Nahum 3:12

All your fortresses are fig trees with the first ripe figs; when shaken, they fall into the mouth of the eater!

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — Nahum pronounces judgment on a fortified city that has just been described as drunk and hiding from an advancing enemy, immediately before its military strength and defenses are condemned.

The words — מִבְצָרַיִךְ (miv.tza.Ra.yi/kh) = your fortifications; תְּאֵנִים (te.'e.Nim) = fig trees.

The thread — The image of a shaken tree dropping its fruit appears in Revelation 6:13, while Isaiah 28:4 compares a fading flower to a ripe fig, and Habakkuk 1:10 notes enemies scoffing at fortresses and constructing siege ramps.

Why it lands — The text demands recognition that human defenses offer no real security against impending judgment, collapsing instantly when confronted by the coming force.

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

כָּ֨ל־Kal-all מִבְצָרַ֔יִךְmiv.tza.Ra.yi/khfortifications/ your תְּאֵנִ֖יםte.'e.Nim[are] fig trees עִם־'im-with בִּכּוּרִ֑יםbi.ku.Rimfirst-fruits אִם־'im-if יִנּ֕וֹעוּyi.No.'uthey will be shaken וְנָפְל֖וּve./na.fe.Luand/ they will fall עַל־'al-on פִּ֥יpi[the] mouth of אוֹכֵֽל׃'o.Khelan eater

King James Version

All thy strong holds shall be like fig trees with the firstripe figs: if they be shaken, they shall even fall into the mouth of the eater.

Cross-references

Revelation 6:13 and the stars of the sky fell to the earth like unripe figs dropping from a tree shaken by a great wind.
Isaiah 28:4 The fading flower of his beautiful splendor, set on the summit above the fertile valley, will be like a ripe fig before the summer harvest: Whoever sees it will take it in his hand and swallow it.
Habakkuk 1:10 They scoff at kings and make rulers an object of scorn. They laugh at every fortress and build up siege ramps to seize it.