Nahum 1:10 (DRB)

Passage

For as thorns embrace one another: so while they are feasting and drinking together, they shall be consumed as stubble that is fully dry.

Nearby Context

Nahum 1:8 But with a flood that passeth by, he will make an utter end of the place thereof: and darkness shall pursue his enemies.

Nahum 1:9 What do ye devise against the Lord? he will make an utter end: there shall not rise a double affliction.

Nahum 1:10 For as thorns embrace one another: so while they are feasting and drinking together, they shall be consumed as stubble that is fully dry.

Nahum 1:11 Out of thee shall come forth one that imagineth evil against the Lord, contriving treachery in his mind.

Nahum 1:12 Thus saith the Lord: Though they were perfect: and many of them so, yet thus shall they be cut off, and he shall pass: I have afflicted thee, and I will afflict thee no more.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "thorns", "embrace", "another", "feasting", "drinking", "together", "shall", and "consumed". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "thorns" and "embrace", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 9's "What do ye devise against the Lord..." into verse 11's "Out of thee shall come forth one...", so "thorns" and "embrace" 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 "thorns" and "embrace" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.