Nahum 3:7 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Nahum 3:7
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?
to see · verb, qal active participle, masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person feminine singular
flee
יִדּ֣וֹדyi.Dod
H5074
properly · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
say
וְאָמַר֙ve.'a.Mar
H559
to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Nineveh
נִֽינְוֵ֔הnin.Veh
H5210
Nineveh · proper noun, a place name
waste
שָׁדְּדָ֣הsha.de.Dah
H7703
properly · verb, pual perfect, 3rd person feminine singular
bemoan
יָנ֣וּדya.Nud
H5110
to nod · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
whence
מֵאַ֛יִןme.'A.yin
H370
where? (only in connection with prepositional prefix · preposition + interrogative particle
seek
אֲבַקֵּ֥שׁ'a.va.Kesh
H1245
to search out (by any method · verb, piel imperfect, 1st person common singular
comforters
מְנַחֲמִ֖יםme.na.cha.Mim
H5162
properly · verb, piel active participle, masculine plural absolute
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 51:19 These two things are come unto thee; who shall be sorry for thee? desolation, and destruction, and the famine, and the sword: by whom shall…
Jeremiah 15:5 For who shall have pity upon thee, O Jerusalem? or who shall bemoan thee? or who shall go aside to ask how thou doest?
Revelation 18:10 Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgmen…
Numbers 16:34 And all Israel that were round about them fled at the cry of them: for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up also.
Jeremiah 51:9 We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go every one into his own country: for her judgment reacheth un…
Lamentations 2:13 What thing shall I take to witness for thee? what thing shall I liken to thee, O daughter of Jerusalem? what shall I equal to thee, that I m…
Nahum 1:1 The burden of Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.
Nahum 2:9-10 Take ye the spoil of silver, take the spoil of gold: for there is none end of the store and glory out of all the pleasant furniture.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Nahum 3:1-7
Here is, I. Nineveh arraigned and indicted. It is a high charge that is here drawn up against that great city, and neither her numbers nor her grandeur shall secure her from prosecution. 1. It is a city of blood, in which a great deal of innocent blood is shed by unrighteous war, or under colour and pretence of public justice, or by suffering barbarous murders to go unpunished; for this the righteous God will make inquisition. 2. It is all full of lies; truth is banished from among them; there is no such thing as honesty; one knows not whom to believe nor whom to trust. 3. It is all full of robbery and rapine; no man cares what mischief he does, nor to whom he does it: The prey departs not,…
all . . . that look upon thee--when thou hast been made "a gazing stock" (Nah 3:6).
shall flee from thee--as a thing horrible to look upon. Compare "standing afar off," Rev 18:10.
whence shall I seek comforters for thee?--Compare Isa 51:19, which Nahum had before his mind.
Adam Clarke on Nahum 3:7
Who will bemoan her? - In such cases, who pities the delinquent? She has been the occasion of ruin to multitudes, and now she is deservedly exposed and punished. And so it should be thought concerning Nineveh.
John Gill on Nahum 3:7
And it shall come to pass, that all they that look upon thee shall flee from thee,.... As something loathsome and abominable, not fit to be come near unto, or touched; and as astonished and amazed at an object so forlorn and miserable, and lest they should partake of the same punishment:
and say, Nineveh is laid waste; utterly destroyed; its walls broke down, its houses demolished, its substance plundered, and its inhabitants killed, or carried captive; who could have thought it, when it was once so stately, rich, and powerful? but so it is indeed!
who will bemoan her? there are none left in her to do it; and as for others, her neighbours, whom she has oppressed and cruelly used, these wil…
The Church Fathers
(Verse 7) And it shall come to pass, that whoever sees you will flee from you, and say: Nineveh is laid waste; who will mourn for her? In Hebrew, there is no 'head', but we have added it to make the meaning clearer. Finally, Symmachus interpreted it as follows: And whoever sees you will depart from you and say: Nineveh is dispersed, who will mourn with her? Moreover, the Seventy: And it shall come to pass, that whoever sees you will descend from you and say: Wretched Nineveh, who will lament for her? Where shall I find a consolation fitting for her? ** Whoever sees the ruins of Nineveh, and sets it up as an example for all, will be filled with awe and wonder, and will say: Nineveh is destroyed, who will shake their head at you? That is, who will grieve for you, who will be your comforter? As long as you were powerful, like a cruel mistress, you had no pity for the old ((or old men)) or the little ones: you did not look upon the small ones: you did not prepare a companion for your mourning, because you did not want to have a partner in ruling. But whoever despises these earthly things, and looks down on the evil deeds of the witchcraft of Nineveh, and is not ensnared by its false beauty when they see all its ugliness within, and begins to hate what others love, they will flee and reject it, or as it is said in the Septuagint, they will descend. For as long as we honor earthly things, and think them to be lofty, we are like those who were once on the summit of pride, and we admire the beauty of Nineveh. But when we consider its nature, and despise all earthly goods as lowly, subjecting ourselves to the power of God's hand, then we will have mercy on the Ninevites, and we will judge all earthly goods as worthy of lamentation, and we will say: Wretched Nineveh, how many are ensnared by your snares, how many are bound by your chains! Who do you think will break free from you and descend from your pride, and judge you as miserable? But when he says, 'Who, do you think, is the faithful and prudent steward?' (Matthew 24:45)? And, 'Who is wise and will understand these things?' (Hosea 14:10)? And, 'Who shall ascend into the mountain of the Lord?' (Psalm 23:3)? Who, then, will lament over Nineveh? Who will be found, who, burdened with this tabernacle, will say with Paul, 'Wretched man that I am, who will deliver me from the body of this death?' (Romans 7:24)? We see…
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
Nineveh · Predictions respecting: Degradation and contempt put on — Predictions respecting: Degradation and contempt put on
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 3:7
7. 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?
7. Et accidet ut quisquis te viderit recedat abs te, et dicat, Vastata est Nineveh: quis condolebit ei? unde quaeram consolatores tibi?
When he says, kl-r'yk, cal-raik, whosoever sees thee,' we hence learn again that rv'y, ruai, at the end of the last verse, is to be taken for example or spectacle; for the Prophet proceeds with the same subject: I will make thee, he says, an example, or a spectacle. -- For what purpose? that whosoever sees thee may depart from thee [242] And it was an evidence of horro…
The Lord will plunge Nineveh into shameful misery in consequence. Nah 3:5. "Behold, I come to thee, is the saying of Jehovah of hosts; and uncover thy skirts over thy face, and let nations see they nakedness, and kingdoms thy shame. Nah 3:6. And cast horrible things upon thee, and shame thee, and make thee a gazing-stock. Nah 3:7. And it comes to pass, every one who sees thee will flee before thee, and say, Is Nineveh laid waste? Who will bewail her? whence do I seek comforters for thee?" Nah 3:5.a as in Nah 2:13. The punishment of Nineveh will correspond to her conduct. Her coquetry shall be repaid to her by the uncovering of her nakedness before the nations (cf. Jer 13:26; Isa 47:3; Hos 2:…
Twice God tells Nineveh, I am your enemy (also 2:13). Nineveh’s judgment stands as a historical reminder that the Lord abhors sin and will deal with people and nations according to their deeds (Pss 9:7-8; 62:12; Jer 46:28; Acts 17:31). One day, God’s justice will fall worldwide on those who have rebelled against him (Rev 17–19).
Rashi on Nahum 3:7
shall wander away from you—Shall distance himself from you.