Nahum 2:6 (WEB)

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 back and forth in the wide ways. Their appearance is like torches. They run like the lightnings.

Nahum 2:5 He summons his picked troops. They stumble on their way. They dash to its wall, and the protective shield is put in place.

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

Nahum 2:7 It is decreed: she is uncovered, she is carried away; and her servants moan as with the voice of doves, beating on their breasts.

Nahum 2:8 But Nineveh has been from of old like a pool of water, yet they flee away. “Stop! Stop!” they cry, but no one looks 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 summons his picked troops They stumble..." into verse 7's "It is decreed she is uncovered she...", 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.