Matthew Henry Commentary Nahum 3:8-19

"Art thou better than No-amon, that was situate among the rivers, that had the waters round about her; whose rampart was the sea, [and] her wall was of the sea? Ethiopia and Egypt were her strength, and it was infinite; Put and Lubim were thy helpers. Yet was she carried away, she went into captivity; her young children also were dashed in pieces at the head of all the streets; and they cast lots for her honorable men, and all her great men were bound in chains. Thou also shalt be drunken; thou shalt be hid; thou also shalt seek a stronghold because of the enemy. All thy fortresses shall be [like] fig-trees with the first-ripe figs: if they be shaken, they fall into the mouth of the eater. Behold, thy people in the midst of thee are women; the gates of thy land are set wide open unto thine enemies: the fire hath devoured thy bars. Draw thee water for the siege; strengthen thy fortresses; go into the clay, and tread the mortar; make strong the brickkiln. There shall the fire devour thee; the sword shall cut thee off; it shall devour thee like the canker-worm: make thyself many as the canker-worm; make thyself many as the locust. Thou hast multiplied thy merchants above the stars of heaven: the canker-worm ravageth, and fleeth away. Thy princes are as the locusts, and thy marshals as the swarms of grasshoppers, which encamp in the hedges in the cold day, but when the sun ariseth they flee away, and their place is not known where they are. Thy shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria; thy nobles are at rest; thy people are scattered upon the mountains, and there is none to gather them. There is no assuaging of thy hurt: thy wound is grievous: all that hear the report of thee clap their hands over thee; for upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually?" — Nahum 3:8-19 (ASV)

Strongholds, even the strongest, are no defense against the judgments of God. They will be unable to do anything for themselves.

The Chaldeans and Medes would devour the land like cankerworms. The Assyrians also would be eaten up by their own numerous hired troops, which seem to be meant by the word rendered “merchants.”

Those who have done evil to their neighbors will find it come home to them. Nineveh, and many other cities, states, and empires, have been ruined and should be a warning to us.

Are we better, except that there are some true Christians among us, who are a greater security and a stronger defense than all the advantages of situation or strength? When the Lord shows himself against a people, everything they trust in must fail or prove a disadvantage.

But He continues good to Israel. He is a stronghold for every believer in time of trouble, that cannot be stormed or taken; and He knows those who trust in Him.