English Standard Version
Nahum 3:1
1Woe to the bloody city, all full of lies and plunder— no end to the prey!
Nahum 3:1 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Woe to the bloody city! it is all full of lies and robbery; the prey departeth not;
- New International Version (NIV)Woe to the city of blood, full of lies, full of plunder, never without victims!
- New King James Version (NKJV)Woe to the bloody city! It is all full of lies and robbery. Its victim never departs.
- New Living Translation (NLT)What sorrow awaits Nineveh, the city of murder and lies! She is crammed with wealth and is never without victims.
Context of Nahum 3:1
Woe to the bloody city, all full of lies and plunder— no end to the prey! 2The crack of the whip, and rumble of the wheel, galloping horse and bounding chariot! 3Horsemen charging, flashing sword and glittering spear, hosts of slain, heaps of corpses, dead bodies without end— they stumble over the bodies!
Read all of Nahum 3Nahum 3:1 word by word
ה֖וֹי עִ֣יר דָּמִ֑ים כֻּלָּ֗הּ כַּ֤חַשׁ פֶּ֙רֶק֙ מְלֵאָ֔ה לֹ֥א יָמִ֖ישׁ טָֽרֶף׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Nahum 3:1
- Isaiah 24:9No more do they drink wine with singing; strong drink is bitter to those who drink it.
- Ezekiel 22:2"And you, son of man, will you judge, will you judge the bloody city? Then declare to her all her abominations.
- Ezekiel 24:6"Therefore thus says the Lord God: Woe to the bloody city, to the pot whose corrosion is in it, and whose corrosion has not gone out of it! Take out of it piece after piece, without making any choice.
- Habakkuk 2:12"Woe to him who builds a town with blood and founds a city on iniquity!
- Zephaniah 3:1Woe to her who is rebellious and defiled, the oppressing city!
- Nahum 2:12The lion tore enough for his cubs and strangled prey for his lionesses; he filled his caves with prey and his dens with torn flesh.
- Isaiah 17:14At evening time, behold, terror! Before morning, they are no more! This is the portion of those who loot us, and the lot of those who plunder us.
- Isaiah 42:24Who gave up Jacob to the looter, and Israel to the plunderers? Was it not the Lord, against whom we have sinned, in whose ways they would not walk, and whose law they would not obey?
- Hosea 4:2there is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed.
Commentaries on Nahum 3:1
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1Wo to the bloody city! - Nineveh: the threatenings against which are continued in a strain of invective, astonishing for its richness, variety, and energy. One may hear and see the whip crack, the horses prancing, the wheels rumbling, the chariots bounding after the galloping steeds; the reflection from the drawn and highly polished swords; and the hurled spears, like gashes of lightning, dazzling the eyes; the slain lying in heaps, and horses and…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1Woe to the bloody city - Literally, “city of bloods”, i. e., of manifold bloodshedding, built and founded in blood Habakkuk 2:12; Jeremiah 22:13, as the prosperity of the world ever is. Murder, oppression, wresting of judgment, war out of covetousness, grinding or neglect of the poor, make it “a city of bloods.” Nineveh, or the world, is a city of the devil, as opposed to the “city of God.”: “Two sorts of love have made two sorts of cities; the earthly…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1The sins and judgments of Nineveh. (1-7) Its utter destruction. (8-19) Verses 1-7 When proud sinners are brought down, others should learn not to lift themselves up. The fall of this great city should be a lesson to private persons, who increase wealth by fraud and oppression. They are preparing enemies for themselves; and if the Lord sees good to punish them in this world, they will have none to pity them. Every man who seeks his own prosperity, safety…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1city of blood: The Assyrians' extreme cruelty is well documented. They cut off body parts like noses, ears, hands, and feet. They executed people by impaling them on stakes. They piled severed heads in front of besieged city gates. They sometimes blinded victims and stripped their skin while still alive.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-191. the bloody city!--literally, "city of blood," namely, shed by Nineveh; just so now her own blood is to be shed. robbery--violence [Maurer]. Extortion [Grotius]. the prey departeth not--Nineveh never ceases to live by rapine. Or, the Hebrew verb is transitive, "she (Nineveh) does not make the prey depart"; she ceases not to plunder.Read the comment
Topics related to Nahum 3:1
In the dictionaries
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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries