--- title: "Nahum 2 - Study King James Bible with preachers complete homiletical commentary" description: "Read Nahum 2 with preachers complete homiletical commentary commentary. 1 He that dasheth in pieces is come up before thy face: keep the munition, watch the way, make thy loins strong, fortify thy power mightily. 2 For the LOR" image: "/_app/immutable/assets/missing.C7wGMEZ6.jpg" url: "https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/preachers-complete-homiletical-commentary/nahum/2" --- [ Read](/kjv/nahum/2)[ Commentary](/study/nahum/2)[ Interlinear](/interlinear/nahum/2) Audio 1 He that dasheth in pieces is come up before thy face: keep the munition, watch the way, make *thy* loins strong, fortify *thy* power mightily.* 2 For the LORD hath turned away the excellency of Jacob, as the excellency of Israel: for the emptiers have emptied them out, and marred their vine branches.* 3 The shield of his mighty men is made red, the valiant men *are* in scarlet: the chariots *shall be* with flaming torches in the day of his preparation, and the fir trees shall be terribly shaken.** 4 The chariots shall rage in the streets, they shall justle one against another in the broad ways: they shall seem like torches, they shall run like the lightnings.* 5 He shall recount his worthies: they shall stumble in their walk; they shall make haste to the wall thereof, and the defence shall be prepared.** 6 The gates of the rivers shall be opened, and the palace shall be dissolved.* 7 And Huzzab shall be led away captive, she shall be brought up, and her maids shall lead *her* as with the voice of doves, tabering upon their breasts.** 8 But Nineveh *is* of old like a pool of water: yet they shall flee away. Stand, stand, *shall they cry;* but none shall look back.** 9 Take ye the spoil of silver, take the spoil of gold: for *there is* none end of the store *and* glory out of all the pleasant furniture.** 10 She is empty, and void, and waste: and the heart melteth, and the knees smite together, and much pain *is* in all loins, and the faces of them all gather blackness. 11 Where *is* the dwelling of the lions, and the feedingplace of the young lions, where the lion, *even* the old lion, walked, *and* the lion’s whelp, and none made *them* afraid? 12 The lion did tear in pieces enough for his whelps, and strangled for his lionesses, and filled his holes with prey, and his dens with ravin. 13 Behold, I *am* against thee, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will burn her chariots in the smoke, and the sword shall devour thy young lions: and I will cut off thy prey from the earth, and the voice of thy messengers shall no more be heard. [Nahum 1](/study/nahum/1) [Nahum 3](/study/nahum/3) ## Commentary To verse 1 **CRITICAL NOTES**. **Dasheth]** Lit. disperser. **Keep]** in Judah peace, in Nineveh tumult. **Watch]** for the enemy. **Loins]** Prepare for conflict ([Job 40:7](/kjv/job/40/7)). Every means of defence will be necessary. *HOMILETICS* THE CAUSE AND PREPARATIONS OF WAR.—*[Nahum 2:1](/kjv/nahum/2/1)* Whether these words be applied to the Jews defending Jerusalem, or to the Ninevites defending their city against the Medo-Babylonian army, their meaning is the same. They begin a lively description of the siege. **I. The cause of the war.** “For the emptiers have emptied them out.” 1. *The Assyrians had oppressed God’s people*. They had abused their power in the chastisement of Israel, plundered the people, and outrageously destroyed their vines. Now the emptiers must be emptied, and those who chastised others must be chastised themselves. “Power abused brings a curse upon its possessors. Power gives temptation, which in turn sets aside honour, social duty, law, and right; creates abuse; and abuse, strife, confusion, retribution, bloodshed, sin” [*Bailey*]. 2. *God’s purpose concerning his people was accomplished*. The enemy falls, but God will restore his people. He will re-establish the glory of Israel which Asshur had destroyed. Its eminence, by virtue of its election, will no longer be tarnished. God sees an excellency in his people which the world does not, and eventually will make them “an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations.” **II. The approach of the enemy**. “He that dasheth in pieces is come up.” Notice, 1. *The nature of the enemy*. “The dasher in pieces,” not a hammer of war, but one whom God employed to scatter other nations. The feeblest people, in God’s hands, may be a terror to others The mightiest nations, intoxicated with success, and abusive of their privileges, may be broken in pieces like a potter’s vessel. 2. *The nearness of the enemy*. “Before thy face.” Direct against her, face to face. Men are not sensible of their danger, put the evil day far off, when it is nigh at hand. “Serious things to-morrow,” said the ancient prince, who gave himself to revelry, and was ruined with his kingdom. **III. The defence of the city**. Some take the words ironically, and equivalent to a prediction. Thou shalt defend thyself, but all in vain. The most powerful and courageous preparations are matters of derision before God. 1. *Keep the fortress*. “Keep the munition.” Strong walls, though unassailable by human skill, would not be secure. 2. *Guard the avenues*. “Watch the way” by which the foe may come and repel him. Prevent entrance into the city. 3. *Encourage one another*. “Make thy loins strong.” Gather up courage, and let nothing be unemployed. Stand, having your loins girt about like men ([Ephesians 6:14](/kjv/ephesians/6/14); [Job 40:7](/kjv/job/40/7)). 4. *Resist mightily*. “Fortify thy power mightily.” It is a desperate affair, no careless, timid defence will avail. Nor will the utmost the wicked can do prevail against God. Impotent are all efforts of defence when God has departed from a place. “The Lord hath opened his armoury, and hath brought forth the weapons of his indignation: for this is the work of the Lord God of hosts in the land of the Chaldeans.” ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 2 [Nahum 2:1-2](/kjv/nahum/2/1-2). *Dasher in pieces*. Demetrius was surnamed Poliorcestes, the destroyer of cities; Attilas called himself Orbis flagellum, the scourge of the world. Julius Cæsar was Fulmen belli, the thunderbolt of war; he had taken in his time a thousand towns, conquered three hundred nations, took prisoners one million of men, and slain as many. These were dissipatores indeed, and dashers in pieces, rods of God’s wrath; and this they took to be a main piece of their glory [*Trapp*]. [Nahum 2:3-4](/kjv/nahum/2/3-4). *Chariots* were objects of great interest. “Their charioteers had an air of perfect fearlessness; they dashed along as if caring for nothing, but resolved upon crushing everything. These declarations are perfectly accurate, and cannot be more evident than the sculptures and bas-reliefs of Nineveh have shown them to be. Their chariots are represented, covered with costly decorations and Sabean symbols; and their horses are exhibited in almost every variety of attitude—rearing, running and rushing—exactly as we should have supposed them to be, after reading that which is said of them in the prophecies.” *The siege* was no easy task. History declares that the king, at the approach of the enemy, collected all his active forces—that the besieging army was three times severely defeated, and that the Medes could only be held with great difficulty to the work. The Assyrians abandoned themselves to negligent rejoicing in the camps before the gates on account of victory, but were attacked in the night and driven back to the walls. Salæmenes, brother-in-law to the king, who had resigned the command to him, was driven into the Tigris (cf. ch. [Nahum 3:3](/kjv/nahum/3/3)); but the city was still uninjured, and the enemy encamped in vain before the gates. In the spring of the third year other powers interfered. The river became “an enemy to the city” (cf. [Nahum 2:7](/kjv/nahum/2/7); [Nahum 1:8-10](/kjv/nahum/1/8-10)). The inundation occurred suddenly, and violently broke down in one night the walls on the river. The king despaired of his life, and having sent his family to the north, shut himself up with all his treasures, and burned himself in the royal citadel. Immense booty was carried away. The city was plundered, sacked, and set on fire [*Lange*, Introduction to Nahum]. ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#website","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com","name":"Real Bible Believers","description":"RBB","publisher":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/search?q={search_term_string}","query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/preachers-complete-homiletical-commentary/nahum/2#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/_app/immutable/assets/missing.C7wGMEZ6.jpg","contentUrl":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/_app/immutable/assets/missing.C7wGMEZ6.jpg","width":672,"height":448,"caption":"Real Bible Believers"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/preachers-complete-homiletical-commentary/nahum/2#webpage","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/preachers-complete-homiletical-commentary/nahum/2","name":"Nahum 2 - Study King James Bible with preachers complete homiletical commentary","isPartOf":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/preachers-complete-homiletical-commentary/nahum/2#primaryimage"},"author":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509"},"description":"Read Nahum 2 with preachers complete homiletical commentary commentary. 1 He that dasheth in pieces is come up before thy face: keep the munition, watch the way, make thy loins strong, fortify thy power mightily. 2 For the LOR","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/preachers-complete-homiletical-commentary/nahum/2#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/preachers-complete-homiletical-commentary/nahum/2"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/preachers-complete-homiletical-commentary/nahum/2#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/","name":"Home"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study","name":"Study Bible"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/preachers-complete-homiletical-commentary","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/preachers-complete-homiletical-commentary","name":"preachers complete homiletical commentary"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/preachers-complete-homiletical-commentary/nahum","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/preachers-complete-homiletical-commentary/nahum","name":"Nahum"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":5,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/preachers-complete-homiletical-commentary/nahum/2","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/preachers-complete-homiletical-commentary/nahum/2","name":"2"}}]},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#personlogo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/android-chrome-512x512.png","contentUrl":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/android-chrome-512x512.png","width":512,"height":512},"logo":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#personlogo"},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/RBiblebeliever","https://www.facebook.com/RBibleBelievers"]}]} ```