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.
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.
- BSB He summons his nobles; they stumble as they advance. They race to its wall; the protective shield is set in place.
- 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 thy shame, and thy cry hath filled the land: for the mighty man hath stumbled against the mighty, and they are fallen both together.
- Jer 50:29Call together the archers against Babylon: all ye that bend the bow, camp against it round about; let none thereof escape: recompense her according to her work; according to all that she hath done, do unto her: for she hath been proud against the LORD, against the Holy One of Israel.
- Nah 3:3The horseman lifteth up both the bright sword and the glittering spear: and there is a multitude of slain, and a great number of carcases; and there is none end of their corpses; they stumble upon their corpses:
- Nah 3:18Thy 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.
- Isa 5:27None shall be weary nor stumble among them; none shall slumber nor sleep; neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken:
- Isa 21:5Prepare the table, watch in the watchtower, eat, drink: arise, ye princes, and anoint the shield.
- Jer 51:27–28Set ye up a standard in the land, blow the trumpet among the nations, prepare the nations against her, call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashchenaz; appoint a captain against her; cause the horses to come up as the rough caterpillers.
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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.