Nahum 3:8
What does Nahum 3:8 mean?
A plain-English look at Nahum 3:8 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Nahum 3:8 means
Nineveh is challenged: “Are you better than No-amon?” No-amon (likely Thebes) seemed unassailable, encircled by rivers, its defenses bolstered by surrounding waters—natural moats that looked like impregnable walls. Yet it fell. The question strips Nineveh of false confidence. Geography, engineering, and previous success cannot secure a city when God has decreed its judgment. The comparison teaches humility: even the most strategically placed stronghold cannot stand if it is morally rotted and divinely opposed. Nineveh is being asked to learn from history, to see that her supposed superiority is an illusion in the face of the Lord’s sovereign governance of nations.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000Art thou better than No-amon, that was situate among the rivers, that had the waters round about her; whose rampart was the sea, and her wall was of the sea?
KJV
King James Version · 1611Art thou better than populous No, that was situate among the rivers, that had the waters round about it, whose rampart was the sea, and her wall was from the sea?
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901Art thou better than No-amon, that was situate among the rivers, that had the waters round about her; whose rampart was the sea, and her wall was of the sea?
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949Are you better than No-amon, seated on the Nile streams, with waters all round her; whose wall was the sea and her earthwork the waters?
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862Art thou better than No-Ammon, That is dwelling among brooks? Waters she hath round about her, Whose bulwark <FI>is<Fi> the sea, waters her wall.
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752Art thou better than the populous Alexandria, that dwelleth among the rivers? waters are round about it: the sea is its riches: the waters are its walls.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890Art thou better than No-Amon, that was situate among the rivers, [that had] the waters round about her, whose rampart was the sea, [and] of the sea was her wall?
Context
After the rejection of Nineveh in verse 7, verses 8–10 offer precedent. Verse 8 introduces No-amon as a case study in overconfidence undone. Verse 9 will detail its powerful allies, and verse 10 will recount its grim end. This historical analogy prepares the reader for verse 11’s application to Nineveh. The flow shows that God’s judgments are consistent and instructive, inviting present hearers to consider the fate of past powers and draw sober conclusions.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Ezekiel 31:2
Son of man, say unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, and to his multitude: Whom art thou like in thy greatness?
- Jeremiah 46:25
Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, saith: Behold, I will punish Amon of No, and Pharaoh, and Egypt, with her gods, and her kings; even Pharaoh, and them that trust in him:
- Ezekiel 30:14
And I will make Pathros desolate, and will set a fire in Zoan, and will execute judgments upon No.
- Isaiah 19:5
And the waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be wasted and become dry.
- Amos 6:2
Pass ye unto Calneh, and see; and from thence go ye to Hamath the great; then go down to Gath of the Philistines: are they better than these kingdoms? or is their border greater than your border?
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