Nahum 2:6 (ASV)

Passage

The gates of the rivers are opened, and the palace is dissolved.

Nearby Context

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 2:5 He remembereth his nobles: they stumble in their march; they make haste to the wall thereof, and the mantelet is prepared.

Nahum 2:6 The gates of the rivers are opened, and the palace is dissolved.

Nahum 2:7 And it is decreed: she is uncovered, she is carried away; and her handmaids moan as with the voice of doves, beating upon their breasts.

Nahum 2:8 But Nineveh hath been from of old like a pool of water: yet they flee away. Stand, stand, [they cry]; but none looketh back.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "gates", "rivers", "opened", "palace", and "dissolved". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "gates" and "rivers", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 5's "He remembereth his nobles they stumble in..." into verse 7's "And it is decreed she is uncovered...", so "gates" and "rivers" belong inside that flow. In Nahum context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "gates" and "rivers" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.