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But like locusts that fly away when the sun comes up, all of them will fly away and disappear. <a href="/esv/nahum/3.htm">English Standard Version</a> Your princes are like grasshoppers, your scribes like clouds of locusts settling on the fences in a day of cold— when the sun rises, they fly away; no one knows where they are. <a href="/bsb/nahum/3.htm">Berean Standard Bible</a> Your guards are like the swarming locust, and your scribes like clouds of locusts that settle on the walls on a cold day. When the sun rises, they fly away, and no one knows where. <a href="/kjv/nahum/3.htm">King James Bible</a> Thy crowned are as the locusts, and thy captains as the great grasshoppers, which camp in the hedges in the cold day, but when the sun ariseth they flee away, and their place is not known where they are. <a href="/nkjv/nahum/3.htm">New King James Version</a> Your commanders are like swarming locusts, And your generals like great grasshoppers, Which camp in the hedges on a cold day; When the sun rises they flee away, And the place where they are is not known. <a href="/nasb_/nahum/3.htm">New American Standard Bible</a> Your courtiers are like the migratory locust. Your officials are like a swarm of locusts Settling in the stone shelters on a cold day. The sun rises and they flee, And the place where they are is not known. <a href="/nasb/nahum/3.htm">NASB 1995</a> Your guardsmen are like the swarming locust. Your marshals are like hordes of grasshoppers Settling in the stone walls on a cold day. The sun rises and they flee, And the place where they are is not known. <a href="/nasb77/nahum/3.htm">NASB 1977 </a> Your guardsmen are like the swarming locust. Your marshals are like hordes of grasshoppers Settling in the stone walls on a cold day. The sun rises and they flee, And the place where they are is not known. <a href="/lsb/nahum/3.htm">Legacy Standard Bible </a> Your guardsmen are like the swarming locust. Your marshals are like a locust-swarm Encamping in the stone walls on a cold day. The sun rises, and they flee, And the place where they are is not known. <a href="/amp/nahum/3.htm">Amplified Bible</a> Your guardsmen are like the swarming locusts. Your marshals are like the hordes of grasshoppers Settling in the stone walls on a cold day. When the sun rises, they fly away, And no one knows the place where they are. <a href="/csb/nahum/3.htm">Christian Standard Bible</a> Your court officials are like the swarming locust, and your scribes like clouds of locusts, which settle on the walls on a cold day; when the sun rises, they take off, and no one knows where they are. <a href="/hcsb/nahum/3.htm">Holman Christian Standard Bible</a> Your court officials are like the swarming locust, and your scribes like clouds of locusts, which settle on the walls on a cold day; when the sun rises, they take off, and no one knows where they are. <a href="/asv/nahum/3.htm">American Standard Version</a> Thy princes are as the locusts, and thy marshals as the swarms of grasshoppers, which encamp in the hedges in the cold day, but when the sun ariseth they flee away, and their place is not known where they are. <a href="/cev/nahum/3.htm">Contemporary English Version</a> Your guards and your officials are swarms of locusts. On a chilly day they settle on a fence, but when the sun comes out, they take off to who-knows-where. <a href="/erv/nahum/3.htm">English Revised Version</a> Thy crowned are as the locusts, and thy marshals as the swarms of grasshoppers, which camp in the hedges in the cold day, but when the sun ariseth they flee away, and their place is not known where they are. <a href="/gwt/nahum/3.htm">GOD'S WORD® Translation</a> Your officers are like locusts, and your scribes are like swarms of locusts that settle on the fences when it is cold. The sun rises, and they scatter in every direction. No one knows where they've gone. <a href="/gnt/nahum/3.htm">Good News Translation</a> Your officials are like a swarm of locusts that stay in the walls on a cold day. But when the sun comes out, they fly away, and no one knows where they have gone! <a href="/isv/nahum/3.htm">International Standard Version</a> Your imperial guards are like the swarming grasshopper; your marshals are like hordes of grasshoppers, settling in the stone walls on a chilly day. The sun rises, and they flee away; no one knows where they went. <a href="/msb/nahum/3.htm">Majority Standard Bible</a> Your guards are like the swarming locust, and your scribes like clouds of locusts that settle on the walls on a cold day. When the sun rises, they fly away, and no one knows where. <a href="/net/nahum/3.htm">NET Bible</a> Your courtiers are like locusts, your officials are like a swarm of locusts! They encamp in the walls on a cold day, yet when the sun rises, they fly away; and no one knows where they are. <a href="/nheb/nahum/3.htm">New Heart English Bible</a> Your guards are like the locusts, and your officials like the swarms of locusts, which settle on the walls on a cold day, but when the sun appears, they flee away, and their place is not known where they are. <a href="/wbt/nahum/3.htm">Webster's Bible Translation</a> Thy crowned are as the locusts, and thy captains as the great grasshoppers, which settle in the hedges in the cold day, but when the sun ariseth they flee away, and their place is not known where they are. <a href="/web/nahum/3.htm">World English Bible</a> Your guards are like the locusts, and your officials like the swarms of locusts, which settle on the walls on a cold day, but when the sun appears, they flee away, and their place is not known where they are. <div class="vheading2">Literal Translations</div><a href="/lsv/nahum/3.htm">Literal Standard Version</a> Your crowned ones [are] as a locust, "" And your princes as great grasshoppers, "" That encamp in hedges in a day of cold, "" The sun has risen, and it flees away, "" And its place where they are is not known. <a href="/ylt/nahum/3.htm">Young's Literal Translation</a> Thy crowned ones are as a locust, And thy princes as great grasshoppers, That encamp in hedges in a day of cold, The sun hath risen, and it doth flee away, And not known is its place where they are. <a href="/slt/nahum/3.htm">Smith's Literal Translation</a> Thy devoted ones as the locust, and thy satraps as the locust of locusts encamping in the walls in a cold day; the sun arose and they fled away, and where his place he knew not.<div class="vheading2">Catholic Translations</div><a href="/drb/nahum/3.htm">Douay-Rheims Bible</a> Thy guards are like the locusts: and thy little ones like the locusts of locusts which swarm on the hedges in the day of cold: the sun arose, and they flew away, and their place was not known where they were. <a href="/cpdv/nahum/3.htm">Catholic Public Domain Version</a> Your guardians are like locusts, and your little ones are like locusts among locusts, which alight on hedges on a cold day. The sun rose up, and they flew away, and there was no way to know the place where they had been. <a href="/nabre/nahum/3.htm">New American Bible</a> Your sentries are like locusts, and your scribes like locust swarms Gathered on the rubble fences on a cold day! Yet when the sun rises, they vanish, and no one knows where they have gone. <a href="/nrsvce/nahum/3.htm">New Revised Standard Version</a> Your guards are like grasshoppers, your scribes like swarms of locusts settling on the fences on a cold day— when the sun rises, they fly away; no one knows where they have gone.<div class="vheading2">Translations from Aramaic</div><a href="/lamsa/nahum/3.htm">Lamsa Bible</a> Your Nazarites are as the locusts, and your warriors as the swarms of locusts which settle on the hedges on a cold day, but when the sun arises they fly off, and it is not known where they are. <a href="/hpbt/nahum/3.htm">Peshitta Holy Bible Translated</a> Your Nazarites are like the locust and your fighters like the locust that settles in hedges in the cold day that whenever the sun has set, it rises, and his place is not known<div class="vheading2">OT Translations</div><a href="/jps/nahum/3.htm">JPS Tanakh 1917</a> Thy crowned are as the locusts, And thy marshals as the swarms of grasshoppers, Which camp in the walls in the cold day, But when the sun ariseth they flee away, And their place is not known where they are. <a href="/sep/nahum/3.htm">Brenton Septuagint Translation</a> Thy mixed multitude has suddenly departed as the grasshopper, as the locust perched on a hedge in a frosty day; the sun arises, and it flies off, and knows not its place: woe to them! <a href="/parallel/nahum/3-17.htm">Additional Translations ...</a></div></div></div><div id="centbox"><div class="padcent"><a name="audio" id="audio"></a><div class="vheadingv">Audio Bible</div><iframe width="100%" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1vC_xxtlDxA?start=478" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="vheadingv">Context</div><a href="/bsb/nahum/3.htm">Judgment Against Nineveh</a> …16You have multiplied your merchants more than the stars of the sky. The young locust strips the land and flies away. 17<a href="/hebrew/4502.htm" title="4502: min·nə·zā·ra·yiḵ (N-mpc:: 2fs) -- Perhaps consecrated ones, princes. From nazar; a prince.">Your guards</a> <a href="/hebrew/697.htm" title="697: kā·’ar·beh (Prep-k, Art:: N-ms) -- (a kind of) locust. From rabah; a locust.">are like the swarming locust,</a> <a href="/hebrew/2951.htm" title="2951: wə·ṭap̄·sə·ra·yiḵ (Conj-w:: N-mpc:: 2fs) -- A scribe, marshal. Of foreign derivation; a military governor.">and your scribes</a> <a href="/hebrew/1462.htm" title="1462: kə·ḡō·wḇ (Prep-k:: N-msc) -- Locusts. From guwb; the locust.">like clouds of locusts</a> <a href="/hebrew/1462.htm" title="1462: gō·ḇāy (N-mp) -- Locusts. From guwb; the locust."></a> <a href="/hebrew/2583.htm" title="2583: ha·ḥō·w·nîm (Art:: V-Qal-Prtcpl-mp) -- A primitive root; properly, to incline; by implication, to decline; specifically, to pitch a tent; gen. To encamp.">that settle</a> <a href="/hebrew/1448.htm" title="1448: bag·gə·ḏê·rō·wṯ (Prep-b, Art:: N-fp) -- A wall. Feminine of gader; enclosure.">on the walls</a> <a href="/hebrew/7135.htm" title="7135: qā·rāh (N-fs) -- Cold. Feminine of qar; coolness.">on a cold</a> <a href="/hebrew/3117.htm" title="3117: bə·yō·wm (Prep-b:: N-msc) -- Day. From an unused root meaning to be hot; a day, whether literal, or figurative.">day.</a> <a href="/hebrew/8121.htm" title="8121: še·meš (N-cs) -- From an unused root meaning to be brilliant; the sun; by implication, the east; figuratively, a ray, i.e. A notched battlement.">When the sun</a> <a href="/hebrew/2224.htm" title="2224: zā·rə·ḥāh (V-Qal-Perf-3fs) -- To rise, come forth. A primitive root; properly, to irradiate, i.e. To rise; specifically, to appear.">rises,</a> <a href="/hebrew/5074.htm" title="5074: wə·nō·w·ḏaḏ (Conj-w:: V-Pual-ConjPerf-3ms) -- A primitive root; properly, to wave to and fro; figuratively, to rove, flee, or to drive away.">they fly away,</a> <a href="/hebrew/3808.htm" title="3808: wə·lō- (Conj-w:: Adv-NegPrt) -- Not. Or lowi; or loh; a primitive particle; not; by implication, no; often used with other particles.">and no</a> <a href="/hebrew/3045.htm" title="3045: nō·w·ḏa‘ (V-Nifal-Perf-3ms) -- A primitive root; to know; used in a great variety of senses, figuratively, literally, euphemistically and inferentially.">one knows</a> <a href="/hebrew/4725.htm" title="4725: mə·qō·w·mōw (N-msc:: 3ms) -- Or maqom; also mqowmah; or mqomah; from quwm; properly, a standing, i.e. A spot; but used widely of a locality; also of a condition."></a> <a href="/hebrew/335.htm" title="335: ’ay·yām (Interrog:: 3mp) -- Where?. Perhaps from 'aiyn; where? Hence how?.">where.</a> 18O king of Assyria, your shepherds slumber; your officers sleep. Your people are scattered on the mountains with no one to gather them.…<div class="cred"><a href="//berean.bible">Berean Standard Bible</a> · <a href="//berean.bible/downloads.htm">Download</a></div> <a name="crossref" id="crossref"></a><div class="vheading">Cross References</div><div id="crf"><a href="/jeremiah/51-27.htm">Jeremiah 51:27</a> “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. <a href="/isaiah/33-4.htm">Isaiah 33:4</a> Your spoil, O nations, is gathered as by locusts; like a swarm of locusts men sweep over it. <a href="/joel/1-4.htm">Joel 1:4</a> What the devouring locust has left, the swarming locust has eaten; what the swarming locust has left, the young locust has eaten; and what the young locust has left, the destroying locust has eaten. <a href="/isaiah/13-3.htm">Isaiah 13:3-4</a> I have commanded My sanctified ones; I have even summoned My warriors to execute My wrath and exult in My triumph. / Listen, a tumult on the mountains, like that of a great multitude! Listen, an uproar among the kingdoms, like nations gathered together! The LORD of Hosts is mobilizing an army for war. <a href="/jeremiah/46-23.htm">Jeremiah 46:23</a> They will chop down her forest, declares the LORD, dense though it may be, for they are more numerous than locusts; they cannot be counted. <a href="/isaiah/10-18.htm">Isaiah 10:18-19</a> The splendor of its forests and orchards, both soul and body, it will completely destroy, as a sickness consumes a man. / The remaining trees of its forests will be so few that a child could count them. <a href="/ezekiel/31-12.htm">Ezekiel 31:12-13</a> Foreigners, the most ruthless of the nations, cut it down and left it. Its branches have fallen on the mountains and in every valley; its boughs lay broken in all the earth’s ravines. And all the peoples of the earth left its shade and abandoned it. / All the birds of the air nested on its fallen trunk, and all the beasts of the field lived among its boughs. <a href="/isaiah/14-23.htm">Isaiah 14:23</a> “I will make her a place for owls and for swamplands; I will sweep her away with the broom of destruction,” declares the LORD of Hosts. <a href="/jeremiah/51-14.htm">Jeremiah 51:14</a> The LORD of Hosts has sworn by Himself: “Surely I will fill you up with men as with locusts, and they will shout in triumph over you.” <a href="/isaiah/41-15.htm">Isaiah 41:15-16</a> Behold, I will make you into a threshing sledge, new and sharp, with many teeth. You will thresh the mountains and crush them, and reduce the hills to chaff. / You will winnow them, and a wind will carry them away; a gale will scatter them. But you will rejoice in the LORD; you will glory in the Holy One of Israel. <a href="/matthew/3-12.htm">Matthew 3:12</a> His winnowing fork is in His hand to clear His threshing floor and to gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” <a href="/revelation/9-3.htm">Revelation 9:3-10</a> And out of the smoke, locusts descended on the earth, and they were given power like that of the scorpions of the earth. / They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads. / The locusts were not given power to kill them, but only to torment them for five months, and their torment was like the stinging of a scorpion. ... <a href="/matthew/13-4.htm">Matthew 13:4</a> And as he was sowing, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. <a href="/luke/12-1.htm">Luke 12:1</a> In the meantime, a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling one another. Jesus began to speak first to His disciples: “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. <a href="/revelation/16-13.htm">Revelation 16:13-14</a> And I saw three unclean spirits that looked like frogs coming out of the mouths of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet. / These are demonic spirits that perform signs and go out to all the kings of the earth, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty.</div> <a name="tsk" id="tsk"><div class="vheading">Treasury of Scripture</div>Your crowned are as the locusts, and your captains as the great grasshoppers, which camp in the hedges in the cold day, but when the sun rises they flee away, and their place is not known where they are.<a href="/revelation/9-7.htm">Revelation 9:7</a> And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men.<div class="vheading">Jump to Previous</div><a href="/isaiah/60-2.htm">Appears</a> <a href="/isaiah/2-21.htm">Ariseth</a> <a href="/amos/4-10.htm">Camp</a> <a href="/amos/2-3.htm">Captains</a> <a href="/amos/3-2.htm">Chosen</a> <a href="/jeremiah/18-14.htm">Cold</a> <a href="/nahum/2-5.htm">Cover</a> <a href="/songs/3-11.htm">Crowned</a> <a href="/jeremiah/49-3.htm">Fences</a> <a href="/nahum/3-16.htm">Flee</a> <a href="/nahum/3-7.htm">Flight</a> <a href="/nahum/3-15.htm">Grasshoppers</a> <a href="/nahum/3-15.htm">Great</a> <a href="/ezekiel/40-7.htm">Guards</a> <a href="/isaiah/7-19.htm">Hedges</a> <a href="/ezekiel/39-4.htm">Hordes</a> <a href="/psalms/148-10.htm">Insects</a> <a href="/amos/7-1.htm">Locusts</a> <a href="/nahum/1-14.htm">Longer</a> <a href="/amos/2-3.htm">Officials</a> <a href="/micah/7-4.htm">Ones</a> <a href="/micah/7-6.htm">Rises</a> <a href="/hosea/11-11.htm">Settle</a> <a href="/psalms/65-10.htm">Settling</a> <a href="/amos/5-11.htm">Stone</a> <a href="/micah/3-6.htm">Sun</a> <a href="/nahum/3-15.htm">Swarming</a> <a href="/amos/7-1.htm">Swarms</a> <a href="/micah/7-11.htm">Walls</a><div class="vheading2">Jump to Next</div><a href="/zechariah/13-3.htm">Appears</a> <a href="/habakkuk/1-3.htm">Ariseth</a> <a href="/zechariah/9-8.htm">Camp</a> <a href="/mark/6-21.htm">Captains</a> <a href="/haggai/2-23.htm">Chosen</a> <a href="/zechariah/14-6.htm">Cold</a> <a href="/habakkuk/2-14.htm">Cover</a> <a href="/john/17-10.htm">Crowned</a> <a href="/luke/14-23.htm">Fences</a> <a href="/zechariah/2-6.htm">Flee</a> <a href="/habakkuk/1-8.htm">Flight</a> <a href="/numbers/13-33.htm">Grasshoppers</a> <a href="/habakkuk/2-8.htm">Great</a> <a href="/matthew/28-4.htm">Guards</a> <a href="/luke/14-23.htm">Hedges</a> <a href="/habakkuk/1-9.htm">Hordes</a> <a href="/james/5-2.htm">Insects</a> <a href="/malachi/3-11.htm">Locusts</a> <a href="/zephaniah/3-11.htm">Longer</a> <a href="/zephaniah/1-8.htm">Officials</a> <a href="/nahum/3-18.htm">Ones</a> <a href="/habakkuk/1-3.htm">Rises</a> <a href="/matthew/5-25.htm">Settle</a> <a href="/judges/5-17.htm">Settling</a> <a href="/habakkuk/2-11.htm">Stone</a> <a href="/habakkuk/3-10.htm">Sun</a> <a href="/genesis/7-21.htm">Swarming</a> <a href="/genesis/1-20.htm">Swarms</a> <a href="/zechariah/2-4.htm">Walls</a><div class="vheading2">Nahum 3</div>1. <a href="/nahum/3-1.htm">The destruction of Nineveh.</a> </div></div><div id="mdd"><div align="center"><div class="bot2"><table align="center" width="100%"><tr><td><div align="center"> <script id="3d27ed63fc4348d5b062c4527ae09445"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=51ce25d5-1a8c-424a-8695-4bd48c750f35&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script> <script id="b817b7107f1d4a7997da1b3c33457e03"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=cb0edd8b-b416-47eb-8c6d-3cc96561f7e8&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script>  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-2'> </div>  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-0' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div>  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-3'> </div>  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-1' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div>  <div align="center" id='div-gpt-ad-1531425649696-0'> </div> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:inline-block;width:200px;height:200px" data-ad-client="ca-pub-3753401421161123" data-ad-slot="3592799687"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script> </div> </td></tr></table></div></div></div><div id="combox"><div class="padcom"><a name="study" id="study"></a><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top"><a href="/study/nahum/3.htm">Study Bible</a></td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/study/nahum/" title="Book Summary and Study">Book ◦</a> <a href="/study/chapters/nahum/3.htm" title="Chapter summary and Study">Chapter </a></tr></table></div>Your guards are like the swarming locust In the ancient Near East, locusts were a symbol of destruction and overwhelming numbers. The comparison of guards to swarming locusts suggests a vast, uncontrollable force. However, this imagery also implies that the guards, despite their numbers, are ultimately ineffective and transient. Historically, Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, was known for its formidable military might, yet Nahum prophesies their downfall, indicating that their defenses will be as fleeting as a swarm of locusts. This reflects the biblical theme that human strength is futile without divine support, as seen in <a href="/psalms/127.htm">Psalm 127:1</a>.and your scribes like clouds of locusts Scribes in ancient Assyria were crucial for administration and maintaining records, akin to the bureaucratic backbone of the empire. Comparing them to clouds of locusts suggests they are numerous and pervasive, yet also hints at their impermanence and lack of true power. This imagery underscores the futility of relying on human wisdom and planning, echoing the sentiment found in <a href="/isaiah/29-14.htm">Isaiah 29:14</a>, where God promises to confound the wisdom of the wise.that settle on the walls on a cold day Locusts are known to settle and become inactive in cooler temperatures, which can symbolize a temporary state of security or inactivity. The walls of a city were its primary defense, and the image of locusts settling on them suggests a false sense of security. This reflects the temporary peace and stability that Assyria might have felt, unaware of the impending judgment. The cold day can symbolize a time of apparent calm before the storm, reminiscent of <a href="/1_thessalonians/5-3.htm">1 Thessalonians 5:3</a>, where sudden destruction comes upon those who feel secure.When the sun rises, they fly away The rising sun represents the coming of judgment and the revealing of truth. Just as locusts scatter when warmed by the sun, the guards and scribes will disperse when faced with the reality of God's judgment. This imagery highlights the transient nature of human power and the inevitability of divine intervention. The sun rising can also be seen as a metaphor for Christ, the "Sun of Righteousness" (<a href="/malachi/4-2.htm">Malachi 4:2</a>), whose coming exposes and dispels darkness.and no one knows where The disappearance of the locusts without a trace emphasizes the complete and sudden nature of Assyria's downfall. This phrase underscores the unpredictability and inevitability of divine judgment. It serves as a warning that those who rely on their own strength and wisdom will find themselves lost and without refuge when God acts. This theme is echoed in <a href="/james/4-14.htm">James 4:14</a>, which speaks of the fleeting nature of life and human plans.<div class="vheading2">Persons / Places / Events</div>1. <a href="/topical/g/guards_and_officials.htm">Guards and Officials</a> These represent the leaders and protectors of Nineveh, who are compared to locusts in their fleeting presence and unreliability. 2. <a href="/topical/l/locusts.htm">Locusts</a> In the ancient Near East, locusts were a symbol of destruction and transience, often used to describe overwhelming and uncontrollable forces. 3. <a href="/topical/n/nineveh.htm">Nineveh</a> The capital of the Assyrian Empire, known for its power and eventual downfall due to its wickedness and opposition to God. 4. <a href="/topical/t/the_sun.htm">The Sun</a> Symbolizes exposure and judgment, revealing the true nature of the guards and officials. 5. <a href="/topical/w/walls.htm">Walls</a> Represent the supposed strength and security of Nineveh, which ultimately proves to be inadequate.<div class="vheading2">Teaching Points</div><a href="/topical/t/the_fleeting_nature_of_earthly_power.htm">The Fleeting Nature of Earthly Power</a> Earthly leaders and systems, like locusts, can be unreliable and temporary. True security is found in God alone. <a href="/topical/d/divine_judgment_and_exposure.htm">Divine Judgment and Exposure</a> Just as the sun reveals the true nature of the locusts, God's judgment exposes the reality of our hearts and actions. <a href="/topical/t/the_illusion_of_security.htm">The Illusion of Security</a> Trusting in human strength and fortifications, like the walls of Nineveh, is ultimately futile. Our trust should be in God's eternal power. <a href="/topical/t/the_consequences_of_wickedness.htm">The Consequences of Wickedness</a> Nineveh's downfall serves as a warning of the consequences of living in opposition to God's will. <a href="/topical/r/repentance_and_redemption.htm">Repentance and Redemption</a> While Nahum focuses on judgment, the broader biblical account offers hope through repentance and turning back to God.<div class="vheading2">Lists and Questions</div><a href="/top10/lessons_from_nahum_3.htm">Top 10 Lessons from Nahum 3</a> <a href="/q/main_themes_of_bible's_books.htm">What are the main themes of the Bible's books?</a> <a href="/q/meaning_of_'godliness_with_contentment'.htm">What does 'Godliness with Contentment' mean?</a> <a href="/q/how_to_reconcile_nahum_3_15-17_with_archaeology.htm">How do we reconcile Nahum's prophecy of Nineveh's swift destruction (Nahum 3:15-17) with archaeological evidence of its prolonged ruins and partial habitation?</a> <a href="/q/what_makes_a_church_spiritually_inactive.htm">What are the tools for spiritual battles?</a><a name="commentary" id="commentary"></a><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/ellicott/nahum/3.htm">Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers</a></div>(17) Thy crowned.--The subordinate kings who represent the Assyrian empire in her tributary provinces.Captains.--Taphs'rim, an Assyrian term denoting some high military office. The sudden disappearance of the Assyrian locust-pest is here enlarged upon. A sudden outburst of sunshine will sometimes induce a swarm of locusts to take flight; cold, on the other hand, makes these insects settle, and soon deprives them of the power of flying. Dr. Pusey well observes, "The heathen conqueror rehearsed his victory, 'I came, I saw, conquered.' The prophet goes further, as the issue of all human conquest, 'I disappeared.'" The insect designations, rendered in Authorised Version, "cankerworm," "locust," "great grasshopper," all represent varieties of the locust species.<div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/pulpit/nahum/3.htm">Pulpit Commentary</a></div>Verse 17. - Thy crowned. The word minnezar is found only here, and, as its derivation is uncertain, it has received various interpretations. The Anglican Version derives the word from nezer, "a diadem," and "the crowned" are the officials of upper rank. "High officers of state in Assyria were adorned with diadems, closely resembling the lower baud of the royal mitre, separated from the cap itself. Very commonly the head was encircled with a simple fillet or hoop, probably of gold, without any adornment" (Gosse, 'Assyria,' p. 463, quoted by Strauss; see the figures in Bonomi, p. 319). Others derive it from nazar. "to separate," in the signification of "those separated or selected for war." Septuagint, ὁ συμμικτός: i.e. the band of mixed mercenary troops - a rendering in which Wordsworth acquiesces. Knabenbauer (referring to Strassmaier's Assyrian vocabulary) considers the word to be a transliteration (ss being resolved into ne) of the Assyrian ma-as-sa-ru, which means "guardian," or some inferior officer. With this agrees the Vulgate custodes. As the locusts; i.e. in multitude. That the number of captains and superior officers would be very great may be conjectured from the inscriptions which sometimes enumerate the captives carried off from conquered countries. Thus in the account of the capture of some insignificant nation, the then king boasts that he took away 13,000 fighting men, 1121 captains, and 460 superior officers (Strauss, in loc.). The prophet's meaning is that if the officers, etc., are so numerous, the multitude of soldiers and civilians must be truly immense. Thy captains. Taphsar is an Assyrian word, occurring only in <a href="/jeremiah/51-27.htm">Jeremiah 51:27</a>. It is probably the same as dupsarru or dipsarru of the inscriptions, and is taken to signify "a scribe" (see Sehrader, p. 424) Such officials are often represented on the monuments (see Layard, 2:184), and seem sometimes to have been of high or priestly rank. Jerome translates, parvuli tui, though in Jeremiah, loc. cit., he retains the Assyrian word. The Septuagint omits it. Great grasshoppers; swarms of locusts (<a href="/amos/7-1.htm">Amos 7:1</a>). Which camp in the hedges in the cold day. Locusts become torpid in cold weather; so the captains and princes of Nineveh are paralyzed and useless in the day of calamity. They flee away. Thus the Assyrian army perishes and leaves no trace behind. The LXX. adds, "Woe unto them!" <a href="/commentaries/nahum/3-17.htm">Parallel Commentaries ...</a> <a name="lexicon" id="lexicon"></a><div class="vheading">Hebrew</div>Your guardsmen מִנְּזָרַ֙יִךְ֙ (min·nə·zā·ra·yiḵ) Noun - masculine plural construct | second person feminine singular <a href="/hebrew/strongs_4502.htm">Strong's 4502: </a> Perhaps consecrated ones, princes are like the swarming locust, כָּֽאַרְבֶּ֔ה (kā·’ar·beh) Preposition-k, Article | Noun - masculine singular <a href="/hebrew/strongs_697.htm">Strong's 697: </a> (a kind of) locust and your scribes וְטַפְסְרַ֖יִךְ (wə·ṭap̄·sə·ra·yiḵ) Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine plural construct | second person feminine singular <a href="/hebrew/strongs_2951.htm">Strong's 2951: </a> A military governor like clouds of locusts, כְּג֣וֹב (kə·ḡō·wḇ) Preposition-k | Noun - masculine singular construct <a href="/hebrew/strongs_1462.htm">Strong's 1462: </a> The locust that settle הַֽחוֹנִ֤ים (ha·ḥō·w·nîm) Article | Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine plural <a href="/hebrew/strongs_2583.htm">Strong's 2583: </a> To incline, to decline, to pitch a, tent, gen, to encamp on the walls בַּגְּדֵרוֹת֙ (bag·gə·ḏê·rō·wṯ) Preposition-b, Article | Noun - feminine plural <a href="/hebrew/strongs_1448.htm">Strong's 1448: </a> Enclosure on a cold קָרָ֔ה (qā·rāh) Noun - feminine singular <a href="/hebrew/strongs_7135.htm">Strong's 7135: </a> Coolness day. בְּי֣וֹם (bə·yō·wm) Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct <a href="/hebrew/strongs_3117.htm">Strong's 3117: </a> A day When the sun שֶׁ֤מֶשׁ (še·meš) Noun - common singular <a href="/hebrew/strongs_8121.htm">Strong's 8121: </a> The sun, the east, a ray, a notched battlement rises, זָֽרְחָה֙ (zā·rə·ḥāh) Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person feminine singular <a href="/hebrew/strongs_2224.htm">Strong's 2224: </a> To irradiate, to rise, to appear they fly away, וְנוֹדַ֔ד (wə·nō·w·ḏaḏ) Conjunctive waw | Verb - Pual - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular <a href="/hebrew/strongs_5074.htm">Strong's 5074: </a> To wave to and fro, to rove, flee, to drive away and no וְלֹֽא־ (wə·lō-) Conjunctive waw | Adverb - Negative particle <a href="/hebrew/strongs_3808.htm">Strong's 3808: </a> Not, no one knows נוֹדַ֥ע (nō·w·ḏa‘) Verb - Nifal - Perfect - third person masculine singular <a href="/hebrew/strongs_3045.htm">Strong's 3045: </a> To know where. אַיָּֽם׃ (’ay·yām) Interrogative | third person masculine plural <a href="/hebrew/strongs_335.htm">Strong's 335: </a> Where?, how? <div class="vheading">Links</div><a href="/niv/nahum/3-17.htm">Nahum 3:17 NIV</a> <a href="/nlt/nahum/3-17.htm">Nahum 3:17 NLT</a> <a href="/esv/nahum/3-17.htm">Nahum 3:17 ESV</a> <a href="/nasb/nahum/3-17.htm">Nahum 3:17 NASB</a> <a href="/kjv/nahum/3-17.htm">Nahum 3:17 KJV</a> <a href="//bibleapps.com/nahum/3-17.htm">Nahum 3:17 BibleApps.com</a> <a href="//bibliaparalela.com/nahum/3-17.htm">Nahum 3:17 Biblia Paralela</a> <a href="//holybible.com.cn/nahum/3-17.htm">Nahum 3:17 Chinese Bible</a> <a href="//saintebible.com/nahum/3-17.htm">Nahum 3:17 French Bible</a> <a href="/catholic/nahum/3-17.htm">Nahum 3:17 Catholic Bible</a> <a href="/nahum/3-17.htm">OT Prophets: Nahum 3:17 Your guards are like the locusts (Nah. Na) </a></div></div></td></tr></table></div><div id="left"><a href="/nahum/3-16.htm" onmouseover='lft.src="/leftgif.png"' onmouseout='lft.src="/left.png"' title="Nahum 3:16"><img src="/left.png" name="lft" border="0" alt="Nahum 3:16" /></a></div><div id="right"><a href="/nahum/3-18.htm" onmouseover='rght.src="/rightgif.png"' onmouseout='rght.src="/right.png"' title="Nahum 3:18"><img src="/right.png" name="rght" border="0" alt="Nahum 3:18" /></a></div><div id="botleft"><a href="#" onmouseover='botleft.src="/botleftgif.png"' onmouseout='botleft.src="/botleft.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botleft.png" name="botleft" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="botright"><a href="#" onmouseover='botright.src="/botrightgif.png"' onmouseout='botright.src="/botright.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botright.png" name="botright" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="bot"><iframe width="100%" height="1500" scrolling="no" src="/botmenubhnew2.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></td></tr></table></div></body></html>