Nahum 3:6
What does Nahum 3:6 mean?
A plain-English look at Nahum 3:6 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Nahum 3:6 means
The humiliation deepens: God will hurl abominable filth on Nineveh, making her contemptible and turning her into a spectacle. Once admired and feared, she will now be the object of disgust and ridicule. The imagery signifies moral and ceremonial defilement—what was outwardly grand is shown inwardly vile. To be set as a “gazing-stock” is to become a cautionary exhibit: this is what pride and cruelty earn. The reversal is complete: the city that flaunted its glory will bear shame; the power that silenced others will be mocked in silence. God’s judgment unmasks the empire and teaches watching nations by a living, public parable.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000And I will cast abominable filth upon thee, and make thee vile, and will set thee as a gazing-stock.
KJV
King James Version · 1611And I will cast abominable filth upon thee, and make thee vile, and will set thee as a gazingstock.
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901And I will cast abominable filth upon thee, and make thee vile, and will set thee as a gazing-stock.
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949I will make you completely disgusting and full of shame, and will put you up to be looked at by all.
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862And I have cast upon thee abominations, And dishonoured thee, and made thee as a sight.
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752And I will cast abominations upon thee, and will disgrace thee, and will make an example of thee.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890And I will cast abominable filth upon thee, and make thee vile, and will set thee as a gazing stock.
Context
Verse 6 builds on verse 5’s announcement of exposure, adding the imagery of pollution and spectacle. It prepares for verse 7, where bystanders will not rush to help but will recoil and distance themselves. This progression shows that Nineveh’s fall will not only be military defeat but also reputational collapse. Understanding this helps the reader see that God’s justice reaches the visible and the symbolic—touching both the city’s strength and its standing among the nations.
v.5Behold, I am against thee, saith Jehovah of hosts, and I will uncover thy skirts upon thy face; and I will show the nations thy nakedness, and the kingdoms thy shame.
v.6This passage
v.7And it shall come to pass, that all they that look upon thee shall flee from thee, and say, Nineveh is laid waste: who will bemoan her? whence shall I seek comforters for thee?
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Jeremiah 51:37
And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwelling-place for jackals, an astonishment, and a hissing, without inhabitant.
- Job 30:19
He hath cast me into the mire, And I am become like dust and ashes.
- Psalms 38:5
My wounds are loathsome and corrupt, Because of my foolishness.
- Isaiah 14:16
They that see thee shall gaze at thee, they shall consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;
- Jude 1:7
Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them, having in like manner with these given themselves over to fornication and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the punishment of eternal fire.
- Hebrews 10:33
partly, being made a gazingstock both by reproaches and afflictions; and partly, becoming partakers with them that were so used.
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