Nahum 3:1
What does Nahum 3:1 mean?
A plain-English look at Nahum 3:1 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Nahum 3:1 means
Nahum begins with a solemn “woe” against Nineveh, naming the city for what it truly is: a place drenched in bloodshed, built on deception, and enriched by plunder. The phrase “the prey departeth not” shows a society continually feeding on victims, never releasing those it has seized. This exposes not merely isolated crimes but a settled way of life—violence institutionalized, lies normalized, and greed rewarded. By pronouncing woe, God declares that such a moral order cannot stand. The indictment comforts the oppressed and warns the oppressor: the God who sees truthfully will also act justly. Nineveh’s prosperity is stained with guilt, and that guilt is now summoned to judgment.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000Woe to the bloody city! it is all full of lies and rapine; the prey departeth not.
KJV
King James Version · 1611Woe to the bloody city! it is all full of lies and robbery; the prey departeth not;
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901Woe to the bloody city! it is all full of lies and rapine; the prey departeth not.
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949A curse is on the town of blood; it is full of deceit and violent acts; and there is no end to the taking of life.
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862Woe <FI>to<Fi> the city of blood, She is all with lies--burglary--full, Prey doth not depart.
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752Woe to thee, O city of blood, all full of lies and violence: rapine shall not depart from thee.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890Woe to the bloody city! It is all full of lies [and] violence; the prey departeth not.
Context
Verse 1 opens the chapter with a prophetic charge against Nineveh, summarizing her character and sins. This sets the moral ground for the judgment that follows. The next verses (2–3) will paint the sound and sight of the invading forces and the resulting carnage. Then (verse 4) the prophet will name the deeper cause—spiritual whoredom and sorcery. Reading verse 1 as the thesis of the chapter helps us see that what follows is not random disaster but righteous recompense for entrenched cruelty and deceit.
v.1This passage
v.2The noise of the whip, and the noise of the rattling of wheels, and prancing horses, and bounding chariots,
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Isaiah 17:14
At eventide, behold, terror; and before the morning they are not. This is the portion of them that despoil us, and the lot of them that rob us.
- Ezekiel 22:2
And thou, son of man, wilt thou judge, wilt thou judge the bloody city? then cause her to know all her abominations.
- Nahum 2:12
The lion did tear in pieces enough for his whelps, and strangled for his lionesses, and filled his caves with prey, and his dens with ravin.
- Habakkuk 2:12
Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and establisheth a city by iniquity!
- Ezekiel 24:6
Wherefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Woe to the bloody city, to the caldron whose rust is therein, and whose rust is not gone out of it! take out of it piece after piece; No lot is fallen upon it.
- Isaiah 24:9
They shall not drink wine with a song; strong drink shall be bitter to them that drink it.
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