John Calvin Commentary Nahum 2:3

"The shield of his mighty men is made red, the valiant men are in scarlet: the chariots flash with steel in the day of his preparation, and the cypress [spears] are brandished." — Nahum 2:3 (ASV)

The Prophet describes here how dreadful the Chaldeans would be when prepared against the Assyrians. He says, The shield of his brave men is made red. Some think that their shields were painted red so that blood might not appear, and that the soldiers wore red garments so that they might not be frightened if they were wounded; history records this of the Lacedemonians.

But as the customs of these nations are not well known to us, it is enough for us to know that their warlike appearance is described here, as if he had said that the Chaldeans would come against Nineveh with violent and terrible power. Hence he says that the men of his strength would be clad in scarlet; he no doubt refers to the color of their dress.

Some interpret this as referring to the Assyrians and say that their shame is indicated here; but this is too strained. The Prophet, I have no doubt, describes the Chaldeans here and shows that they would be so armed that even their very appearance would put their enemies, that is, the Assyrians, to flight.

For the same purpose he afterwards adds, With fire of torches, or lamps, is the chariot in the day of his expedition. The word פלדות, peladut, occurs nowhere else; and the Jews think that the letters are inverted, and that it should be לפידות, as this word is afterwards used by the Prophet in the next verse and in the same sense. It is certainly evident from the context that the Prophet means either torches or lamps. His chariot then is with the fire of lamps; that is, his chariots drive so impetuously that they appear as flames of fire when wheels roll with such velocity.

And the fir-trees, he says, are terrible shaken. Some translate this as “are inebriated” or “stunned;” and they apply this to the Assyrians—that their great men (whom they think are here compared to fir-trees, or are metaphorically designated by them) were stunned through amazement. Then the principal men among the Assyrians shall be astonished, for the very sight of their enemies would render them, as it were, lifeless; for the verb רעל, rol, is taken by some in the sense of infecting with poison, or of stupefying.

But the opinion of those who think that fir-trees are to be taken for lances is more correct, though they do not sufficiently express the meaning of the Prophet. For he means, I have no doubt, that the concussion among the lances would be such that it would be like that of fir-trees tossed here and there in the forest. For lances, we know, are made of fir-trees because it is a light and flexible wood, as when anyone says in our language, les lances branslent. The lances then trembled, or shook in the hands of the soldiers, as fir-trees shake. Thus we see that the Prophet here continues to describe the terrible appearance of the Chaldeans. Let us go on—