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

16Thou hast multiplied thy merchants above the stars of heaven: the cankerworm spoileth, and flieth away. 17Thy crowned are as the locusts, and thy captains as the great grasshoppers, which camp in the hedges in the cold day, but when the sun ariseth they flee away, and their place is not known where they are. 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. 19There is no healing of thy bruise; thy wound is grievous: all that hear the bruit of thee shall clap the hands over thee: for upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually?

Nahum 3:18 word by word

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

• 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 shall be opened, and the palace shall be dissolved.
• Exodus 15:16Fear and dread shall fall upon them; by the greatness of thine arm they shall be as still as a stone; till thy people pass over, O Yhwh, till the people pass over, which thou hast purchased.
• Psalms 76:5The stouthearted are spoiled, they have slept their sleep: and none of the men of might have found their hands.
• Isaiah 56:9All ye beasts of the field, come to devour, yea, all ye beasts in the forest.
• Jeremiah 51:39In their heat I will make their feasts, and I will make them drunken, that they may rejoice, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith Yhwh.
• Jeremiah 50:18Therefore thus saith Yhwh of Armies, the God of Israel; Behold, I will punish the king of Babylon and his land, as I have punished the king of Assyria.
• Ezekiel 31:3Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon with fair branches, and with a shadowing shroud, and of an high stature; and his top was among the thick boughs.
• Ezekiel 32:22Asshur is there and all her company: his graves are about him: all of them slain, fallen by the sword:
• Isaiah 47:1Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground: there is no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate.
• Revelation 6:15And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
• 1 Kings 22:17And he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, as sheep that have not a shepherd: And Yhwh said, These have no master: let them return every man to his house in peace.
• Isaiah 13:14And it shall be as the chased roe, and as a sheep that no man taketh up: they shall every man turn to his own people, and flee every one into 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