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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "//www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="//www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" /><title>Nahum 2:6 The river gates are thrown open and the palace collapses.</title><link rel="canonical" href="https://biblehub.com/nahum/2-6.htm" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/new9.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><meta property="og:image" content="https://biblehub.com/visuals/9/34_Nam_02_06.jpg" /><meta property="og:title" content="Nahum 2:6 - The Overthrow of Nineveh" /><meta property="og:site_name" content="Bible Hub" /><meta property="og:description" content="The river gates are thrown open and the palace collapses." /><script type="application/javascript" src="https://scripts.webcontentassessor.com/scripts/8a2459b64f9cac8122fc7f2eac4409c8555fac9383016db59c4c26e3d5b8b157"></script><script src='https://qd.admetricspro.com/js/biblehub/biblehub-layout-loader-revcatch.js'></script><script id='HyDgbd_1s' src='https://prebidads.revcatch.com/ads.js' type='text/javascript' async></script><script>(function(w,d,b,s,i){var cts=d.createElement(s);cts.async=true;cts.id='catchscript'; cts.dataset.appid=i;cts.src='https://app.protectsubrev.com/catch_rp.js?cb='+Math.random(); document.head.appendChild(cts); }) (window,document,'head','script','rc-anksrH');</script></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="/vmenus/nahum/2-6.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="/bmc/nahum/2-6.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="/">Bible</a> > <a href="/nahum/">Nahum</a> > <a href="/nahum/2.htm">Chapter 2</a> > Verse 6</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div><div id="ad1"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/ad6.htm" width="100%" height="48" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="/nahum/2-5.htm" title="Nahum 2:5">◄</a> Nahum 2:6 <a href="/nahum/2-7.htm" title="Nahum 2:7">►</a></div></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="topverse"> <a href="#audio" class="clickchap2" title="Context and Audio Bible"> Audio </a> <a href="#crossref" class="clickchap2" title="Cross References"> Cross </a> <a href="#study" class="clickchap2" title="Study Bible"> Study </a> <a href="#commentary" class="clickchap2" title="Commentary"> Comm </a> <a href="#lexicon" class="clickchap2" title="Lexicon"> Heb </a> </div><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheadingv"><b>Verse</b><a href="/bsb/nahum/2.htm" class="clickchap" style="color:#001320" title="Click any translation name for full chapter">  (Click for Chapter)</a></div><div id="par"><span class="versiontext"><a href="/niv/nahum/2.htm">New International Version</a></span><br />The river gates are thrown open and the palace collapses.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nlt/nahum/2.htm">New Living Translation</a></span><br />The river gates have been torn open! The palace is about to collapse!<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/esv/nahum/2.htm">English Standard Version</a></span><br />The river gates are opened; the palace melts away;<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/bsb/nahum/2.htm">Berean Standard Bible</a></span><br />The river gates are thrown open and the palace collapses.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/kjv/nahum/2.htm">King James Bible</a></span><br />The gates of the rivers shall be opened, and the palace shall be dissolved.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nkjv/nahum/2.htm">New King James Version</a></span><br />The gates of the rivers are opened, And the palace is dissolved.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nasb_/nahum/2.htm">New American Standard Bible</a></span><br />The gates of the rivers are opened And the palace sways back and forth.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nasb/nahum/2.htm">NASB 1995</a></span><br />The gates of the rivers are opened And the palace is dissolved.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nasb77/nahum/2.htm">NASB 1977 </a></span><br />The gates of the rivers are opened, And the palace is dissolved.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/lsb/nahum/2.htm">Legacy Standard Bible </a></span><br />The gates of the rivers are opened, And the palace is melted away.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/amp/nahum/2.htm">Amplified Bible</a></span><br />The gates of the rivers [surrounding Nineveh] are opened And the palace [of sun-dried brick] is dissolved [by the torrents].<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/csb/nahum/2.htm">Christian Standard Bible</a></span><br />The river gates are opened, and the palace erodes away.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/hcsb/nahum/2.htm">Holman Christian Standard Bible</a></span><br />The river gates are opened, and the palace erodes away. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/asv/nahum/2.htm">American Standard Version</a></span><br />The gates of the rivers are opened, and the palace is dissolved.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/cev/nahum/2.htm">Contemporary English Version</a></span><br />The river gates fly open, and panic floods the palace. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/erv/nahum/2.htm">English Revised Version</a></span><br />The gates of the rivers are opened, and the palace is dissolved.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/gwt/nahum/2.htm">GOD'S WORD® Translation</a></span><br />The gates of the rivers are opened, and the palace melts away.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/gnt/nahum/2.htm">Good News Translation</a></span><br />The gates by the river burst open; the palace is filled with terror. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/isv/nahum/2.htm">International Standard Version</a></span><br />The river gates will be opened, and the palace will collapse.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/msb/nahum/2.htm">Majority Standard Bible</a></span><br />The river gates are thrown open and the palace collapses.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/net/nahum/2.htm">NET Bible</a></span><br />The sluice gates are opened; the royal palace is deluged and dissolves. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nheb/nahum/2.htm">New Heart English Bible</a></span><br />The gates of the rivers are opened, and the palace is dissolved.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/wbt/nahum/2.htm">Webster's Bible Translation</a></span><br />The gates of the rivers shall be opened, and the palace shall be dissolved.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/web/nahum/2.htm">World English Bible</a></span><br />The gates of the rivers are opened, and the palace is dissolved. <div class="vheading2"><b>Literal Translations</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/lsv/nahum/2.htm">Literal Standard Version</a></span><br />Gates of the rivers have been opened, "" And the palace is dissolved.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/ylt/nahum/2.htm">Young's Literal Translation</a></span><br /> Gates of the rivers have been opened, And the palace is dissolved.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/slt/nahum/2.htm">Smith's Literal Translation</a></span><br />The gates of the rivers were opened, and the temple melted away.<div class="vheading2"><b>Catholic Translations</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/drb/nahum/2.htm">Douay-Rheims Bible</a></span><br />The gates of the rivers are opened, and the temple is thrown down to the ground. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/cpdv/nahum/2.htm">Catholic Public Domain Version</a></span><br />The gates of the rivers have been opened, and the temple has been pulled down to the ground.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nabre/nahum/2.htm">New American Bible</a></span><br />The river gates are opened, the palace is washed away. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nrsvce/nahum/2.htm">New Revised Standard Version</a></span><br />The river gates are opened, the palace trembles.<div class="vheading2"><b>Translations from Aramaic</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/lamsa/nahum/2.htm">Lamsa Bible</a></span><br />The city gates are opened and the palace trembles.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/hpbt/nahum/2.htm">Peshitta Holy Bible Translated</a></span><br />The gates of Judea were opened and the Temple shook<div class="vheading2"><b>OT Translations</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/jps/nahum/2.htm">JPS Tanakh 1917</a></span><br />The gates of the rivers are opened, And the palace is dissolved.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/sep/nahum/2.htm">Brenton Septuagint Translation</a></span><br />The gates of the cities have been opened, and the palaces have fallen into ruin,<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/parallel/nahum/2-6.htm">Additional Translations ...</a></span></div></div></div><div id="centbox"><div class="padcent"><a name="audio" id="audio"></a><div class="vheadingv"><b>Audio Bible</b></div><iframe width="100%" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1vC_xxtlDxA?start=225" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe><span class="p"><br /><br /><br /></span><div class="vheadingv"><b>Context</b></div><span class="hdg"><a href="/bsb/nahum/2.htm">The Overthrow of Nineveh</a></span><br>…<span class="reftext">5</span>He summons his nobles; they stumble as they advance. They race to its wall; the protective shield is set in place. <span class="reftext">6</span><span class="highl"><a href="/hebrew/5104.htm" title="5104: han·nə·hā·rō·wṯ (Art:: N-mp) -- A stream, river. From nahar; a stream; figuratively, prosperity.">The river</a> <a href="/hebrew/8179.htm" title="8179: ša·‘ă·rê (N-mpc) -- A gate. From sha'ar in its original sense; an opening, i.e. Door or gate.">gates</a> <a href="/hebrew/6605.htm" title="6605: nip̄·tā·ḥū (V-Nifal-Perf-3cp) -- To open wide, to loosen, begin, plough, carve. A primitive root; to open wide; specifically, to loosen, begin, plough, carve.">are thrown open</a> <a href="/hebrew/1964.htm" title="1964: wə·ha·hê·ḵāl (Conj-w, Art:: N-ms) -- A palace, temple. Probably from yakol; a large public building, such as a palace or temple.">and the palace</a> <a href="/hebrew/4127.htm" title="4127: nā·mō·wḡ (V-Nifal-Perf-3ms) -- To melt. A primitive root; to melt, i.e. Literally, or figuratively.">collapses.</a> </span><span class="reftext">7</span>It is decreed that the city be exiled and carried away; her maidservants moan like doves, and beat upon their breasts.…<div class="cred"><a href="//berean.bible">Berean Standard Bible</a> · <a href="//berean.bible/downloads.htm">Download</a></div><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a name="crossref" id="crossref"></a><div class="vheading">Cross References</div><div id="crf"><span class="crossverse"><a href="/isaiah/8-7.htm">Isaiah 8:7-8</a></span><br />the Lord will surely bring against them the mighty floodwaters of the Euphrates—the king of Assyria and all his pomp. It will overflow its channels and overrun its banks. / It will pour into Judah, swirling and sweeping over it, reaching up to the neck; its spreading streams will cover your entire land, O Immanuel!<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/jeremiah/51-13.htm">Jeremiah 51:13</a></span><br />You who dwell by many waters, rich in treasures, your end has come; the thread of your life is cut.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/revelation/16-12.htm">Revelation 16:12</a></span><br />And the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings of the East.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/isaiah/13-17.htm">Isaiah 13:17-19</a></span><br />Behold, I will stir up against them the Medes, who have no regard for silver and no desire for gold. / Their bows will dash young men to pieces; they will have no mercy on the fruit of the womb; they will not look with pity on the children. / And Babylon, the jewel of the kingdoms, the glory of the pride of the Chaldeans, will be overthrown by God like Sodom and Gomorrah.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/jeremiah/50-38.htm">Jeremiah 50:38</a></span><br />A drought is upon her waters, and they will be dried up. For it is a land of graven images, and the people go mad over idols.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/daniel/5-30.htm">Daniel 5:30-31</a></span><br />That very night Belshazzar king of the Chaldeans was slain, / and Darius the Mede received the kingdom at the age of sixty-two.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/isaiah/47-1.htm">Isaiah 47:1-3</a></span><br />“Go down and sit in the dust, O Virgin Daughter of Babylon. Sit on the ground without a throne, O Daughter of the Chaldeans! For you will no longer be called tender or delicate. / Take millstones and grind flour; remove your veil; strip off your skirt, bare your thigh, and wade through the streams. / Your nakedness will be uncovered and your shame will be exposed. I will take vengeance; I will spare no one.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/jeremiah/51-36.htm">Jeremiah 51:36</a></span><br />Therefore this is what the LORD says: “Behold, I will plead your case and take vengeance on your behalf; I will dry up her sea and make her springs run dry.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/revelation/17-1.htm">Revelation 17:1</a></span><br />Then one of the seven angels with the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits on many waters.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/isaiah/14-22.htm">Isaiah 14:22-23</a></span><br />“I will rise up against them,” declares the LORD of Hosts. “I will cut off from Babylon her name and her remnant, her offspring and her posterity,” declares the LORD. / “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.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/jeremiah/51-58.htm">Jeremiah 51:58</a></span><br />This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Babylon’s thick walls will be leveled, and her high gates consumed by fire. So the labor of the people will be for nothing; the nations will exhaust themselves to fuel the flames.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/revelation/18-21.htm">Revelation 18:21</a></span><br />Then a mighty angel picked up a stone the size of a great millstone and cast it into the sea, saying: “With such violence the great city of Babylon will be cast down, never to be seen again.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/isaiah/44-27.htm">Isaiah 44:27</a></span><br />who says to the depths of the sea, ‘Be dry, and I will dry up your currents,’<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/jeremiah/50-2.htm">Jeremiah 50:2-3</a></span><br />“Announce and declare to the nations; lift up a banner and proclaim it; hold nothing back when you say, ‘Babylon is captured; Bel is put to shame; Marduk is shattered, her images are disgraced, her idols are broken in pieces.’ / For a nation from the north will come against her; it will make her land a desolation. No one will live in it; both man and beast will flee.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/revelation/18-2.htm">Revelation 18:2</a></span><br />And he cried out in a mighty voice: “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a lair for demons and a haunt for every unclean spirit, every unclean bird, and every detestable beast.</div><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a name="tsk" id="tsk"><div class="vheading">Treasury of Scripture</div><p class="tsk2">The gates of the rivers shall be opened, and the palace shall be dissolved.</p><p class="hdg">gates.</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/isaiah/45-1.htm">Isaiah 45:1,2</a></b></br> Thus 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; … </p><p class="hdg">dissolved.</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/2_peter/3-10.htm">2 Peter 3:10,11</a></b></br> But 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… </p><div class="vheading">Jump to Previous</div><a href="/ezekiel/13-12.htm">Collapses</a> <a href="/ezekiel/12-19.htm">Dismay</a> <a href="/daniel/11-26.htm">Dissolved</a> <a href="/micah/1-12.htm">Doorways</a> <a href="/nahum/1-5.htm">Flowing</a> <a href="/lamentations/1-1.htm">Forced</a> <a href="/micah/5-6.htm">Gates</a> <a href="/nahum/1-14.htm">House</a> <a href="/amos/8-3.htm">King's</a> <a href="/amos/9-5.htm">Melteth</a> <a href="/micah/7-7.htm">Open</a> <a href="/daniel/10-16.htm">Opened</a> <a href="/amos/9-6.htm">Palace</a> <a href="/micah/7-12.htm">River</a> <a href="/nahum/1-4.htm">Rivers</a> <a href="/nahum/1-6.htm">Thrown</a><div class="vheading2">Jump to Next</div><a href="/luke/7-1.htm">Collapses</a> <a href="/luke/21-25.htm">Dismay</a> <a href="/2_corinthians/5-1.htm">Dissolved</a> <a href="/nahum/3-13.htm">Doorways</a> <a href="/nahum/2-8.htm">Flowing</a> <a href="/matthew/27-32.htm">Forced</a> <a href="/nahum/3-13.htm">Gates</a> <a href="/habakkuk/2-9.htm">House</a> <a href="/zephaniah/1-8.htm">King's</a> <a href="/nahum/2-10.htm">Melteth</a> <a href="/nahum/3-12.htm">Open</a> <a href="/nahum/3-13.htm">Opened</a> <a href="/matthew/26-3.htm">Palace</a> <a href="/nahum/3-8.htm">River</a> <a href="/nahum/3-8.htm">Rivers</a> <a href="/zephaniah/3-15.htm">Thrown</a><div class="vheading2">Nahum 2</div><span class="reftext">1. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/nahum/2-1.htm">The fearful and victorious armies of God against Nineveh.</a></span><br></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><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-2'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-0' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-3'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-1' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div><br /><br />  <div align="center" id='div-gpt-ad-1531425649696-0'> </div><br /><br /> <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> <br /><br /> </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/2.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/2.htm" title="Chapter summary and Study">Chapter </a></tr></table></div><b>The river gates are thrown open</b><br>This phrase refers to the strategic military action during the siege of Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian Empire. Historically, the Tigris River played a crucial role in the city's defense. The "river gates" likely refer to the floodgates or sluice gates that controlled the water flow into the city. During the Babylonian and Median attack on Nineveh, it is believed that heavy rains caused the river to flood, weakening the city's defenses and allowing the invaders to breach the walls. This event fulfills Nahum's prophecy of Nineveh's downfall, demonstrating God's judgment against the city for its wickedness and cruelty. The opening of the river gates symbolizes the removal of divine protection, allowing the enemies to enter.<p><b>and the palace collapses</b><br>The collapse of the palace signifies the destruction of the Assyrian royal authority and the end of its oppressive reign. The palace was not only a symbol of political power but also a center of cultural and religious life. Its fall represents the complete overthrow of the Assyrian Empire, as prophesied by Nahum. This event is a vivid illustration of God's sovereignty and justice, as He brings down the proud and mighty. The imagery of a collapsing palace can also be seen as a type of the ultimate judgment against all earthly powers that oppose God, pointing forward to the final victory of Christ over all kingdoms of the world.<div class="vheading2">Persons / Places / Events</div>1. <b><a href="/topical/n/nineveh.htm">Nineveh</a></b><br>The capital city of the Assyrian Empire, known for its great wealth and power, but also for its wickedness and cruelty. Nahum prophesies its downfall.<br><br>2. <b><a href="/topical/t/the_river_gates.htm">The River Gates</a></b><br>Refers to the gates controlling the flow of the Tigris River, which ran through Nineveh. Their opening symbolizes the city's vulnerability and impending destruction.<br><br>3. <b><a href="/topical/t/the_palace.htm">The Palace</a></b><br>Represents the seat of Assyrian power and authority. Its collapse signifies the end of Assyrian dominance and the fulfillment of God's judgment.<br><br>4. <b><a href="/topical/n/nahum.htm">Nahum</a></b><br>A prophet who delivered God's message of judgment against Nineveh, emphasizing God's sovereignty and justice.<br><br>5. <b><a href="/topical/t/the_assyrian_empire.htm">The Assyrian Empire</a></b><br>A dominant force in the ancient Near East, known for its military prowess and oppressive rule over conquered peoples.<div class="vheading2">Teaching Points</div><b><a href="/topical/g/god's_sovereignty_over_nations.htm">God's Sovereignty Over Nations</a></b><br>God controls the rise and fall of empires. No power is beyond His reach or judgment.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/t/the_consequences_of_sin.htm">The Consequences of Sin</a></b><br>Persistent sin and rebellion against God lead to destruction. Nineveh's fate serves as a warning to all nations and individuals.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/t/the_certainty_of_god's_judgment.htm">The Certainty of God's Judgment</a></b><br>God's promises of judgment are sure. Just as Nineveh fell, so will all who oppose God's righteousness.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/t/the_importance_of_genuine_repentance.htm">The Importance of Genuine Repentance</a></b><br>Temporary repentance, as seen in Nineveh's history, is insufficient. True repentance involves a lasting change of heart and behavior.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/h/hope_for_the_oppressed.htm">Hope for the Oppressed</a></b><br>God's judgment on oppressive powers brings hope and deliverance to those who suffer under their rule.<div class="vheading2">Lists and Questions</div><a href="/top10/lessons_from_nahum_2.htm">Top 10 Lessons from Nahum 2</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/what_destroyed_nineveh.htm">What caused the destruction of Nineveh?</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/what_defines_christian_archaeology.htm">What defines Christian archaeology?</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/does_solomon's_building_fit_era's_data.htm">Does the scale of Solomon's building program described in 2 Chronicles 8:1-6 align with known timelines and resources from that era?</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/how_does_forced_labor_fit_solomon's_wisdom.htm">How does the forced labor mentioned in 2 Chronicles 8:7-8 reconcile with biblical portrayals of Solomon's wisdom and godly leadership?</a><a name="commentary" id="commentary"></a><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/ellicott/nahum/2.htm">Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers</a></div>(6) <span class= "bld">The gates of the rivers.</span>--This verse is one of great importance. The account of Ctesias, preserved by Diodorus Siculus, tells us that for over two years the immense thickness of the walls of Nineveh baffled the engineering skill of the besiegers; but that "in the third year it happened that by reason of a continual discharge of great storms, the Euphrates (<span class= "ital">sic</span>) being swollen, both inundated a part of the city and overthrew the wall to the extent of twenty stadia." The king saw in this the fulfilment of an oracle, which had declared that the city should fall when "the river became an enemy to the city." Determined not to fall into the hands of his foes, he shut himself up with all his treasures in the royal citadel, which he then set on fire. We believe that this account, though inaccurate in detail, may be regarded as based on a substratum of historical fact. So gigantic were the fortifications of Nineveh, that of those on the east, where the city was most open to attack, Mr. Layard writes: "The remains still existing . . . almost confirm the statements of Diodorus Siculus that the walls were a hundred feet high, and that three chariots could drive upon them abreast" (<span class= "ital">Nineveh and Babylon,</span> p. 660). Against ramparts such as these the most elaborate testudo of ancient times may well have been comparatively powerless. On the other hand, the force of a swollen river has often proved suddenly fatal to the strongest modern masonry. It would be specially destructive where, as in the case of Nineveh, the walls inundated were of sun-dried brick or "clay-bat." Thus the fate of the city may well have been precipitated in accordance with the terse prediction of this verse. The "gates of the rivers" (<span class= "ital">i.e.,</span> the dams which fenced the Khausser, which ran through Nineveh, and the Tigris, which was outside it) are forced open by the swelling torrents, and lo, the fate of the city is sealed! ramparts against which the battering-ram might have plied in vain are sapped at the very foundation; palace walls are undermined, and literally "dissolve;" the besieger hastens to avail himself of the disaster, and (in the single word of <a href="/nahum/2-7.htm" title="And Huzzab shall be led away captive, she shall be brought up, and her maids shall lead her as with the voice of doves, beating on their breasts.">Nahum 2:7</a>) <span class= "ital">it-is-decided.</span> It is unnecessary to identify the "palace" which thus succumbs. Neither is it a reasonable objection that the palaces of Khorsabad and Kouyunjik, lying near the Khausser, bear the marks of fire, not water. If Nahum must have in mind some particular palace, it may be fairly argued that water is not such a demonstrative agency as the sister element; and that nothing would so effectively conceal the damage done by the inundation as the subsequent conflagrations effected by the victorious besieger. The verb <span class= "ital">namog, </span>"dissolved," we thus take in its literal signification of the dissolution of a solid substance by the action of water; not as Dr. Pusey, figuratively, of the "dissolution of the empire itself.<p><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/pulpit/nahum/2.htm">Pulpit Commentary</a></div><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 6.</span> - All defence is vain. The prophet describes the last scene. <span class="cmt_word">The gates of the rivers shall be</span> (<span class="accented">are</span>) <span class="accented"><span class="cmt_word"></span>opened</span>. The simplest explanation of this much disputed clause is, according to Strauss and others, the following: The gates intended are those adjacent to the streams which encircled the city, and which were therefore the best defended and the hardest to capture. When these were carried, there was no way of escape for the besieged. But, as Rosenmuller remarks, it would have been an act of folly in the enemy to attack just that part of the city which was most strongly defended by nature and art. We are, therefore, induced to take "the gates of the rivers," not literally, but as a metaphorical expression (like "the windows of heaven," <a href="/genesis/7-1.htm">Genesis 7:1</a> l; <a href="/isaiah/24-18.htm">Isaiah 24:18</a>) for an overwhelming flood, and to see in this a reference to the fact mentioned by Diod. Sic. (2:27), that the capture of Nineveh was owing to a great and unprecedented inundation, which destroyed a large portion of the fortifications, and laid the city open to the enemy. "At the northwest angle of Nineveh," says Professor Rawlinson, "there was a sluice or flood gate, intended mainly to keep the water of the Khosr-su, which ordinarily filled the city moat, from flowing off too rapidly into the Tigris, but probably intended also to keep back the water of the Tigris, when that stream rose above its common level. A sudden and great rise in the Tigris would necessarily endanger this gate, and if it gave way beneath the pressure, a vast torrent of water would rush up the moat along and against the northern wall, which may have been undermined by its force, and have fallen in" (Rawlinson, 'Ancient Monarchies,' 2. p. 397, edit. 1871). The suggestion that the course of its rivers was diverted, and that the enemy entered the town through the dried channels, has no historical basis. Dr. Pusey explains the term to mean the gates by which the inhabitants had access to the rivers. But these would be well guarded, and the open. ing of them would not involve the capture of the city, which the expression in the text seems to imply. The LXX. gives, <span class="greek">πόλεων διηνοίχθησαν</span>, "The gates of the cities were opened." <span class="cmt_word">The palace shall be</span> (is) <span class="cmt_word">dissolved;</span> or, <span class="accented">melteth away.</span> Some take this to signify that the hearts of the in. habitants melt with fear, or the royal power vanishes in terror. That the clause is to be taken literally, to denote the destruction of the royal palace by the action of the waters, seems to be negatived by the fact that the Assyrian palaces were built on artificial mounds of some thirty or forty feet in elevation, composed of sun-dried bricks united into a solid mass, and were thus secured from the effects of an inundation (see Bosoms, 'Nineveh and its Discoveries,' p. 129, etc.). There is evidence, too, that fire played a great part in the destruction of the temples and palaces (see note on Nahum 3:13). <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/commentaries/nahum/2-6.htm">Parallel Commentaries ...</a></span><span class="p"><br /><br /><br /></span><a name="lexicon" id="lexicon"></a><div class="vheading">Hebrew</div><span class="word">The river</span><br /><span class="heb">הַנְּהָר֖וֹת</span> <span class="translit">(han·nə·hā·rō·wṯ)</span><br /><span class="parse">Article | Noun - masculine plural<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_5104.htm">Strong's 5104: </a> </span><span class="str2">A stream, prosperity</span><br /><br /><span class="word">gates</span><br /><span class="heb">שַׁעֲרֵ֥י</span> <span class="translit">(ša·‘ă·rê)</span><br /><span class="parse">Noun - masculine plural construct<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_8179.htm">Strong's 8179: </a> </span><span class="str2">An opening, door, gate</span><br /><br /><span class="word">are thrown open,</span><br /><span class="heb">נִפְתָּ֑חוּ</span> <span class="translit">(nip̄·tā·ḥū)</span><br /><span class="parse">Verb - Nifal - Perfect - third person common plural<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_6605.htm">Strong's 6605: </a> </span><span class="str2">To open wide, to loosen, begin, plough, carve</span><br /><br /><span class="word">and the palace</span><br /><span class="heb">וְהַֽהֵיכָ֖ל</span> <span class="translit">(wə·ha·hê·ḵāl)</span><br /><span class="parse">Conjunctive waw, Article | Noun - masculine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_1964.htm">Strong's 1964: </a> </span><span class="str2">A large public building, palace, temple</span><br /><br /><span class="word">erodes away.</span><br /><span class="heb">נָמֽוֹג׃</span> <span class="translit">(nā·mō·wḡ)</span><br /><span class="parse">Verb - Nifal - Perfect - third person masculine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_4127.htm">Strong's 4127: </a> </span><span class="str2">To melt</span><br /><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><div class="vheading">Links</div><a href="/niv/nahum/2-6.htm">Nahum 2:6 NIV</a><br /><a href="/nlt/nahum/2-6.htm">Nahum 2:6 NLT</a><br /><a href="/esv/nahum/2-6.htm">Nahum 2:6 ESV</a><br /><a href="/nasb/nahum/2-6.htm">Nahum 2:6 NASB</a><br /><a href="/kjv/nahum/2-6.htm">Nahum 2:6 KJV</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="//bibleapps.com/nahum/2-6.htm">Nahum 2:6 BibleApps.com</a><br /><a href="//bibliaparalela.com/nahum/2-6.htm">Nahum 2:6 Biblia Paralela</a><br /><a href="//holybible.com.cn/nahum/2-6.htm">Nahum 2:6 Chinese Bible</a><br /><a href="//saintebible.com/nahum/2-6.htm">Nahum 2:6 French Bible</a><br /><a href="/catholic/nahum/2-6.htm">Nahum 2:6 Catholic Bible</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/nahum/2-6.htm">OT Prophets: Nahum 2:6 The gates of the rivers are opened (Nah. 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