Nahum 1:10
What does Nahum 1:10 mean?
A plain-English look at Nahum 1:10 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Nahum 1:10 means
The enemies are pictured as a tangled mass of thorns and as drunk with their drink—confused, self-confident, and heedless. In that state they are ripe for burning, consumed like dry stubble. The metaphors show both their internal condition and their external fate: entangled in their own counsels, dulled by arrogance or literal revelry, and then suddenly ignited by judgment. No careful pruning or negotiation will save them; they are fuel before the flame. This underlines the certainty and speed of God’s action. He does not need a prolonged siege to win; when He chooses, the proud are swept away in a moment.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000For entangled like thorns, and drunken as with their drink, they are consumed utterly as dry stubble.
KJV
King James Version · 1611For while they be folden together as thorns, and while they are drunken as drunkards, they shall be devoured as stubble fully dry.
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901For entangled like thorns, and drunken as with their drink, they are consumed utterly as dry stubble.
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949For though they are like twisted thorns, and are overcome as with drink, they will come to destruction like stems of grass fully dry.
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862For while princes <FI>are<Fi> perplexed, And with their drink are drunken, They have been consumed as stubble fully dried.
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752For as thorns embrace one another: so while they are feasting and drinking together, they shall be consumed as stubble that is fully dry.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890Though they be tangled together [as] thorns, and be as drenched from their drink, they shall be devoured as dry stubble, completely.
Context
Following the promise of a full end, verse 10 explains why the downfall will be so complete: the enemies’ moral and strategic disarray makes them easy prey for divine judgment. The imagery anticipates the naming of a particular plotter in verse 11, showing that wicked counsel produces a snare for the wicked. The flow moves from general fate to specific agent, then back to God’s authoritative word of reversal for Judah in verses 12–13.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Jeremiah 51:57
And I will make drunk her princes and her wise men, her governors and her deputies, and her mighty men; and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the King, whose name is Jehovah of hosts.
- Malachi 4:1
For, behold, the day cometh, it burneth as a furnace; and all the proud, and all that work wickedness, shall be stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith Jehovah of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
- 1 Samuel 25:36
And Abigail came to Nabal; and, behold, he held a feast in his house, like the feast of a king; and Nabal’s heart was merry within him, for he was very drunken: wherefore she told him nothing, less or more, until the morning light.
- Nahum 3:11
Thou also shalt be drunken; thou shalt be hid; thou also shalt seek a stronghold because of the enemy.
- Isaiah 27:4
Wrath is not in me: would that the briers and thorns were against me in battle! I would march upon them, I would burn them together.
- Jeremiah 51:39
When they are heated, I will make their feast, and I will make them drunken, that they may rejoice, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith Jehovah.
Related questions readers ask
Keep reading
Want to dig deeper? Explore Nahum 1
Hand-picked devotionals, topical studies, and pastoral answers that draw on Nahum 1.
Topics that quote it
Topic
Bible Verses About God as Refuge
The Bible uses the powerful imagery of refuge to describe God as our ultimate protector and safe haven in times of trouble.
Topic
Bible Verses About the Goodness of God
God’s goodness is a foundational truth of faith, revealing His benevolent nature and faithful provision for all creation.
Topic
Bible Verses About the Wrath of God
God's wrath is a profound aspect of His holiness and justice, revealed against sin and rebellion throughout scripture.