The gates of the rivers shall be opened, and the palace shall be dissolved.
Parallel translations
- WEB The gates of the rivers are opened, and the palace is dissolved.
- BSB The river gates are thrown open and the palace collapses.
- NKJV The gates of the rivers are opened, And the palace is dissolved.
- NASB The gates of the rivers are opened And the palace sways back and forth.
- NLT The river gates have been torn open! The palace is about to collapse!
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
The river gates are opened and the palace dissolves. The city's defenses give way and its center of power collapses.
Overview
Ancient accounts of Nineveh's fall describe the river overwhelming part of the city's defenses, and this verse appears to anticipate that breach. The melting palace symbolizes the disintegration of Assyrian royal authority. God's word proves precise, showing his sovereign hand even in the means of judgment.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 2
- Isa 45:1–2Thus saith the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut;
- 2 Pet 3:10–11But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 2:6 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
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