Nahum 2:10

Nah 2:10 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.

Ver. 10. She is empty, and void, and waste] An elegant alliteration in the original, beyond translating, בוקה εραεχδ εταμχδ. whereby the utter destruction and consternation of the city and monarchy is graphically depainted, and set forth to the life. See a like elegance Jer 16:15. The last word, rendered waste, signifieth burnt up, or void of all verdure; a place where nothing green groweth. Such a horrible devastation followeth upon God’s word of command to the Chaldees, Nah 2:9, like as when Christ cursed the barren fig tree it withered away immediately, Mat 21:20, though it be the most succulent of any tree, and beareth the brunt of winter blasts unwithered. God’s words, however slighted, are not wind, but fire, Jer 5:13-14.

And the heart melteth] The heart ( in quo fortitude stabulum habet, the seat of courage) fell asunder in their bosoms like drops of water; they were cowed out. See Jos 2:11; Jos 5:1; Jos 7:5 Isa 13:7 Eze 21:12.

And the knees smite together] Genus labant, as is usual in extreme fear; the blood retreating to the heart, to relieve it. See Dan 5:6 Job 4:4 Isa 35:3.

And much pain is in all loins] Such pain as befalleth women in travail, Isa 21:3; Isa 13:8 Joe 2:6 Mic 4:9-10; the doubled form of the Hebrew word implieth the extremity of it. The loins are the seat of strength; whence the Latins call weak men ( Elumbes) loinless men.

And the faces of them all gather blackness] Heb. A pot, i.e. such blackness as is on the sides of a pot ( Olla, lebas, cacabus). See Joe 2:6. Joy and sorrow will show themselves in the face as in a glass. Now if for a temporal mischief there is so great a consternation in wicked men, what shall we think there is in hell?

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2:10 plundered, empty, and ruined: The Hebrew here is alliterated for effect: buqah umbuqah umbullaqah. The effect might be translated into English as “devastated, despoiled, and destroyed.”

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

That is, Nineveh, and the men thereof shall be after this sort.

Read Joel 2:6.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Literally, "emptiness, and emptiedness, and devastation." The accumulation of substantives without a verb (as in Nah 3:2), the two first of the three being derivatives of the same root, and like in sound, and the number of syllables in them increasing in a kind of climax, intensify the gloomy effectiveness of the expression. Hebrew, Bukah, Mebukah, Mebullakah (compare Isa 24:1, Isa 24:3-4; Zep 1:15).

faces of all gather blackness--(See on Joe 2:6). CALVIN translates, "withdraw (literally, 'gather up') their glow," or flush, that is grow pale. This is probably the better rendering. So MAURER.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 10. She is empty, and void, and waste] The original is strongly emphatic; the words are of the same sound; and increase in their length as they point out great, greater, and greatest desolation.

בוקה ומבוקה ומבלקה

Bukah, umebukah, umebullakah.

She is void, empty, and desolate.

The faces of them all gather blackness.] This marks the diseased state into which the people had been brought by reason of famine, c. for, as Mr. Ward justly remarks, "sickness makes a great change in the countenance of the Hindoos; so that a person who was rather fair when in health, becomes nearly black by sickness." This was a general case with the Asiatics.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

The Prophet here confirms what the last verse contains; for he shows why he had called the Chaldeans to take away the spoil, — because it was to be so. He did not indeed (as I have already said) command the Chaldeans in such a way as that their obedience to God was praiseworthy: but the Prophet speaks here only of His secret counsel. Though then the Chaldeans knew not that it was God’s decree, yet the Prophet reminds the faithful that the Ninevites, when made naked, suffered punishment for their cruelty, especially for having so hostilely conducted themselves towards the Jews: and hence he declares, that Nineveh is emptied, is emptied, and made naked. By repeating the same word, he intimates the certainty of the event: Emptied, emptied, he says, as when one says in our language, videe et revidee We hence see that by this repetition what the Prophet meant is more distinctly expressed that the faithful might not doubt respecting the event: and then for the same purpose he adds, she is made naked.

We now then perceive the Prophet’s design. As in the last verse he shows that he had power given him from above to send armies against Nineveh, and to give up the city to them to be spoiled and plundered; so he now shows that he had not so commanded the Chaldeans, as though they were the legitimate servants of God, and could pretend that they rendered service to Him. He therefore points out for what end he had commanded the Chaldeans to plunder Nineveh; and that was, because God had so decreed; and he had so decreed and commanded, because he would not bear the many wrongs done to his people whom he had taken under his protection. As then Nineveh had so cruelly treated God’s chosen people, it was necessary that the reward she deserved should be repaid to her. But the repetition, which I have noticed, ought to be especially observed; for it teaches us that God’s power is connected with his word, so that he declares nothing inconsiderately or in vain.

He then adds, that knees smite together; and every heart is dissolved, or melted, and also, that all loins tremble We hence learn, that there is in men no courage, except as far as God supplies them with vigor. As soon then as He withdraws his Spirit, those who were before the most valiant become faint-hearted, and those who breathed great ferocity are made soft and effeminate: for by the word heart is meant inward boldness or courage; and by the knees and loins the strength of body is to be understood. There is indeed no doubt but the Assyrians, while they ruled, were a very courageous people, as power ever generates boldness; and it is also probable that they were a warlike people, since all their neighbors had been brought under their power. But the Prophet now shows, that there would be no vigor in their hearts, and no strength in their loins, or in any part of their body. The heart, then, he says, is melted And hence we learn how foolishly men boast of their courage, while they seem to be like lions; for God can in a moment so melt their hearts, that they entirely lose all firmness. Then as to external vigor, we see that it is in God’s hand; there will be, he says, a confriction, or the knees will knock one against another, as they do when they tremble. And he says afterwards, And trembling shall be in all loins He at last adds, And the faces of all shall gather blackness The word פארור, parur, some derive from פאר, par; and so the rendering would be, “all faces shall draw in or withdraw their beauty,” and so also they explain Joel 2:6, for the sentence there is the same. But they who disapprove of this meaning say, that קבף, kobets, cannot mean to draw in or to withdraw; and so they render the noun, blackness. But this is a strained explanation. פארור, parur, [they say,] does not mean a black color but a pot: when therefore a caldron or a kettle contracts blackness from smoke, it is then called פארור, parur: but in this place these interpreters are constrained to take it metaphorically for that color; which is, as I have said, strained and far-fetched. I am therefore inclined to adopt their opinion who render the sentence, all faces shall withdraw their beauty, or their brightness: but as to the import of the passage, there is little or no difference; let then every one have his free choice. With regard to the Prophet’s design, he evidently means, that the faces of all would be sad, for the Lord would fill their minds and thoughts with dread. The withdrawing then of beauty signifies an outward appearance of sorrow, or paleness, or whatever may appear in the countenance of men, when dejected with grief. In short, the Prophet means, that how much soever the Assyrians might have hitherto raised on high their crests, and breathed great swelling words, and conducted themselves insolently, they would now be dejected; for the Lord would prostrate their courage and melt their strength: he would, by casting down their high spirits, constrain them to undergo shame. This is the import of the whole. It now follows —

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(10) And the faces of them all gather blackness.—Better, perhaps, and all faces withdraw their brightness. (See Note on Joe_2:6, where the same expression occurs.)

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

10. In a series of exclamations the prophet depicts the desolation of the city and the paralysis and helplessness of those remaining in it; Isa_13:7; Isa_21:3; Jos_7:5. The paronomasia in the first words, emptiness and voidness and waste! cannot be reproduced. Isa_24:1; Isa_29:2; Eze_33:29; Zep_1:15.

faces … gather blackness] are waxed pale, lit. have withdrawn their colour; Joe_2:6. Comp. the phrase of Jer_30:6, are turned to greenness (blanched).

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

She is empty, and void, and waste,.... The city of Nineveh, empty of inhabitants, being killed, or having fled; and stripped of all its treasures and riches by the enemies; its walls and houses demolished and pulled down, and laid in ruins, and become a heap of rubbish; See Gill on Nah 1:8. Various words are here used to ascertain and confirm the thing; and there is an elegant play on words or likeness of sounds, which our language will not express:

and the heart melteth; the heart of every inhabitant of Nineveh melted with fear at the approach of their enemies, their entrance into the city, and plunder of it; flowed like water, or melted like wax; see Psa 22:14,

and the knees smite together; like people in a fright, and when a panic has seized them; and as it was with Belshazzar, Dan 5:6,

and much pain is in all loins; like that of women in travail; or of persons in a sudden fright, which gives them a pain in their backs at once:

and the faces of them all gather blackness; like a pot, as the Targum adds; being in great distress and disconsolation, which make men appear in a dismal hue, and their countenances look very dark and gloomy; see Joe 2:6.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

She is empty and void and waste - The completeness of her judgment is declared first under that solemn number, Three, and the three words in Hebrew are nearly the same , with the same meaning, only each word fuller than the former, as picturing a growing desolation; and then under four heads (in all seven) also a growing fear. First the heart, the seat of courage and resolve and high purpose, melteth; then the knees smite together, tremble, shake, under the frame; then, much pain is in all loins, literally, “strong pains as of a woman in travail,” writhing and doubling the whole body, and making it wholly powerless and unable to stand upright, shall bow the very loins, the seat of strength Pro 31:17, and, lastly, the faces of them all gather blackness (see the note at Joe 2:6), the fruit of extreme pain, and the token of approaching dissolution.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Kettle. In mourning they blacken their face. (Tav. Perse.)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

She, Nineveh, taken, and under the proud insultings of the barbarous soldiers,

is empty though once full of all store, yet now she is empty enough, many hands have been employed to spoil her, and void, citizens are either slipped away, or carried captives, and waste, desolate, and shall continue so. Here is a threefold expression, to ascertain the thing, and to intimate the greatness of Nineveh’s desolation.

The heart melteth; this devastation hath broken the hearts of the Ninevites.

The knees smite together; not able to go steadily, ready to fall through weakness and faintness of spirits.

Much pain, acute pains and griefs, caused by their troubles, losses, dangers, and frights,

is in all loins; which, in those that are well, are their strength, and which, to diseased and broken bodies, are the seat of pains and griefs.

The faces, which were wont to be haughty and scornful, and as it were sparkle with briskness of spirit,

all gather blackness; now are clouded, sorrowful, and dejected, every one may see their desperate state in this symptom.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

She is empty, and void, and waste. Bukahum" bukah, umbulakah. The three words are of very similar meaning and sound, and express most forcibly the utter ruin of the city. A Latin commentator has endeavoured to imitate the Hebrew paronomasia by rendering them, "vacuitas, evacuatio, evanidatio a translation more ingenious than classical. The paronomasia is better rendered by "vastitas, vastitia, vacuitas," and the German, "leer und ausgeleert und verheert." "Sack and sacking and ransacking" (Gandell). An analogous combination of words is found in Isa_24:3, 4 29:2, 3 Eze_33:29 Zep_1:15. Septuagint, ektinagmov, kai anatinagmo ekbrasmov , "thrusting forth and spurning and tumult." The heart melteth. A common expression for fear and despondency. (Jos_7:5 Isa_13:7 Eze_21:7) The knees smite together. (Dan_5:6) So in Homer continually, luto gounata . Much pain is in all loins. The anguish as of childbirth. Septuagint, wdinev , "labour pains," in contrast with the injunction in ver. 1. (comp. Isa_13:8 Isa_21:3 Jer_30:6) Gather blackness ; (Joe_2:6) or, Withdraw their colour; i.e. wax pale. But the Hebrew rather implies that the faces assume a livid hue, like that of coming death. Hence the LXX renders, wv proskauma cutrav , as the burning of an earthen vessel, which is blackened by the fire; and Jerome, sicut nigredo ollae. (comp. Jer_30:6)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Plunder silver! Plunder gold!—You who come upon Nineveh.

And there is no end—There is no count.

to the treasures Heb. לְתְּכוּנָה, to their treasures. [It is called תְּכוּנָה] because the silver and gold placed in the treasury is placed there with a count, as you say (II Kings 12:12): “The counted (הַמְתֻכּן) money.” [following Jonathan]

to sweep out [Nineveh] of all precious vessels Heb. כָּבֹד, an expression of sweeping, as in (below, 3:15) “You shall be swept out (הִתְכַּבְדִי) like the nibbling locust,” an expression of sweeping the house; escovant, to sweep them out of all their precious vessels. And so did Jonathan render it: All precious vessels have ended. כָּבֹד is like זָכוֹר, to remember, and שָמוֹר, to observe.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.