The Hebrews place the beginning of the second chapter at the point where the prophet addresses his speech to Sanherib, saying: "That none of thy name's seed should remain. And so they beautifully connect the downfall of the king with the downfall and destruction of the city of Nineveh, which Nahum prophesies in this second chapter.
V. 2. the scatterer will come up against you.
The beginning of this chapter seems difficult to us, because the Hebrew idiosyncrasies cause us a lot of trouble, as in general the ratio grammatica causes us more complaints than the opinion of the prophet. But the prophet begins to describe the capture and destruction of the city of Nineveh and, as it were, to depict it and to present it to Judah. For just as the prophet, through the Spirit, paints in his heart the disturbance of the Ninevites, so he also presents it to the hearers. It
is therefore the opinion: You, king of Assyria, are now sitting in the city, fearful and extraordinarily timid. Whereas a short time before you were triumphant and almost alone, and extraordinarily defiant, you are now compelled to see the [enemy] army roaming to and fro before your eyes. And yet you dare not join hands with him and send out your army to hold off the enemy army, even though you see how the enemy army rages against yours after its own accord. Now you are besieged and disturbed, yet you do not dare to protest; sadly you hide yourself, while before you defeated all, besieged the remaining cities, and overcame and captured the besieged ones.
AVer yes, rename the roads probably.
He alludes to the custom of war, that even when there is no fighting on either side, guards are still posted, that some are used to be in ambush, in order to
to keep an eye on the entrances to the roads, so that the enemy does not ambush them unawares and unprepared etc. Thus he mocks the king of Assyria here, as if to say: Where are now your horsemen, who secure the roads, who lie in ambush. Well, break out at last and hold off the enemies. So everything is spoken mockingly.
Equip yourself to the best (conforta lumbos).
That is, be strong.
And strengthen yourself most mightily.
That is, be courageous, finally take courage, burst forth if you dare.
V. 3: For the Lord will reward the hope of Jacob as he rewarded the hope of Israel.
This passage is very obscure, especially in our Latin translation, but in Hebrew it is somewhat clearer. But it can be understood in two ways: first, that this is the opinion that some have: that you were so furious before, that everything went out for you so happily before, this happened because the Lord avenged Jacob's hope and carried it out through you as through his servant. Although I do not reject this opinion, I do not follow it. I rather think that it is to be understood in imitation, in this way: Before, you subdued all nations and subjected them to you, so that they would not be hopeful. But now the time has come when the glory of the kingdom of Jacob and Judah will return; Judah will no longer be afflicted, but will become glorious. And so "glory" here means the glory, the splendor, the splendor and the greatness or the adornment of the kingdom, which is also evident from Exodus 15:1, where the same word is found in Hebrew: "He has done a glorious deed," or he has acted gloriously etc. Therefore the prophet is here mindful of the scorn of the Assyrians, with which they triumphantly mocked others, and now brings it back upon their necks, as if to say: Now you finally cease to mock Judah etc.
Because the meter readers will read them, and spoil their fiber.
These are prophetic images, as if to say: There was no hope of regaining the kingdom. The people of Judah were no longer beautiful, the Assyrians had devastated everything; you raged cruelly against us, Sanherib, and mocked us. You will not mock us any more, now that the calamity has fallen on your head. Therefore you are now in disgrace, we are glorious and triumphant through the Lord as victors. To us is restored the glory of our kingdom, its honor and its adornment, which before was taken away by you etc. And this is my opinion of this passage, and, preferring it to the other, I am induced to do so by the Hebrew word which our [Latin] interpreter has translated by the verbum reddidit, which seems to me quite remote from the Hebrew meaning. I translate thus: For as the Lord hath put to rest or laid low the courts of Jacob etc. But why he says here: "propagines", or what he wants to indicate by this, can be seen in the Psalm [Ps. 80, 9. 12.]: "You have raised a vine out of Egypt" etc., "and it has spread its branches (propagines) to the sea" etc. He thus indicates that all Israel is distraught, that not even a few remnants are left in the land.
V. 4. The shields of his strong ones are red.
Here he begins to describe and to present the army of the Chaldeans, as if it were already coming. He says that they are red and like purple and like fire, to frighten the Assyrians, as if he threatens them with bloodshed; he sees them already killed and stained with blood. But he describes this as a consolation for Judah, as I have reminded above several times.
His chariots glow like fire when he wants to hit. 1)
That is, "their chariots therefore wisp," as burning torches give off a trembling light, so that the word praeparationis does not refer to
1) Vulgate: I^nsas dabsnas eurru" in die xrasxarationis sjus. Luther translates: Ourrus sieut Aarnina ißnis in die prasparationis sjus.
the chariots, but to the flame or the fiery glow, since he does not describe chariots that are first to be prepared, but which are already equipped with all weapons and men of war, and the thus prepared and equipped he compares to a flame or torch, as if he wanted to say that they have flaming chariots. For that not only the Jews, but also all the Gentiles fought in chariots, is also known from the histories and the poets of the Gentiles. These chariots had an extraordinary speed, to which the prophet alludes here.
Their skewers life.
This is again very badly translated in our [lateiuischen] Bible: Et agitatores consopiti sunt, since the Hebrew word denotes projectiles, which are made of slender trees, likewise lance-bearers, as also Johannes Reuchlin interpreted it. It is therefore the opinion: while the speed of the chariots is so great, while so in rapid running the chariots dahiurollen, the lance bearers, who sit on the chariots, shake and swing their lances.
V. 5. The chariots start rolling down the alleys.
The Hebrew says: In the streets, or, in their course they speed along. These are quite Hebrew ways of speaking by which he indicates that the Chaldeans are advancing in their chariots without order and in heaps against the Assyrians, as if to say: "They are going along in heaps, no one knows who is the hindmost or the foremost."
And rattle on the streets.
That is, because of their quantity, they make noise. That's how large the number of wagons is, which arrive in such a hurry without any particular order.
They look like torches.
He said the same thing above. By all these things he frightens the Assyrians, since he describes the enemy, the Chaldean, as a very strong and well-armed one, as if to say: They appear like striking lightnings, fighting against themselves, striking one against the other etc.
V. 6 But he will remember his mighty ones.
This prophet has the way that he immediately changes the persons, immediately passes from one army to the other. Now he seems to speak of the Chaldeans in one and the same context, and yet he turns his speech in such a way that he speaks of the Assyrians, whose fear and fleeing army he describes, as if he wanted to say: Since the Chaldeans are threatening in fiery chariots, the king of the Assyrians will ask his great ones, his princes, by what means the coming Chaldean can be met. And so he mocks the Assyrian, as everything that follows in this chapter is full of mocking speeches. The Hebrew word, however, does not mean both strong and proud, pompous and glorious people, as if the prophet wanted to say: You certainly have excellent leaders and great men with you, now you should use their help' to hold off the enemies, but you have only pompous loudmouths and boasters with you.
But the same will fall where they want to go out.
That is, it is done for them, they will fall wherever they will go, in whatever they undertake, since they also have God as their adversary.
And will hurry to the wall and the screen, because they are safe.
Because the Hebrews connect this with the preceding to one verse, so I also understand this for the sake of the Assyrian. But the opinion is: So great is their despair, so distraught are they, that they dare not go outside the city to meet the Chaldean. They dare not hold off the enemy; they put their salvation in flight. They hurry to the walls, where they seek refuge; there they protect themselves with some kind of defenses; but these defenses (propugnacula) are hardly tents (tabernacula) or huts. For this is what the Hebrew word means.
V. 7 But the gates of the waters are opened.
Why he says "the gates by the waters" is not sufficiently known. But it is true
It seems that he says of the gates of the waters because the city of Nineveh was artificially surrounded with waters (irrigua) and had rivers that flowed by, as is the case with magnificent and famous cities. But that others say, the gates of the waters, that means of the peoples, that seems to me to be too far-fetched and not to fit-.
And the palace will go down.
In Hebrew it says like this: The royal castle or palace is deserted. He does not describe both the desolation of the royal castle, as that it perishes of itself, or that I say so, collapses of itself. And so, as I have said, everything is full of mockery, as if the prophet wanted to say: The gates by the waters, which are otherwise firm, to which the entrance is not easily open, are now easily taken; they are open, and the royal castle falls by itself, even though it is not destroyed. - The judgment of God against this city seems so certain that it can be overcome with such ease.
V. 8 The queen will be led away captive.
Here I follow the opinion of Lyra: who [instead of: Et miles captivus abductus est in the Vulgate] translated thus: The spouse or queens are gone up captive, since the same word is also in the 45th Psalm [v. 10.], "The queen is at thy right hand." Therefore the prophet mocks the queens and the wives of the princes, as if to say: namely, so gloriously does the queen walk in royal dress and honor. Until now she sat gloriously on a high throne, now she is led away captive and also sits on a throne, but on a disgraceful one. For now, instead of the former glory, she receives the highest disgrace.
And beat the virgins to their breast.
For so (tympanizantes) is actually to be translated, not, as our [Latin] Bibles read: murmurantes. For the same word is also in the Psalm, where it is correctly translated [Ps. 68, 26.]: "Among the maidens who tympanize" etc. Therefore, as he mocks the queen.
also of the maidens, who sigh and are consumed with sadness and bear grief over their captivity, as if he wanted to say: "I mean, they are now also dancing finely", since they are led away captive like this, "they are now beating their chests". Admittedly a fine dance, that is, they beat on their breast etc. Thus the prophet compares the previous good life and the delightful 1) dances with the captivity.
V. 9 For Nineveh is like a pool of water, but the water will flow away.
He now describes the deserted city as if he wanted to saw: the city is taken, the royal castle lies desolate, the queen has been led away captive with all her maidens. Therefore Nineveh seems to be nothing else than a fishpond without water. For just as a fishpond becomes desolate and dry when the dam is broken and the water is let out, so it is now with Nineveh. Before, the city was populous and glorious; now that the dam has been broken by the Chaldeans, all who can flee are fleeing. They do not wait, though they are admonished that they should stay. As much as parents call out to their children and wives to their husbands, "Stay, stay," they take no heed, but secure themselves by fleeing. Thus the prophet delights in the desolation of Nineveh, which he saw coming. Therefore he depicts it to the afflicted people of Judah as if it were already present, namely, so that he may comfort them and strengthen their courage, as I have reminded above several times.
V. 10: Now therefore, steal silver, steal gold; for here is no end of treasures.
There is no end to the things that are gathered together, as there are utensils, precious household goods and all kinds of votive gifts. For all the precious things of all the nations they had seized, just as the Scriptures call such cities "mountains of plunder" [Ps. 76:5]. Therefore the
1) Instead of äelioantks in our original, which is missing in the Wittenberg edition, we have adopted äelideutes.
Prophet to the Chaldeans that they should plunder all that is best, since the inhabitants thus flee, since there is no end to the most delicious things, as follows:
And the quantity of all delicious gems (gravis prae omnibus vasis).
This word [gravis (XXX)] has been omitted by Jerome, or perhaps it has been omitted by the inattention of the scribe. But this piece is also full of mockery, as if he wanted to say: Since there is such a great abundance of all things: Come on, you Chaldeans, make them a little empty, so that they are not further weighed down as by a heavy burden; "help that it becomes lighter".
V. 11. But now it must be purely read and plundered.
The word dissipata should have been translated by vastata ["abgeleseu"], because above [v. 3.] he called them "readers" (vastatores) and here is the same word. Then it is plundered, finally destroyed. He says that it was first made desolate (vastatam) because its citizens and queens were thus taken away, secondly made empty by taking away the goods, thirdly destroyed by smashing the buildings.
That her heart must despair.
Namely, they do not remain safe anywhere, they have no place where they dare to stay even if they flee.
The knees are shaking.
Namely, there is no strength in the loins and back from too much despondency.
And all faces look pale, like a pot.
There is a similar passage also above in Joel [Cap. 2, 6.], where the [Latin] interpreter translated thus: Facies eorum redigentur in ollam. Here he translates: Sicut nigredo ollae. Since these translations do not agree with each other, I translate like this: Congregentur in ollam. But what the prophet wants to express by this Hebrew picture, knows
I do not. Usually it is interpreted thus: their sadness and affliction is so great that they are dirty and pale with fright, so that they seem to be like black pots. This is quite an inconsistent image, and I do not believe that the prophet intended this. I like this more, but I dare not say that the prophet intended this: they are to be consumed and destroyed as pieces of meat are consumed, which are thrown into a pot to be cooked, so that, like meat in pots, they are to be cooked by external evils and persecutions. This is how the prophet described the captivity of Nineveh. Now he adds a mocking song by which he mocks them, for a song of triumph follows, "he sings a little song of them," and thus he brings their former cruelty upon them.
V. 12. Now where is the dwelling place of the lions?
That is, where is your power now? What is Nineveh now, the exceedingly rich and great city? In it dwelt the mightiest princes, to whom all the heathen fell a prey. Like lions they robbed, since the world domination stood with them.
V. 14. I will set your chariots on fire in the smoke.
I will set on fire, namely through the Chaldeans. You who have lived gloriously until now in sunshine and highest honor, will perish in the smoke, shamefully you will perish.
That the voice of your messengers should no longer be heard.
That is, I will put an end to your kingdom, henceforth you will never send out your messengers; it is the end of your rule. "Messengers", in fact, is what he calls the princes and governors who were appointed by the Assyrians throughout the world, who carried out the royal orders, who administered the magistracy everywhere and collected the customs and imposts. All this, he says, will now cease, that is, the empire of the Affyrians will perish.