Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Nahum 3:15-16
(15, 16) The diversion of metaphor here is somewhat repugnant to modern taste. The sword, like the locust, shall devour Nineveh. Yet Nineveh is immediately afterwards compared in its numbers, destructive influence, and sudden disappearance to the locust. It is a transition like St. Paul’s “going off at a word.” The comparison of the locust suggests the thought that Nineveh herself has been a locust-pest to the world, and the direction of the metaphor is thereupon suddenly changed. A paraphrase... read more
John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Nahum 3:1-19
The Doom of Nineveh1-7. Another threat against Nineveh, showing that disaster has come upon her on account of her sins. The keynote of the whole chapter is the fierce cry, Woe to the bloody city! it is all full of lies, etc. In ancient states the capital was virtually the kingdom, and to Nineveh are here ascribed all the characteristics of the Assyrian monarchy. The cruelties perpetrated by the Assyrians were shocking. Captive princes who had offered resistance in defence of their country were... read more