Bible Strands
Nahum 3:10
Yet she became an exile; she went into captivity. Her infants were dashed to pieces at the head of every street. They cast lots for her dignitaries, and all her nobles were bound in chains.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The prophet pronounces the fate of the conquered city after its allied powers (Cush, Egypt, Put, Libya) have failed. The oracle describes the immediate aftermath of the siege, detailing the complete collapse of its social and military structure.
The words — The Hebrew יְרֻטְּשׁוּ (ye.ru.te.Shu) literally means "they were dashed in pieces," describing the brutal killing of infants. The phrase לַגֹּלָה הָלְכָה (la/go.Lah ha.le.Khah) translates to "she went into exile," marking the city's forced displacement.
The thread — The motif of infants being dashed to pieces appears in Hosea 13:16 regarding Samaria's judgment, while casting lots for captives echoes Joel 3:3. Isaiah 20:4 similarly records the forced exile of Egyptian and Cushite captives.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that political alliances cannot prevent the stated fate. It leaves the reader to confront the certainty of the described destruction without offering comfort or evasion.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Yet was she carried away, she went into captivity: her young children also were dashed in pieces at the top of all the streets: and they cast lots for her honourable men, and all her great men were bound in chains.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 20:4 so the king of Assyria will lead away the captives of Egypt and the exiles of Cush, young and old alike, naked and barefoot, with bared buttocks—to Egypt’s shame.
- Hosea 13:16 Samaria will bear her guilt because she has rebelled against her God. They will fall by the sword; their little ones will be dashed to pieces, and their pregnant women ripped open.
- Joel 3:3 They cast lots for My people; they bartered a boy for a prostitute and sold a girl for wine to drink.
- Obadiah 1:11 On the day you stood aloof while strangers carried off his wealth and foreigners entered his gate and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were just like one of them.
- Isaiah 13:16 Their infants will be dashed to pieces before their eyes, their houses will be looted, and their wives will be ravished.
- Lamentations 2:19 Arise, cry out in the night from the first watch of the night. Pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord. Lift up your hands to Him for the lives of your children who are fainting from hunger on the corner of every street.
- 2 Kings 8:12 “Why is my lord weeping?” asked Hazael. “Because I know the evil you will do to the Israelites,” Elisha replied. “You will set fire to their fortresses, kill their young men with the sword, dash their little ones to pieces, and rip open their pregnant women.”
- Psalms 33:16 No king is saved by his vast army; no warrior is delivered by his great strength.
- Psalms 137:8 O Daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction, blessed is he who repays you as you have done to us.
- Isaiah 13:6 Wail, for the Day of the LORD is near; it will come as destruction from the Almighty.