2:1ffThis chapter predicts the events of 612 B.C., when the combined armies of the Babylonians and the Medes sacked seemingly impregnable Nineveh.
Life Application Study BibleNahumChapter 2
Nahum 2
New Living Translation · Life Application Study Bible · Original pages: 1479, 1480
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2Nahum 2
2Even though the destroyer has destroyed Judah, the LORD will restore its honor. Israel's vine has been stripped of branches, but he will restore its splendor.
3Shields flash red in the sunlight!See the scarlet uniforms of the valiant troops!Watch as their glittering chariots move into position,with a forest of spears waving above them.
4The chariots race recklessly along the streetsand rush wildly through the squares.They flash like firelightand move as swiftly as lightning.
5The king shouts to his officers;they stumble in their haste,rushing to the walls to set up their defenses.
6The river gates have been torn open!The palace is about to collapse!
7Nineveh’s exile has been decreed,and all the servant girls mourn its capture.They moan like dovesand beat their breasts in sorrow.
8Nineveh is like a leaking water reservoir!The people are slipping away.“Stop, stop!” someone shouts,but no one even looks back.
9Loot the silver!Plunder the gold!There’s no end to Nineveh’s treasures—its vast, uncounted wealth.
10Soon the city is plundered, empty, and ruined.Hearts melt and knees shake.The people stand aghast,their faces pale and trembling.
11Where now is that great Nineveh,that den filled with young tions?{t was a place where people—like lions and their cubs—walked freely and without fear.
12The lion tore up meat for his cubsand strangled prey for his mate.He filled his den with prey,his caverns with his plunder.
13“T am your enemy!”says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.“Your chariots will soon go up in smoke.Your young men* will be killed in battle.Never again will you plunder conquered nations.The voices of your proud messengers will be heard!The LORD’s Judgment against Nineveh31 What sorrow awaits Nineveh,the city of murder and lies!She is crammed with wealth
Textual footnotes
- 2:1 Verses 2:1-13 are numbered 2:2-14 in Hebrew text.
- 2:13 Hebrew young lions.
Life Application Notes 5 notes
2:2Assyria had plundered and crushed the northern kingdom (Israel) and had deported its people in 722 B.C. (2 Kings 17:3-6; 18:9-11). Assyria had also attacked the southern kingdom (Judah) and had forced it to pay tribute. These two separate kingdoms had been formed after Solomon's reign. A civil dispute with Solomon’s son had caused ten of the tribes to set up their own kingdom. They had become the northern kingdom, while the remaining two tribes (Judah and Benjamin) stayed loyal to David’s line and became the southern kingdom.
2:6This reference to the opening of river gates coutd refer either to the enemy flowing into Nineveh like a flood (1:8) or to an actual flood of water. Some scholars suggest that dam gates, which were found in archaeological excavations, were closed to dam up the river. When an enormous amount of water had been accumulated, the gates were opened, allowing the water to fload Nineveh.
2:12-3:1The major source of wealth for the Assyrian economy was the plunder taken from other nations. The Assyrians had taken the food of innocent people to maintain their tuxurious standard of living, depriving others to supply their excesses. Depriving innocent people to support the luxury of a few is a sin that angers God. As Christians we must stand firm against this common but evil practice.
2:13God had given the people of Nineveh a chance to repent, which they did after hearing Jonah (see the book of Jonah). But they had returned to their sin, and its consequences were destroying them. There is a point for people, cities, and nations after which there is no turning back; Assyria had passed that point. We must warn others to repent while there is still time.
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Manasseh, one of Judah’s most wicked kings, ruled the land. He openly defied God and persecuted God's people. Assyria, the world power at that time, made Judah one of its vassal states. The people of Judah wanted to be like the Assyrians, who seemed to have all the power and possessions they wanted. The mighty empire of Assyria that oppressed God's people would soon tumble.
Importance of message.... Those who do evil and oppress others will one day meet a bitter end.
Climate of the times....... Main message
NAHUM served as a prophet to Judah from 663-612 B.C.
Contemporary prophets.... Zephaniah (640-621 B.C.)
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Study feature · page 1480
no more.