Nahum 2:6 (LSB)

Passage

The gates of the rivers are opened, And the palace is melted away.

Nearby Context

Nahum 2:4 The chariots race madly in the streets; They rush wildly in the squares; Their appearance is like torches; They dash to and fro like lightning flashes.

Nahum 2:5 He remembers his mighty ones; They stumble in their march; They hurry to her wall, And the mantelet is set up.

Nahum 2:6 The gates of the rivers are opened, And the palace is melted away.

Nahum 2:7 So it stands fixed: She is exiled, she is carried away, And her maidservants are moaning like the sound of doves, Beating on their hearts.

Nahum 2:8 Though Nineveh was like a pool of water throughout her days, Now they are fleeing; “Stand! Stand!” But no one turns back.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "gates", "rivers", "opened", "palace", "melted", and "away". 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 remembers his mighty ones They stumble..." into verse 7's "So it stands fixed She is exiled...", 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.