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
Joel 3:9-11 Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up:
2 Chronicles 25:8 But if thou wilt go, do it, be strong for the battle: God shall make thee fall before the enemy: for God hath power to help, and to cast dow…
Jeremiah 51:20-23 Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms;
Jeremiah 51:11-12 Make bright the arrows; gather the shields: the LORD hath raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes: for his device is against Babylon,…
Jeremiah 50:23 How is the hammer of the whole earth cut asunder and broken! how is Babylon become a desolation among the nations!
Jeremiah 46:3-10 Order ye the buckler and shield, and draw near to battle.
Isaiah 14:6 He who smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke, he that ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted, and none hindereth.
Nahum 3:14-15 Draw thee waters for the siege, fortify thy strong holds: go into clay, and tread the morter, make strong the brickkiln.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Nahum 2:1-10
Here is, I. An alarm of war sent to Nineveh, Nah 2:1. The prophet speaks of it as just at hand, for it is neither doubtful nor far distant: "Look about thee, and see, he that dashes in pieces has come up before thy face. Nebuchadnezzar, who is noted, and will be yet more so, for dashing nations in pieces, begins with thee, and will dissipate and disperse thee;" so some render the word. Babylon is called the hammer of the whole earth, Jer. 1:23. The attempt of Nebuchadnezzar upon Nineveh is public, bold, and daring: "He has come up before thy face, avowing his design to ruin thee; and therefore stand to thy arms, O Nineveh! keep the munition; secure thy towers and magazines: watch the way; se…
He that dasheth in pieces - Or scattereth. The Chaldeans and Medes.
Keep the munition - Guard the fenced places. From this to the end of the fifth verse, the preparations made at Nineveh to repel their enemies are described. The description is exceedingly picturesque.
Watch the way - By which the enemy is most likely to approach.
Make thy loins strong - Take courage.
Fortify thy power - Muster thy troops; call in all thy allies.
John Gill on Nahum 2:1
He that dasheth in pieces is come up before thy face,.... O Nineveh, or land of Assyria; for this is not to be understood of Sennacherib's coming up against Jerusalem, as Kimchi; but of Nebuchadnezzar against Nineveh, as Aben Ezra; not Nebuchadnezzar the great, who, the Jewish chronologers say (c), took Nineveh in the first year of his reign; but his father, Nebuchadnezzar the first, called Nabopolassar, who, with Cyaxares or Ahasuerus the Mede, joined their forces against Nineveh, and took it, see the Apocrypha:
"But before he died he heard of the destruction of Nineve, which was taken by Nabuchodonosor and Assuerus: and before his death he rejoiced over Nineve.'' (Tobit 14:15)
and these…
"One has come up blowing in your face, rescuing you from tribulation." God is the cause of this for you by his decision as though by some kind of blowing, destroying them but freeing you from their power. Just as by blowing a breath of life into Adam he made him a living being, so he provided you with salvation by the blowing of life. This is also what Christ the Lord gave the sacred apostles after the resurrection. Since Adam lost what he had received by way of image through the divine blowing, it was right that Christ the Lord should renew the image and restore it to the sacred apostles and through them to all the believers, blowing on them and saying, "Receive the Holy Spirit." Since former things are a type of the new, therefore, let us take the Assyrians' kingdom that was destroyed as the devil's tyranny brought to an end through Christ the Lord.
It is finished, it is taken away; he has come up breathing into your face, delivering from affliction. As it was already fixed, and in every way and altogether about to happen that Nineveh must be destroyed, he says that it is finished, indicating by this its coming to an end, as it were. And indeed also that it is taken away, that is, that it has been cut off completely and utterly destroyed. And very well indeed he says "he has come up" concerning Cyrus, signifying something emphatic, I think, such as the prophet Jeremiah also said about him, foretelling what would happen in due time to Nineveh: "A lion has come up from his den, a destroyer of nations has set out, and has gone forth from his place, to make your land a desolation, and your cities shall be laid waste, so that none shall dwell in them." For like a wild beast leaping upon Nineveh, he devoured those in it. But to them he was a terrible and relentless enemy, and became unyielding in his wrath, but to those of Israel he was breathing into their face and delivering from affliction, that is, releasing them from their unusual servitude, loosing their bonds, recovering them as captives, by sending them home, and also commanding that the divine temple be rebuilt for them.
He imparted the fellowship of this Holy Spirit to the apostles, for it is written, "When he had said that, he breathed upon them, and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit; whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained.' " This was the second breathing (the first had been impaired by willful sins)2 to fulfill the Scripture: "One who has been delivered from affliction has come up panting into your presence." He has been delivered from Hades. For it was after his resurrection, according to the gospel, that he breathed on them. He gives the grace at this time, and he will lavish it more abundantly. He says to them, "I am ready to give it to you even now, but the vessel cannot yet hold it. Accept for the time the grace of which you are capable, but look forward to yet more." "But wait here in the city" of Jerusalem "until you are clothed with power from on high." Receive it in part now; then you will be clad in its fullness. For he who receives often has the gift only in part, but he who is clothed is entirely covered by his garment. Fear not, he says, the weapons and darts of the devil, for you will possess the power of the Holy Spirit. But be mindful of our recent admonition, that the Holy Spirit is not divided, but only the grace he bestows.
Dictionary and topics
Fortresses · Defended against enemies — Defended against enemies
Munitions · Fortifi — Fortifi
Nineveh · Predictions respecting: Coming up of the Babylonish armies against — Predictions respecting: Coming up of the Babylonish armies against
Watchfulness · 36:18-21; — 36:18-21;
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 2:1-2
1. He that dasheth in pieces is come up before thy face: keep the munition, watch the way, make thy loins strong, fortify thy power mightily
1. Ascendit destructor coram facie tua; custodi munitionem, respice viam, robora lumbos, fortifica vires valde:
2. For the LORD hath turned away the excellency of Jacob, as the excellency of Israel: for the emptiers have emptied them out, and marred their vine branches.
2. Quia abstulit (alii vertunt, recedere fecit; alii, quiescere fecit) Jehova fortitudinem (alii, superbiam) Jacob, sicuti fortitudinem (vel, superbiam, est idem nomen) Israel; quia evacuarunt avacuantes, et palmites eorum succiderunt.
The waster spoken of here by the P…
Although Nineveh’s defenders might fully prepare to protect the city with ramparts . . . roads . . . defenses, and forces, their efforts were doomed to failure (1:1-14).
Rashi on Nahum 2:1
pay your vows—that you vowed to the Holy One, blessed be He, if He would save you from the hand of Sennacherib, king of Assyria - for now you are saved.
for... shall no longer continue to pass through you—that wicked one.
he has been completely cut off—he and his descendants.
