Nahum 3:16

3:15 There shall the fire devour thee; the sword shall cut thee off, it shall eat thee up like the cankerworm: make thyself many as the cankerworm, make thyself many as the locusts.

Thou hast multiplied thy merchants above the stars of heaven: the cankerworm spoileth, and flieth away. spoileth: or, spreadeth himself

KJV

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You have increased your merchants more than the stars of the skies. The grasshopper strips, and flees away.

Thou hast multiplied thy merchants above the stars of heaven: the cankerworm spoileth, and flieth away.

You have multiplied your merchants above the stars of heaven: the cankerworm spoils, and flees away.

3:17 Thy crowned are as the locusts, and thy captains as the great grasshoppers, which camp in the hedges in the cold day, but when the sun ariseth they flee away, and their place is not known where they are.

What does Nahum 3:16 mean?

Nahum 3:16 is a verse in the book of Nahum, in the Old Testament. In the original Hebrew, key words include רָבָה (râbâh), רָכַל (râkal), כּוֹכָב (kôwkâb). It connects to 12 cross-referenced passages elsewhere in Scripture.

Hebrew interlinear

Thou

hast

multipliedרָבָהrâbâh/raw-baw'/H7235to increase (in whatever respect)

thy

merchantsרָכַלrâkal/raw-kal'/H7402to travel for trading

above

the

starsכּוֹכָבkôwkâb/ko-kawb'/H3556a star (as round or as shining); figuratively, a prince

heaven:שָׁמַיִםshâmayim/shaw-mah'-yim/H8064the sky (as aloft; the dual perhaps alluding to the visible arch in which the clouds move, as well as to the higher ether where the celestial bodies revolve)

the

cankerwormיֶלֶקyeleq/yeh'-lek/H3218a devourer; specifically, the young locust

spoileth,פָּשַׁטpâshaṭ/paw-shat'/H6584to spread out (i.e. deploy in hostile array); by analogy, to strip (i.e. unclothe, plunder, flay, etc.)

and

flieth

away.עוּףʻûwph/oof/H5774to fly; also (by implication of dimness) to faint (from the darkness of swooning)

spoileth:

or,

spreadeth

himself

Commentary on Nahum 3:16

HENRY_FULL · Nahum 3:16

are three separate messages which God entrusts the prophet to deliver concerning Judah and Jerusalem, and all to the same purport, to show them their sins and the judgments that were coming upon them for those sins. I. Here is a catalogue of their sins, by which they had exposed themselves to shame and for which God would bring them to ruin, ver. 1-16 . II. They are here compared to dross, and are condemned as dross to the fire, ver. 17-22 . III. All orders and degrees of men among them are here found guilty of the neglect of the duty of their place and of having contributed to the national guilt, which therefore, since none appeared as intercessors, they must all expect to share in the punishment of, ver. 23-31 . The Sins of Jerusalem. ( b. c. 591.)

Cross-references

Related passages from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

2 Kings 21:16

Moreover Manasseh shed innocent blood very much, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another; beside his sin wherewith he made Judah to sin, in doing that which was evil in the sight of the LORD. from: Heb. from mouth to mouth

2 Kings 24:3

Surely at the commandment of the LORD came this upon Judah, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he did;

2 Kings 24:4

And also for the innocent blood that he shed: for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; which the LORD would not pardon.

Isaiah 58:1

Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins. aloud: Heb. with the throat

Jeremiah 2:30

In vain have I smitten your children; they received no correction: your own sword hath devoured your prophets, like a destroying lion.

Jeremiah 2:34

Also in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the poor innocents: I have not found it by secret search, but upon all these. secret: Heb. digging

Hosea 4:2

By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood. blood: Heb. bloods

Nahum 3:1

Woe to the bloody city! it is all full of lies and robbery; the prey departeth not; bloody: Heb. city of bloods

Matthew 23:35

That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.

Matthew 27:25

Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.

Luke 11:50

That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation;

1 Timothy 5:20

Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear.

Topics

Merchant Nineveh

Verses like this

Other verses that share key original-language words with Nahum 3:16.

1 Chronicles 27:23

But David took not the number of them from twenty years old and under: because the LORD had said he would increase Israel like to the stars of the heavens.

Deuteronomy 1:10

The LORD your God hath multiplied you, and, behold, ye are this day as the stars of heaven for multitude.

Exodus 32:13

Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever.

Genesis 15:5

And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.

Genesis 22:17

That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; shore: Heb. lip

Genesis 26:4

And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;

Nehemiah 9:23

Their children also multipliedst thou as the stars of heaven, and broughtest them into the land, concerning which thou hadst promised to their fathers, that they should go in to possess it.

Frequently asked questions

What does Nahum 3:16 say?

Nahum 3:16 (King James Version) reads: "Thou hast multiplied thy merchants above the stars of heaven: the cankerworm spoileth, and flieth away. spoileth: or, spreadeth himself"

Is Nahum 3:16 in the Old or New Testament?

Nahum 3:16 is in the Old Testament of the Bible, in the book of Nahum.

Reflect

As you read Nahum 3:16, what is one truth here you can carry into today?

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