Then all who see you will recoil from you and say, ‘Nineveh is devastated; who will grieve for her?’ Where can I find comforters for you?”
Parallel translations
- WEB It will happen that all those who look at you will flee from you, and say, ‘Nineveh is laid waste! Who will mourn for her?’ Where will I seek comforters for you?”
- KJV And it shall come to pass, that all they that look upon thee shall flee from thee, and say, Nineveh is laid waste: who will bemoan her? whence shall I seek comforters for thee?
- NKJV It shall come to pass that all who look upon you Will flee from you, and say, ‘Nineveh is laid waste! Who will bemoan her?’ Where shall I seek comforters for you?”
- NASB “And it will come about that all who see you Will shrink from you and say, ‘Nineveh is devastated! Who will have sympathy for her?’ Where shall I seek comforters for you?”
- NLT All who see you will shrink back and say, ‘Nineveh lies in ruins. Where are the mourners?’ Does anyone regret your destruction?”
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
All who see Nineveh's ruin will flee, declaring it laid waste, and no one will mourn or comfort her. The fallen city will find no sympathy.
Overview
Because Nineveh inflicted such cruelty on others, her devastation evokes flight and revulsion rather than grief. The rhetorical question about comforters underscores her total abandonment in judgment. The absence of any mourner reveals the isolating end of a nation that lived by oppressing others.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Jer 15:5Who will have pity on you, O Jerusalem? Who will mourn for you? Who will turn aside to ask about your welfare?
- Isa 51:19These pairs have befallen you: devastation and destruction, famine and sword. Who will grieve for you? Who can comfort you?
- Rev 18:10In fear of her torment, they will stand at a distance and cry out: “Woe, woe to the great city, the mighty city of Babylon! For in a single hour your judgment has come.”
- Num 16:34At their cries, all the people of Israel who were around them fled, saying, “The earth may swallow us too!”
- Lam 2:13What can I say for you? To what can I compare you, O Daughter of Jerusalem? To what can I liken you, that I may console you, O Virgin Daughter of Zion? For your wound is as deep as the sea. Who can ever heal you?
- Jer 51:9“We tried to heal Babylon, but she could not be healed. Abandon her! Let each of us go to his own land, for her judgment extends to the sky and reaches to the clouds.”
- Nah 1:1This is the burden against Nineveh, the book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite:
- Nah 2:9–10“Plunder the silver! Plunder the gold!” There is no end to the treasure, an abundance of every precious thing.
- Jer 51:41–43How Sheshach has been captured! The praise of all the earth has been seized. What a horror Babylon has become among the nations!
- Rev 18:16–19saying: “Woe, woe to the great city, clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls!
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 3:7 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.