King James Version

What Does Nahum 2:10 Mean?

Nahum 2:10 in the King James Version says “She is empty, and void, and waste: and the heart melteth, and the knees smite together, and much pain is in all loins, a...” — study this verse from Nahum chapter 2 with commentary, cross-references, and original Hebrew word analysis.

“She is empty, and void, and waste: and the heart melteth, and the knees smite together, and much pain is in all loins, and the faces of them all gather blackness.”

Nahum 2:10 · KJV

Context

8

But Nineveh is of old like a pool of water: yet they shall flee away. Stand, stand, shall they cry; but none shall look back. of old: or, from the days that she hath been look back: or, cause them to turn

9

Take ye the spoil of silver, take the spoil of gold: for there is none end of the store and glory out of all the pleasant furniture. for: or, and their infinite store, etc pleasant: Heb. vessels of desire

10

She is empty, and void, and waste: and the heart melteth, and the knees smite together, and much pain is in all loins, and the faces of them all gather blackness.

11

Where is the dwelling of the lions, and the feedingplace of the young lions, where the lion, even the old lion, walked, and the lion's whelp, and none made them afraid?

12

The lion did tear in pieces enough for his whelps, and strangled for his lionesses, and filled his holes with prey, and his dens with ravin.

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Commentary

KJV Study Commentary
Nahum describes Thebes' horrific fate, which prefigures Nineveh's coming judgment: 'Yet was she carried away, she went into captivity: her young children also were dashed in pieces at the top of all the streets' (gam-hi lagolah halekah bashevi gam olaleyha yerattechu berosh kol-chutzoth). The brutal imagery—infants dashed against stones in public view—depicts the horror of ancient warfare. 'And they cast lots for her honourable men, and all her great men were bound in chains' (ve'al-nikhbadeyha yaddû goral vekhol-gedoleyha rattqu baziqim). Leading citizens divided as spoils, nobles enslaved and chained—this was Thebes' fate at Assyria's hands in 663 BC. Now Nahum prophesies Nineveh will suffer identically. This isn't vindictive schadenfreude but divine justice: measure for measure, those who brutalized others will themselves be brutalized. It demonstrates God's moral governance of history—evil doesn't go unpunished forever, and oppressors will face accountability. The passage is sobering, showing the terrible cost of sin and the reality of divine judgment.

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Historical & Cultural Context

Assyrian warfare was notoriously brutal. Their own inscriptions boast of atrocities committed against conquered peoples—impalement, flaying, mass deportations, destruction of cities. The treatment of Thebes in 663 BC exemplified this cruelty. Ashurbanipal's annals describe carrying away enormous plunder and devastating the city. Now Nahum prophesies that Nineveh will experience the same horrors it inflicted. Historical accounts of Nineveh's fall in 612 BC describe similar devastation—the city sacked, burned, its inhabitants killed or enslaved. The precise fulfillment of Nahum's prophecy demonstrates God's justice: those who live by violence die by violence. It also warns all nations that cruelty and oppression will not go unpunished.

Reflection Questions

  1. How does the principle of measure-for-measure judgment (experiencing what you inflicted on others) demonstrate God's justice?
  2. What does this passage teach about the terrible cost of sin and the reality of divine judgment against wickedness?
  3. How should the certainty of divine retribution affect Christian responses to evil—both confidence in ultimate justice and urgency in evangelism?

Original Language Analysis

Hebrew · 14 words
בּוּקָ֥ה1 of 14

“She is empty”

H950

emptiness (as adjective)

וּמְבוּקָ֖ה2 of 14

“and void”

H4003

emptiness

וּמְבֻלָּקָ֑ה3 of 14

“and waste”

H1110

to annihilate

וְלֵ֨ב4 of 14

“and the heart”

H3820

the heart; also used (figuratively) very widely for the feelings, the will and even the intellect; likewise for the center of anything

נָמֵ֜ס5 of 14

“melteth”

H4549

to liquefy; figuratively, to waste (with disease), to faint (with fatigue, fear or grief)

וּפִ֣ק6 of 14

“smite together”

H6375

a tottering

בִּרְכַּ֗יִם7 of 14

“and the knees”

H1290

a knee

וְחַלְחָלָה֙8 of 14

“and much pain”

H2479

writhing (in childbirth); by implication, terror

בְּכָל9 of 14
H3605

properly, the whole; hence, all, any or every (in the singular only, but often in a plural sense)

מָתְנַ֔יִם10 of 14

“is in all loins”

H4975

properly, the waist or small of the back; only in plural the loins

וּפְנֵ֥י11 of 14

“and the faces”

H6440

the face (as the part that turns); used in a great variety of applications (literally and figuratively); also (with prepositional prefix) as a preposi

כֻלָּ֖ם12 of 14
H3605

properly, the whole; hence, all, any or every (in the singular only, but often in a plural sense)

קִבְּצ֥וּ13 of 14

“of them all gather”

H6908

to grasp, i.e., collect

פָארֽוּר׃14 of 14

“blackness”

H6289

properly, illuminated, i.e., a glow; as noun, a flush (of anxiety)

Study Guide

Historical Context

This verse is found in the book of Nahum. Understanding the historical and cultural background helps illuminate its meaning for the original audience and for us today.

Theological Significance

Nahum 2:10 contributes to our understanding of God's character and His relationship with humanity. Consider how this verse connects to the broader themes of Scripture.

Cross-References

Verses related to Nahum 2:10 from Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Daniel 5:6Joel 2:6Psalms 22:14Isaiah 13:7-8Jeremiah 30:6Isaiah 24:1

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