Nahum 3 · Verse 18

Nahum 3:18

Thy shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria: thy nobles shall dwell in the dust: thy people is scattered upon the mountains, and no man gathereth them.
Nahum 3:18, King James Version

Nahum 3:18 in other translations

BSBO king of Assyria, your shepherds slumber; your officers sleep. Your people are scattered on the mountains with no one to gather them.
WEBYour shepherds slumber, king of Assyria. Your nobles lie down. Your people are scattered on the mountains, and there is no one to gather them.
ASVThy shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria; thy nobles are at rest; thy people are scattered upon the mountains, and there is none to gather them.
YLTSlumbered have thy friends, king of Asshur, Rest do thine honourable ones, Scattered have been thy people on the mountains, And there is none gathering.
DARBYThy shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria; thy nobles lie still; thy people are scattered upon the mountains, and no man gathereth them.
BBESorrow! how are the keepers of your flock sleeping, O king of Assyria! your strong men are at rest; your people are wandering on the mountains, and there is no one to get them together.
WebsterThy shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria: thy nobles shall dwell in the dust: thy people are scattered upon the mountains, and no man gathereth them.

What does Nahum 3:18 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
18. Thy shepherds--that is, Thy leaders. slumber--are carelessly secure [Maurer]. Rather, "lie in death's sleep, having been slain" [Jerome] (Ex 15:16; Psa 76:6). shall dwell in the dust--(Psa 7:5; 94:17). thy people is scattered--the necessary consequence of their leaders being laid low (1Ki 22:17).

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 18 Thy shepherds slumber - That is, the rulers and tributary princes, who, as Herodotus informs us, deserted Nineveh in the day of her distress, and came not forward to her succor. Diodorus Siculus says, lib. ii., when the enemy shut up the king in the city, many nations revolted, each going over to the besiegers, for the sake of their liberty; that the king despatched messengers to all his subjects, requiring power from them to succor him; and that he thought himself able to endure the siege, and remained in expectation of armies which were to be raised throughout his empire, relying on the oracle that the city would not be taken till the river became its enemy. See the note on Nah 2:6.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Nahum 3:8-19

Strong-holds, even the strongest, are no defence against the judgments of God. They shall be unable to do any thing for themselves. The Chaldeans and Medes would devour the land like canker-worms. The Assyrians also would be eaten up by their own numerous hired troops, which seem to be meant by the word rendered "merchants." Those that have done evil to their neighbours, will find it come home to them. Nineveh, and…

Read the full comment on Nahum 3:8-19 →

Nahum 3:18 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

נָמ֤וּna.Muthey are slumberingH5123
רֹעֶ֙יךָ֙ro.'Ei.khashepherds yourH7462
מֶ֣לֶךְMe.lekhO king ofH4428
אַשּׁ֔וּר'a.ShurAssyriaH804
יִשְׁכְּנ֖וּyish.ke.Nuthey settle downH7931
אַדִּירֶ֑יךָ'a.di.Rei.khanobles yourH117
נָפֹ֧שׁוּna.Fo.shuthey are scatteredH6335
עַמְּךָ֛'a.me.Khapeople yourH5971
עַל\־'al-onH5921
הֶהָרִ֖יםhe.ha.Rimthe mountainsH2022
וְאֵ֥יןve.'Einand there notH369
מְקַבֵּֽץ\׃me.ka.Betz[is one who] gathers [them]H6908

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Nahum 3:18

  • 1 Kings 22:17

    And he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, as sheep that have not a shepherd: and the Lord said, These have no master: let them return every man to his house in peace.

  • Psalms 76:5-6

    The stouthearted are spoiled, they have slept their sleep: and none of the men of might have found their hands. At thy rebuke, O God of Jacob, both the chariot and horse are cast into a dead sleep.

  • Jeremiah 50:18

    Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will punish the king of Babylon and his land, as I have punished the king of Assyria.

  • Jeremiah 51:57

    And I will make drunk her princes, and her wise men, her captains, and her rulers, and her mighty men: and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts.

  • Isaiah 13:14

    And it shall be as the chased roe, and as a sheep that no man taketh up: they shall every man turn to his own people, and flee every one into his own land.

  • Isaiah 47:1

    Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground: there is no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate.

  • Ezekiel 31:3-18

    Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon with fair branches, and with a shadowing shroud, and of an high stature; and his top was among the thick boughs. The waters made him great, the deep set him up on high with her rivers running round about his plants, and sent out her little rivers unto all the trees of the field. Therefore his height was exalted above all the trees of the field, and his boughs were multiplied, and his branches became long because of the multitude of waters, when he shot forth. All the fowls of heaven made their nests in his boughs, and under his branches did all the beasts of the field bring forth their young, and under his shadow dwelt all great nations. …

  • Revelation 6:15

    And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;

  • Ezekiel 32:22-23

    Asshur is there and all her company: his graves are about him: all of them slain, fallen by the sword: Whose graves are set in the sides of the pit, and her company is round about her grave: all of them slain, fallen by the sword, which caused terror in the land of the living.

  • Exodus 15:16

    Fear and dread shall fall upon them; by the greatness of thine arm they shall be as still as a stone; till thy people pass over, O Lord, till the people pass over, which thou hast purchased.

  • Jeremiah 51:39

    In their heat I will make their feasts, and I will make them drunken, that they may rejoice, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the Lord.

  • Isaiah 56:9-10

    All ye beasts of the field, come to devour, yea, all ye beasts in the forest. His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Thy shepherds.That is, the rulers and tributary princes, who, as Herodotus informs us, deserted Nineveh in the day of her distress, and came not to her succour. Diodorus also says, that when the enemy shut up the king in the city, many nations revolted; each going over to the besiegers for the sake of their liberty; that the king despatched messengers to all his subjects, requiring power from them to succour him, and that he thought himself able to endure the siege, and remained in expectation of armies which were to be raised throughout his empire, relying on the oracle, that the city would not be taken till the river became its enemy.
2:6; Ex 15:16; Ps 76:5,6; Isa 56:9,10; Jer 51:39,57
O King.
Jer 50:18; Eze 31:3-18; 32:22,23
nobles. or, valiant ones.
Isa 47:1; Re 6:15
thy people.
1Ki 22:17; Isa 13:14

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Nahum 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.

  • Nahum 3:18

    Thy shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria: thy nobles shall dwell in the dust: thy people is scattered upon the mountains, and no man gathereth them.

  • Nahum 3:19

    There is no healing of thy bruise; thy wound is grievous: all that hear the bruit of thee shall clap the hands over thee: for upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually?

Read all of Nahum 3

Nahum 3:18 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Durmieron tus pastores, oh rey de Asiria, reposaron tus valientes: tu pueblo se derramó por los montes, y no hay quien lo junte.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Tes pasteurs dorment, roi d’Assyrie! tes vaillants hommes sont couchés là, ton peuple est dispersé sur les montagnes, et personne ne les rassemble.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Deine Hirten schlafen, König von Assyrien, deine Edlen liegen da; dein Volk ist auf den Bergen zerstreut, und niemand sammelt es.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Dormitaverunt pastores tui, rex Assur, sepelientur principes tui: latitavit populus tuus in montibus, et non est qui congreget.