Nahum 3 · Verse 8

Nahum 3:8

Art 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?

Nahum 3:8, King James Version

Nahum 3:8 in other translations

BSB	Are you better than Thebes, stationed by the Nile with water around her, whose rampart was the sea, whose wall was the water?
WEB	Are you better than No-Amon, who was situated among the rivers, who had the waters around her, whose rampart was the sea, and her wall was of the sea?
ASV	Art 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?
YLT	Art thou better than No-Ammon, That is dwelling among brooks? Waters she hath round about her, Whose bulwark is the sea, waters her wall.
DARBY	Art 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?
BBE	Are 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?
Webster	Art thou better than populous No, that was situated among the rivers, that had the waters around it, whose rampart was the sea, and her wall was from the sea?

What does Nahum 3:8 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

8. populous No--rather, as Hebrew, "No-ammon," the Egyptian name for Thebes in Upper Egypt; meaning the portion or possession of Ammon, the Egyptian Jupiter (whence the Greeks called the city Diospolis), who was especially worshipped there. The Egyptian inscriptions call the god Amon-re, that is, Amon the Sun; he is represented as a human figure with a ram's head, seated on a chair (Jr 46:25; Eze 30:14-16). The blow inflicted on No-ammon, described in Na 3:10, was probably by the Assyrian Sargon (see on Is 18:1; Is 20:1). As Thebes, with all her resources, was overcome by Assyria, so Assyrian Nineveh, notwithstanding all her might, in her turn, shall be overcome by Babylon. English Version, "populous," if correct, implies that No's large population did not save her from destruction. situate among the rivers--probably the channels into which the Nile here divides (compare Is 19:6-8). Thebes lay on both sides of the river. It was famed in Homer's time for its hundred gates [Iliad, 9.381]. Its ruins still describe a circumference of twenty-seven miles. Of them the temples of Luxor and Karnak, east of the river, are most famous. The colonnade of the former, and the grand hall of the latter, are of stupendous dimensions. One wall still represents the expedition of Shishak against Jerusalem under Rehoboam (1Ki 14:25; 2Ch 12:2-9). whose ... wall was from the sea--that is, rose up "from the sea." Maurer translates, "whose wall consisted of the sea." But this would be a mere repetition of the former clause. The Nile is called a sea, from its appearance in the annual flood (Is 19:5).

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 8 Art thou better than populous No - No-Ammon, or Diospolis, in the Delta, on one branch of the Nile. This is supposed to be the city mentioned by Nahum; and which had been lately destroyed, probably by the Chaldeans. The waters round about it - Being situated in the Delta, it had the fork of two branches of the Nile to defend it by land; and its barrier or wall was the sea, the Mediterranean, into which these branches emptied themselves: so that this city, and the place it stood on, were wholly surrounded by the waters.

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 many other cities, states, and empires, have been ruined, and should be a warning to us. Are we better, except as there are some true Christians amongst us, who are a greater security, and a stronger defence, than all the advantages of situation or strength? When the Lord shows himself against a people, every thing they trust in must fail, or prove a disadvantage; but he continues good to Israel. He is a strong-hold for every believer in time of trouble, that cannot be stormed or taken; and he knoweth those that trust in Him.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

Nahum 3:8 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.

הֲתֵֽיטְבִי֙ha.tei.te.Vi¿ have you been made goodH3190

מִנֹּ֣אmi.No'more than NoH4996

אָמ֔וֹן'a.MonAmonH528

הַיֹּֽשְׁבָה֙hai.yo.she.Vahthat was dwellingH3427

בַּיְאֹרִ֔יםbay.'o.Rimamong the canalsH2975

מַ֖יִםMa.yimwaterH4325

סָבִ֣יבsa.Viv[was] all aroundH5439

לָ֑הּLah<to> it

אֲשֶׁר\־'a.Sher-whichH834

חֵ֣ילcheilrampartH2426

יָ֔םYam[was the] seaH3220

מִיָּ֖םmi.Yam[was] from seaH3220

חוֹמָתָֽהּ\׃cho.ma.Tahwall itsH2346

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

Cross references for Nahum 3:8

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: be they better than these kingdoms? or their border greater than your border?
Ezekiel 30:14-16
And I will make Pathros desolate, and will set fire in Zoan, and will execute judgments in No. And I will pour my fury upon Sin, the strength of Egypt; and I will cut off the multitude of No. And I will set fire in Egypt: Sin shall have great pain, and No shall be rent asunder, and Noph shall have distresses daily.
Ezekiel 31:2-3
Son of man, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, and to his multitude; Whom art thou like in thy greatness? 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.
Isaiah 19:5-10
And the waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be wasted and dried up. And they shall turn the rivers far away; and the brooks of defence shall be emptied and dried up: the reeds and flags shall wither. The paper reeds by the brooks, by the mouth of the brooks, and every thing sown by the brooks, shall wither, be driven away, and be no more. The fishers also shall mourn, and all they that cast angle into the brooks shall lament, and they that spread nets upon the waters shall languish. …
Jeremiah 46:25-26
The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saith; Behold, I will punish the multitude of No, and Pharaoh, and Egypt, with their gods, and their kings; even Pharaoh, and all them that trust in him: And I will deliver them into the hand of those that seek their lives, and into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of his servants: and afterward it shall be inhabited, as in the days of old, saith the Lord.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

thou.
Eze 31:2,3; Am 6:2
populous No. or, nourishing No. Heb. No-amon.
Jer 46:25,26; Eze 30:14-16
that had.
Isa 19:5-10

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

Context

Nahum 3:7
And 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?
Nahum 3:8
Art 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?
Nahum 3:9
Ethiopia and Egypt were her strength, and it was infinite; Put and Lubim were thy helpers.

Read all of Nahum 3

Nahum 3:8 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	¿Eres tú mejor que No-amón, que estaba asentada entre ríos, cercada de aguas, cuyo baluarte era la mar, y del mar su muralla?
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Es-tu meilleure que No-Amon, qui habitait sur les canaux, des eaux autour d’elle, – elle qui avait la mer pour rempart, la mer pour sa muraille?
German Elberfelder 1871	Bist du vorzüglicher als No-Ammon die an den Strömen wohnte, Wasser rings um sich her? Das Meer war ihr Bollwerk, aus Meer bestand ihre Mauer.
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Numquid melior es Alexandria populorum, quæ habitat in fluminibus? aquæ in circuitu ejus; cujus divitiæ, mare; aquæ, muri ejus.