John Calvin Commentary Nahum 2:4

"The chariots rage in the streets; they rush to and fro in the broad ways: the appearance of them is like torches; they run like the lightnings." — Nahum 2:4 (ASV)

He continues with the same subject: that they will be furious in the streets; that is, they will be so turbulent, as though they were out of their minds. Just as furious men are accustomed to be, who are impulsively carried away beyond all reason and moderation, so will they also become mad in their tumult.

He then says, They shall hasten. The verb is derived from the hips, for one who hastens shakes the hips and moves them with a quick motion. And if it is permissible to coin a word, it is ‘they shall hip’; Ils remueront les hanches. This is what the Prophet meant.

Then, Their appearance shall be as lamps. He refers here to the chariots. They will then be like lamps; that is, they will dazzle the eyes of beholders with their brightness. All these things are intended to portray what is terrifying. He also says, as lightning they shall run here and there.

In short, he implies that the impetuosity of the Chaldeans would be so violent as to surpass what is commonly witnessed among humans, and that it would be, as it were, a type of fury and madness sent down from above. Thus, they were to be like lightning and flames of fire, so that they might exceed everything human.

But these figures of speech, though hyperbolical, were not used without reason, for we can easily conjecture how great the security of the city Nineveh was then, and how incredible the event of its ruin was.

That monarchy was then preeminent over every other in the whole world, and no one could have thought that it could ever be attacked. Since it was then difficult to persuade the Jews that ruin was near for the Assyrians, it was necessary for the Prophet to accumulate these various expressions, by which he portrays the power of God in the destruction of the Assyrians.