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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 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... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Nahum 3:3

The horseman lifteth up both the bright sword and the glittering spear ,.... Or, "the flame of the sword and the glittering spear" F23 להב חרב וברק חנית "flammam gladii et fulgorem hastae", Piscator; "flammam gladii et fulgur hastae", Cocceius; "flamma gladii et fulgur lanceae", Burkius. ; he rides with a drawn sword, which, being brandished to and fro, looks like a flame of fire; or with a spear made of polished iron, or steel, which, when vibrated and moved to and fro,... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Nahum 3:3

Verse 3 As to the words, some interpreters connect what we have rendered, the horseman makes to ascend, with what follows, that is, he makes to ascend the flame of the sword and the lightning of the spear But as a copulative comes between, it seems rather to be an imperfect sentence, meaning, that the horseman makes to ascend or mount, that is, his horses, by urging them on. With regard to the word להב, leb, it means I have no doubt, a flame. By this word, I know, is also understood... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Nahum 3:1-7

§ 1. The prophet specifies the crimes which have brought this ruin upon Nineveh. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Nahum 3:1-7

Woe to Nineveh. I. THREATENED . ( Nahum 3:1 .) 1. By the prophet. Jonah ( Jonah 3:4 ) had once before announced the destruction of the Assyrian capital, which threatening, however, was averted by the repentance of its inhabitants; Nahum's prediction was literally fulfilled, because Nineveh in due time filled up the measure of its iniquities. 2 . In the name of God. Had Nineveh's doom been pronounced only by Nahum's lips, it had been harmless; but Nahum was the mouthpiece... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Nahum 3:1-7

The guilt and ruin of Nineveh. We have here— I. A MOURNFUL REVELATION OF NATIONAL GUILT AND DEPRAVITY . ( Nahum 3:1 , Nahum 3:4 .) The Assyrians are here charged with: 1 . Unrighteous war. ( Nahum 3:1 .) There may be times in a nation's history when war becomes a dire necessity; but all war prompted, not by the desire to defend against unworthy aggression, but by unholy ambition, aggrandizement, lust of conquest and glory, deserves the severest reprobation.... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Nahum 3:1-19

Part III . THE CAUSE OF THE JUDGMENT — SINS OF THE CITY , WHICH BRING INEVITABLE PUNISHMENT . read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Nahum 3:3

The horseman lifteth up. The Hebrew is more vivid, the words standing in pairs, as if describing the successive onsets of the enemy. So Pusey. It is best to render, "horsemen making to rear;" or as Septuagint. ἱππέως ἀναβαίνοντος , "horseman mounting;" so the Vulgate; Henderson. Horsemen are seen in the most ancient sculptures of Nimroud, and in the bas-reliefs of Kouyunjik (comp. Judith 2:15; Ezekiel 23:6 ; Layard, ' Nineveh,' 2.356). Both the bright sword; better, and the... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Nahum 3:3

The horseman lifteth up - Rather, “leading up : the flash of the sword, and the lightning of the spear.” Thus, there are, in all, seven inroads, seven signs, before the complete destruction of Nineveh or the world; as, in the Revelations, all the forerunners of the Judgment of the Great Day are summed up under the voice of seven trumpets and seven vials. Rup.: “God shall not use homes and chariots and other instruments of war, such as are here spoken of, to judge the world, yet, as is just, His... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Nahum 3:2-3

Nahum 3:2-3. The noise of a whip, &c. These verses are highly poetical; the prophet tells them, that he already hears the sound of the whips driving on the horses, and the rattling of the chariot wheels, &c., of their enemies coming against them. The horseman lifteth up both the bright sword, &c. In the Hebrew it is, The horseman lifteth up the flame of the sword, and the lightning of the spear, which is more poetical than our rendering. The style of the whole passage is... read more

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