Nahum 2:12 (YLT)

Passage

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.

Nearby Context

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.

Nahum 2:13 Lo, I <FI>am<Fi> against thee, An affirmation of Jehovah of Hosts, And I have burned in smoke its chariot, And thy young lions consume doth a sword, And I have cut off from the land thy prey, And not heard any more is the voice of thy messengers!

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "lion", "tearing", "parts", "whelps", "strangling", "lionesses", "doth", and "fill". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "lion" and "tearing", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 11's "Where FI is Fi the habitation of..." into verse 13's "Lo I FI am Fi against thee...", so "lion" and "tearing" 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 "lion" and "tearing" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.