (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.
- New International Version (NIV)Nineveh summons her picked troops, yet they stumble on their way. They dash to the city wall; the protective shield is put in place.
- New King James Version (NKJV)He remembers his nobles; They stumble in their walk; They make haste to her walls, And the defense is prepared.
- New Living Translation (NLT)The king shouts to his officers; they stumble in their haste, rushing to the walls to set up their defenses.
Context of Nahum 2:5
3The shield of his mighty men is red; his soldiers are clothed in scarlet. The chariots come with flashing metal on the day he musters them; the cypress spears are brandished. 4The chariots race madly through the streets; they rush to and fro through the squares; they gleam like torches; they dart like lightning. He remembers his officers; they stumble as they go, they hasten to the wall; the siege tower is set up. 6The river gates are opened; the palace melts away; 7its mistress is stripped; she is carried off, her slave girls lamenting, moaning like doves and beating their breasts.
Read all of Nahum 2Nahum 2:5 word by word
יִזְכֹּר֙ אַדִּירָ֔יו יִכָּשְׁל֖וּ בַּהֲלִֽיכָתָ֑ם יְמַֽהֲרוּ֙ חֽוֹמָתָ֔הּ וְהֻכַ֖ן הַסֹּכֵֽךְ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- He shall recountזָכַרzâkar · to rememberH2142
- his worthiesאַדִּיר'addîyr · greatH117
- they shall stumbleכָּשַׁלkâshal · to stumbleH3782
- in their walkהֲלִיכָהhălîykâh · walkH1979
- they shall make hasteמָהַרmâhar · to hastenH4116
- to the wallחוֹמָהchômâh · wallH2346
- thereof, and the defenceסֹכֵךְsâkak ώâkak · protectorH5526
- shall be preparedכּוּןkûn · to establish: establishH3559
Cross-references for Nahum 2:5
- Isaiah 21:5They prepare the table, they spread the rugs, they eat, they drink. Arise, O princes; oil the shield!
- Jeremiah 50:29"Summon archers against Babylon, all those who bend the bow. Encamp around her; let no one escape. Repay her according to her deeds; do to her according to all that she has done. For she has proudly defied the Lord, the Holy One of Israel.
- Jeremiah 51:27"Set up a standard on the earth; blow the trumpet among the nations; prepare the nations for war against her; summon against her the kingdoms, Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz; appoint a marshal against her; bring up horses like bristling locusts.
- Nahum 3:3Horsemen charging, flashing sword and glittering spear, hosts of slain, heaps of corpses, dead bodies without end— they stumble over the bodies!
- Isaiah 5:27None is weary, none stumbles, none slumbers or sleeps, not a waistband is loose, not a sandal strap broken;
- Jeremiah 46:12The nations have heard of your shame, and the earth is full of your cry; for warrior has stumbled against warrior; they have both fallen together."
Commentaries on Nahum 2:5
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5He 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.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5He shall recount his worthies - The Assyrian king wakes as out of a sleep, literally, “he remembers his mighty men” (as Nahum 3:18; Judges 5:13; Nehemiah 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 Isaiah 63:13.: “Perplexed every way and not knowing what they ought to do, their mind wholly darkened and almost drunken with…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5The Assyrian king recovers from the surprise attack on Nineveh and calls out to his officers. He and the city are unprepared, so they hurry to the walls to stop the siege. the protective shield is set in place (literally the covering is prepared): The meaning of the Hebrew term here is unclear. Covering probably refers to something that attackers or defenders used for protection. It helped shield them from weapons thrown through the air.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. The Assyrian preparations for defense. He--the Assyrian king. shall recount his worthies--(Na 3:18). Review, or count over in his mind, his nobles, choosing out the bravest to hasten to the walls and repel the attack. 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…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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries