Nahum 2:8 (DBY)

Passage

Nineveh hath been like a pool of water, since the day she existed, yet they flee away. Stand! Stand! But none looketh back.

Nearby Context

Nahum 2:6 The gates of the rivers are opened, and the palace melteth away.

Nahum 2:7 And it is decreed: she shall be uncovered, she shall be led away, and her maids shall moan as with the voice of doves, drumming upon their breasts.

Nahum 2:8 Nineveh hath been like a pool of water, since the day she existed, yet they flee away. Stand! Stand! But none looketh back.

Nahum 2:9 Plunder the silver, plunder the gold; for there is no end of the splendid store of all precious vessels.

Nahum 2:10 She is empty, and void, and waste; and the heart melteth, and the knees smite together, and writhing pain is in all loins, and all their faces grow pale.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "nineveh", "hath", "been", "like", "pool", "water", "since", and "existed". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "nineveh" and "hath", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 7's "And it is decreed she shall be..." into verse 9's "Plunder the silver plunder the gold for...", so "nineveh" and "hath" 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 "nineveh" and "hath" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.