Nahum 2:10 (YLT)

Passage

She is empty, yea, emptiness and waste, And the heart hath melted, And the knees have smitten together, And great pain <FI>is<Fi> in all loins, And the faces of all of them have gathered paleness.

Nearby Context

Nahum 2:8 And Nineveh <FI>is<Fi> as a pool of waters, From of old it <FI>is<Fi> --and they are fleeing! `Stand ye, stand;' and none is turning!

Nahum 2:9 Seize ye silver, seize ye gold, And there is no end to the prepared things, <FI>To<Fi> the abundance of all desirable vessels.

Nahum 2:10 She is empty, yea, emptiness and waste, And the heart hath melted, And the knees have smitten together, And great pain <FI>is<Fi> in all loins, And the faces of all of them have gathered paleness.

Nahum 2:11 Where <FI>is<Fi> the habitation of lionesses? And a feeding-place it <FI>is<Fi> for young lions Where walked hath a lion, an old lion, A lion's whelp, and there is none troubling.

Nahum 2:12 The lion is tearing parts <FI>for<Fi> his whelps, And is strangling for his lionesses, And he doth fill <FI>with<Fi> prey his holes, And his habitations <FI>with<Fi> rapine.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "empty", "emptiness", "waste", "heart", "hath", "melted", "knees", and "smitten". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "empty" and "emptiness", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 9's "Seize ye silver seize ye gold And..." into verse 11's "Where FI is Fi the habitation of...", so "empty" and "emptiness" 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 "empty" and "emptiness" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.