New King James Version
Nahum 2:8
8Though Nineveh of old was like a pool of water, Now they flee away. “Halt! Halt!” they cry; But no one turns back.
Nahum 2:8 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)But Nineveh is of old like a pool of water: yet they shall flee away. Stand, stand, shall they cry; but none shall look back.
- New International Version (NIV)Nineveh is like a pool whose water is draining away. “Stop! Stop!” they cry, but no one turns back.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Nineveh is like a pool whose waters run away. "Halt! Halt!" they cry, but none turns back.
- New Living Translation (NLT)Nineveh is like a leaking water reservoir! The people are slipping away. “Stop, stop!” someone shouts, but no one even looks back.
Context of Nahum 2:8
6The gates of the rivers are opened, And the palace is dissolved. 7It is decreed: She shall be led away captive, She shall be brought up; And her maidservants shall lead her as with the voice of doves, Beating their breasts. Though Nineveh of old was like a pool of water, Now they flee away. “Halt! Halt!” they cry; But no one turns back. 9Take spoil of silver! Take spoil of gold! There is no end of treasure, Or wealth of every desirable prize. 10She is empty, desolate, and waste! The heart melts, and the knees shake; Much pain is in every side, And all their faces are drained of color.
Read all of Nahum 2Nahum 2:8 word by word
וְנִינְוֵ֥ה כִבְרֵֽכַת־מַ֖יִם מִ֣ימֵי הִ֑יא וְהֵ֣מָּה נָסִ֔ים עִמְד֥וּ עֲמֹ֖דוּ וְאֵ֥ין מַפְנֶֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Nahum 2:8
- Genesis 10:11From that land he went to Assyria and built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah,
- Jeremiah 51:13O you who dwell by many waters, Abundant in treasures, Your end has come, The measure of your covetousness.
- Revelation 17:1Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters,
- Nahum 3:17Your commanders are like swarming locusts, And your generals like great grasshoppers, Which camp in the hedges on a cold day; When the sun rises they flee away, And the place where they are is not known.
- Isaiah 13:14It shall be as the hunted gazelle, And as a sheep that no man takes up; Every man will turn to his own people, And everyone will flee to his own land.
- Isaiah 47:13You are wearied in the multitude of your counsels; Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, And the monthly prognosticators Stand up and save you From what shall come upon you.
- Isaiah 48:20Go forth from Babylon! Flee from the Chaldeans! With a voice of singing, Declare, proclaim this, Utter it to the end of the earth; Say, “The Lord has redeemed His servant Jacob!”
- Jeremiah 50:16Cut off the sower from Babylon, And him who handles the sickle at harvest time. For fear of the oppressing sword Everyone shall turn to his own people, And everyone shall flee to his own land.
- Jeremiah 51:30The mighty men of Babylon have ceased fighting, They have remained in their strongholds; Their might has failed, They became like women; They have burned her dwelling places, The bars of her gate are broken.
Commentaries on Nahum 2:8
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8But Nineveh is of old like a pool of water - מימי mimey, from days. Bp. Newcome translates the line thus: "And the waters of Nineveh are a pool of waters." There may be reference here to the fact given in the preceding note, the overflowing of the river by which the city was primarily destroyed. Stand, stand - Consternation shall be at its utmost height, the people shall flee in all directions; and though quarter is offered, and they are assured of safety…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8But Nineveh is of old like a pool of water - that is, of many peoples Revelation 17:1, gathered from all quarters and settled there, her multitudes being like the countless drops, full, untroubled, with no ebb or flow, fenced in, “from the days that she hath been,” yet even therefore stagnant and corrupted (see Jeremiah 48:11), not “a fountain of living waters,” during 600 years of unbroken empire; even lately it had been assailed in vain; now its hour…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 8The people would flee quickly, like water rushing from a broken reservoir (see study note on Nahum 2:6).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 88. But--rather, "Though" [G. V. Smith]. of old--rather, "from the days that she hath been"; from the earliest period of her existence. Alluding to Nineveh's antiquity (Ge 10:11). "Though Nineveh has been of old defended by water surrounding her, yet her inhabitants shall flee away." Grotius, less probably (compare Na 3:8-12), interprets, the "waters" of her numerous population (Is 8:7; Jr 51:13; Re 17:15). Stand, stand, shall they cry--that is, the few…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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries