Nahum 1:14
A plain-spoken deep dive on this verse. Read the chapter →
The LORD has issued a command concerning you, O Nineveh: “There will be no descendants to carry on your name. I will cut off the carved image and cast idol from the house of your gods; I will prepare your grave, for you are contemptible.”
Commentaries
Excerpts gathered from published commentaries to ground the reading.
Judgment upon Nineveh Decreed by God - Nah 1:1-15 Jehovah, the jealous God and avenger of evil, before whose manifestation of wrath the globe trembles (Nah 1:2-6), will prove Himself a strong tower to His own people by destroying Nineveh (Nah 1:7-11), since He has determined to break the yoke which Asshur has laid upon Judah, and to destroy this enemy of His people (Nah 1:12-14).
Open source ↗In this chapter we have, I. The inscription of the book, (Nah 1:1). II. A magnificent display of the glory of God, in a mixture of wrath and justice against the wicked, and mercy and grace towards his people, and the discovery of his majesty and power in both (Nah 1:2-8). III. A particular application of this (as most interpreters think) to the destruction of Sennacherib and the Assyrian army, when they besieged Jerusalem, which was a very memorable and illustrious instance of the power both of God's justice and of his mercy, and spoke abundance of terror to his enemies and encouragement to his faithful servants (Nah 1:9 -16
Open source ↗1:14 no more children: Nineveh would be completely annihilated. Cutting off a person’s name and leaving him without a descendant meant utterly destroying him (1 Sam 24:21; Job 18:17; Isa 14:22). • None of Assyria’s venerated gods could deliver Nineveh from God’s death sentence. • God was already preparing a grave for Nineveh and directing Assyria’s enemies to destroy the city. Assyria’s proud cities fell one by one to the combined attacks of the Chaldeans, the Medes, and the Ummanmanda. Nineveh itself fell in 612 BC.
Open source ↗Cross-references
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May his descendants be cut off; may their name be blotted out from the next generation.
I will also cut off the carved images and sacred pillars from among you, so that you will no longer bow down to the work of your own hands.
The memory of the righteous is a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot.
Be my rock of refuge, where I can always go. Give the command to save me, for You are my rock and my fortress.
One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer put him to the sword and escaped to the land of Ararat. And his son Esar-haddon reigned in his place.
I will destroy your high places, cut down your incense altars, and heap your lifeless bodies on the lifeless remains of your idols; and My soul will despise you.
“Announce and declare to the nations; lift up a banner and proclaim it; hold nothing back when you say, ‘Babylon is captured; Bel is put to shame; Marduk is shattered, her images are disgraced, her idols are broken in pieces.’
On that night I will pass through the land of Egypt and strike down every firstborn male, both man and beast, and I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD.
and the LORD sent an angel who annihilated every mighty man of valor and every leader and commander in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he withdrew to his own land in disgrace. And when he entered the temple of his god, some of his own sons struck him down with the sword.
This is the burden against Egypt: Behold, the LORD rides on a swift cloud; He is coming to Egypt. The idols of Egypt will tremble before Him, and the hearts of the Egyptians will melt within them.