Nahum 3:18

18. Whither they will go is here stated.

King of Assyria Since the city is thought of as destroyed she can no longer be addressed; therefore the prophet turns to the king either as an individual or as a personification of the remnant of the Assyrian power. In view of the fact that throughout the rest of the chapter Nineveh is addressed, some consider the transition to the king strange, and they consider the words a later insertion, but for the reason just stated it seems quite natural that the king should be addressed. Marti thinks that the words are a corruption from the original “woe unto thee.”

Shepherds… nobles The rulers and heads of the people.

Slumber… shall dwell in the dust [“are at rest”] A euphemistic description of the slumber and sleep of death. For the use of the first verb in this sense compare Jeremiah 51:57; Psalms 76:5, etc. The second verb means literally to dwell; a slight change, favored by LXX., would give “lie down,” that is, in rest or sleep. With the leaders dead, the people scatter like a flock of sheep without a shepherd (Zechariah 13:7; 1 Kings 22:17), and there is no one to gather them. As a matter of fact, the destruction of Nineveh in 607-606 marked the dissolution of Assyria; the Scythians and Chaldeans divided the empire between them.

In Nahum 3:19 a the prophet repeats that the condition is hopeless; the hurt (Lamentations 2:11; Psalms 60:2) is incurable; they cannot recover from the blow by their own efforts (Jeremiah 14:17; Jeremiah 30:12), and no one is anxious to become their physician; on the contrary, all rejoice and glory in the misfortune that has befallen them.

Clap the hands An expression of joy (Isaiah 55:12), here of malicious joy. The rejoicing is universal, because all have suffered from the oppression and violence of Assyria.

With the threats of Nahum compare Zephaniah 2:13-15.