Nahum 1:12 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Nahum 1:12
Thus saith the LORD; Though they be quiet, and likewise many, yet thus shall they be cut down, when he shall pass through. Though I have afflicted thee, I will afflict thee no more.
to say (used with great latitude) · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
LORD
יְהוָ֗הYah.weh
H3068
Jehovah · proper noun, a title
quiet
שְׁלֵמִים֙she.le.Mim
H8003
complete (literally or figuratively) · adjective, masculine plural absolute
many
רַבִּ֔יםra.Bim
H7227
abundant (in quantity · adjective, masculine plural absolute
down
נָגֹ֖זּוּna.Go.zu
H1494
to cut off · verb, niphal perfect, 3rd person common plural
through
וְעָבָ֑רve.'a.Var
H5674
to cross over · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
afflicted
וְעִ֨נִּתִ֔ךְve.'I.ni.Tikh
H6031
to depress literally or figuratively · conjunction + verb, piel sequential perfect, 1st person common singular + pronominal suffix, 2nd person feminine singular
afflict
אֲעַנֵּ֖ךְ'a.'a.Nekh
H6031
to depress literally or figuratively · verb, piel imperfect, 1st person common singular + pronominal suffix, 2nd person feminine singular
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Isaiah 30:19 For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem: thou shalt weep no more: he will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when h…
Joel 2:19 Yea, the LORD will answer and say unto his people, Behold, I will send you corn, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith: and…
Isaiah 7:20 In the same day shall the Lord shave with a razor that is hired, namely, by them beyond the river, by the king of Assyria, the head, and the…
Isaiah 17:14 And behold at eveningtide trouble; and before the morning he is not. This is the portion of them that spoil us, and the lot of them that rob…
Isaiah 31:8 Then shall the Assyrian fall with the sword, not of a mighty man; and the sword, not of a mean man, shall devour him: but he shall flee from…
Isaiah 37:36 Then the angel of the LORD went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose…
Isaiah 8:8 And he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall f…
Isaiah 10:32-34 As yet shall he remain at Nob that day: he shall shake his hand against the mount of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Nahum 1:9–end
These verses seem to point at the destruction of the army of the Assyrians under Sennacherib, which may well be reckoned a part of the burden of Nineveh, the head city of the Assyrian empire, and a pledge of the destruction of Nineveh itself about 100 years after; and this was an event which Isaiah, with whom probably this prophet was contemporary, spoke much of. Now observe here,
I. The great provocation which the Assyrians gave to God, the just and jealous God, for which, though slow to anger, he would take vengeance (Nah 1:11): There is one come out of thee, that imagines evil against the Lord - Sennacherib, and his spokesman Rabshakeh. They framed an evil letter and an evil speech, not o…
The same truths repeated as in Nah 1:9-11, Jehovah here being the speaker. He addresses Judah, prophesying good to it, and evil to the Assyrian.
Though they be quiet--that is, without fear, and tranquilly secure. So Chaldee and CALVIN. Or, "entire," "complete"; "Though their power be unbroken [MAURER], and though they be so many, yet even so they shall be cut down" (literally, "shorn"; as hair shaved off closely by a razor, Isa 7:20). As the Assyrian was a razor shaving others, so shall he be shaven himself. Retribution in kind. In the height of their pride and power, they shall be clean cut off. The same Hebrew stands for "likewise" and "yet thus." So many as they are, so many shall they…
Though they be - many - Sennacherib invaded Judea with an army of nearly two hundred thousand men.
Thus shall they be cut down - The angel of the Lord (a suffocating wind) slew of them in one night one hundred and eighty-five thousand Kg2 19:35.
John Gill on Nahum 1:12
Thus saith the Lord, though they be quiet, and likewise many,.... The Assyrian army under Sennacherib before Jerusalem, though they were quiet and secure and thought themselves out of all danger; not at all fearing that the besieged would sally out against them they being so numerous, and therefore betook themselves to sleep and rest:
yet thus shall they be cut down; or "shorn" (l); as the wool is shorn off the back of a sheep with sheers; or grass or corn is mowed with a scythe; or else as the hair of a man's head and beard are shaved with a razor; which sometimes was done, not only in a way of ignominy and contempt, as David's servants were served by Hanun, 2 Samuel 10:4; but as a token o…
The Church Fathers
(Verse 12) Thus says the Lord, if they are perfect, and so they will be many: thus also they will be trimmed and will pass through: I will affix you, and I will not afflict you anymore. LXX: Thus says the Lord who rules over many waters, and thus they will be divided, and your hearing will not be heard anymore. The sense is clear according to the letter: Even though, he says, the Assyrians are strong, and their strength increases with the number of all the nations: thus they will also be trimmed by the devastating angel. For just as the number of hairs on our head does not resist being cut by a pair of scissors, so too the number of God's adversaries will be easily cut off and Assyria will pass through, or it will cease to exist, or, with its army destroyed, it will return to its homeland, leaving you unharmed. And again, the speech is directed towards Judah and Jerusalem: I have afflicted you, and I will not afflict you any longer, not because it promises perpetual security, but only for that time and from those enemies by whom you were then being besieged. Moreover, according to the Septuagint, the meaning is very different. For it still seems to speak against those to whom he had said above: What do you intend against the Lord? And: From you will come the most wicked thoughts against the Lord, thinking contrary things. Thus says the Lord who reigns over many waters, or virtues, which are called waters above the heavens: and it is commanded to them to praise the Lord: or indeed to the intelligences and wisdom and teachings of God. For as rivers flow from the belly of the just, and abundant fountains for eternal life, through various and manifold sentiments, by which the word of the Lord commands (John VII): so the heresiarchs also have their waters, which they command, and which flowed forth from their first source. But what follows: And so they are divided, can be understood either of the celestial beings that serve God's virtues in the heavens, each of which has its own function and ministry, or of the manifold variety of wisdom. Not because he had said that God rules over many waters, he should be considered confused and disordered in the number of his senses, but because each idea has its own distinct meaning and separate subjects and suppositions. For what is said: Your hearing will no longer be heard, is an accusation against those who had planned…
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Nahum — Consolation, the seventh of the so-called minor prophets, an Elkoshite. All we know of him is recorded in the book of his prophecies. He was probably a native of Galilee, and after the deportation of…
Afflictions · Tempered with mercy — Tempered with mercy
Afflictions And Adversities · .Tempered with mercy — .Tempered with mercy
Nineveh · Predictions respecting: Destruction of its people — Predictions respecting: Destruction of its people
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
Nahum 1:12
12. Thus saith the Lord; Though they be quiet, and likewise many, yet thus shall they be cut down, when he shall pass through. Though I have afflicted thee, I will afflict thee no more.
12. Sic dixit Jehovah, Si tranquilli fuerint, utcunque fuerint multi (vel, potentes;) sic etiam tollentur et transibit: et si afflixerim te, non affligam te amplius.
The Prophet pursues here the same subject; but expresses more clearly what might have been doubtful, -- that whatever strength there might be in the Assyrians, it could not resist the coming of God's vengeance. For thus saith Jehovah, Though they be quiet and also strong, etc. I cannot now finish this subject, but will only say this…
The power of Nineveh will be destroyed, to break the yoke laid upon Judah. Nah 1:12. "Thus saith Jehovah, Though they be unconsumed, and therefore numerous, yet are they thus mowed down, and have passed away. I have bowed thee down, I will bow thee down no more. Nah 1:13. And now shall I break his yoke from off thee, and break thy fetters in pieces. Nah 1:14. And Jehovah hath given commandment concerning thee, no more of thy name will be sown: from the house of thy God I cut off graven image and molten work: I prepare thy grave; for thou art found light." To confirm the threat expressed in Nah 1:8-11, Nahum explains the divine purpose more fully. Jehovah hath spoken: the completeness and str…
The Assyrians’ allies were vassal or subordinate kingdoms, including once-powerful Egypt. Ironically, a coalition of former allies gradually brought down the great Neo-Assyrian Empire between 625 and 605 BC. • O my people refers to Judah, whom God had punished earlier when the Assyrian king Sennacherib (704–681 BC) launched a campaign (701 BC) against the western states of the Near East. While Sennacherib failed to take Jerusalem (2 Kgs 19:32-36), he boasted in his annals of carrying away Jerusalem’s tribute and an enormous amount of spoils from forty-six cities in Judah. Although Judah was now reduced to vassalage and faced the constant possibility of Assyrian aggression, Assyria did not de…
Though they be at peace and likewise many Jonathan’s Targum is very appropriate to the verse: If they [the people of Nineveh] are at peace in their counsel, that they will all be of one accord; and likewise, if the people of Nineveh, your enemies, are many, O Jerusalem; and likewise, even if they have crossed the Tigris and passed over the Euphrates to besiege it, they will not succeed, for I have afflicted you; I will no longer afflict you. I have heard further (this rendering): If they are perfect—the people of Nineveh, in their greatness. and likewise—if they will be still greater and more honored. and so they shall be cut down and pass away—And so I will cut them down and take them away.…
