He summons his nobles; they stumble as they advance. They race to its wall; the protective shield is set in place.
Parallel translations
- WEB He summons his picked troops. They stumble on their way. They dash to its wall, and the protective shield is put in place.
- 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.
- NKJV He remembers his nobles; They stumble in their walk; They make haste to her walls, And the defense is prepared.
- NASB He remembers his officers; They stumble in their advance, They hurry to her wall, And the mantelet is set up.
- NLT The king shouts to his officers; they stumble in their haste, rushing to the walls to set up their defenses.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Nineveh's commander summons his best troops, but they stumble as they rush to defend the wall. Even the elite forces falter under judgment.
Overview
The stumbling of the picked troops signals confusion and the futility of resistance against God's decree. Hastily setting up the siege shield shows defenders scrambling, already on the back foot. The collapse of Assyria's vaunted military underscores that no human strength can stand when the Lord acts in judgment.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Jer 46:12The nations have heard of your shame, and your outcry fills the earth, because warrior stumbles over warrior and both of them have fallen together.”
- Jer 50:29Summon the archers against Babylon, all who string the bow. Encamp all around her; let no one escape. Repay her according to her deeds; do to her as she has done. For she has defied the LORD, the Holy One of Israel.
- Nah 3:3Charging horseman, flashing sword, shining spear; heaps of slain, mounds of corpses, dead bodies without end—they stumble over their dead—
- Nah 3:18O king of Assyria, your shepherds slumber; your officers sleep. Your people are scattered on the mountains with no one to gather them.
- Isa 5:27None of them grows weary or stumbles; no one slumbers or sleeps. No belt is loose and no sandal strap is broken.
- Isa 21:5They prepare a table, they lay out a carpet, they eat, they drink! Rise up, O princes, oil the shields!
- Jer 51:27–28“Raise a banner in the land! Blow the ram’s horn among the nations! Prepare the nations against her. Summon the kingdoms against her—Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz. Appoint a captain against her; bring up horses like swarming locusts.
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Christ at the center
The certain judgment on Nineveh and the comfort that 'the LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble' point to Christ, who is both the refuge of his people and the judge of their enemies.
How Nahum 2:5 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.