Nahum 2:8 (KJV)

Passage

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.

Nearby Context

Nahum 2:6 The gates of the rivers shall be opened, and the palace shall be dissolved.

Nahum 2:7 And Huzzab shall be led away captive, she shall be brought up, and her maids shall lead her as with the voice of doves, tabering upon their breasts.

Nahum 2:8 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.

Nahum 2:9 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.

Nahum 2:10 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.

Study Lenses

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

The nearby context moves from verse 7's "And Huzzab shall be led away captive..." into verse 9's "Take ye the spoil of silver take...", so "nineveh" and "like" 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 "like" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.