Bible Strands
Nahum 3:5
“Behold, I am against you,” declares the LORD of Hosts. “I will lift your skirts over your face. I will show your nakedness to the nations and your shame to the kingdoms.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Yahweh of Hosts addresses the "harlot" and "seductive mistress of sorcery" identified in the preceding verse. This declaration marks the immediate shift from listing her crimes to pronouncing the execution of public judgment.
The words — הִנְ/נִ֣י (hi./Ni) literally renders "here/ I" and functions as a formal divine announcement. וְ/גִלֵּיתִ֥י (ve./gi.lei.Ti) means "and/ I will uncover" and specifies the physical act of exposure.
The thread — The judicial image of lifted skirts to expose shame appears in Jeremiah 13:26, Jeremiah 13:22, and Ezekiel 23:29. These passages deploy identical courtroom language to describe the consequences of covenant betrayal.
Why it lands — The text requires acknowledgment that divine judgment operates through forced visibility rather than concealed retribution. It demands the reader accept that persistent deception ultimately strips away all capacity for concealment.
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
Behold, I am against thee, saith the Lord of hosts; and I will discover thy skirts upon thy face, and I will shew the nations thy nakedness, and the kingdoms thy shame.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 13:26 So I will pull your skirts up over your face, that your shame may be seen.
- Jeremiah 13:22 And if you ask yourself, “Why has this happened to me?” It is because of the magnitude of your iniquity that your skirts have been stripped off and your body has been exposed.
- Ezekiel 23:29 They will treat you with hatred, take all for which you have worked, and leave you naked and bare, so that the shame of your prostitution will be exposed. Your indecency and promiscuity
- Isaiah 47:2 Take millstones and grind flour; remove your veil; strip off your skirt, bare your thigh, and wade through the streams.
- Ezekiel 16:37 therefore I will surely gather all the lovers with whom you found pleasure, all those you loved and all those you hated. I will gather them against you from all around and expose you before them, and they will see you completely naked.
- Nahum 2:13 “Behold, I am against you,” declares the LORD of Hosts. “I will reduce your chariots to cinders, and the sword will devour your young lions. I will cut off your prey from the earth, and the voices of your messengers will no longer be heard.”
- Habakkuk 2:16 You will be filled with shame instead of glory. You too must drink and expose your uncircumcision! The cup in the LORD’s right hand will come around to you, and utter disgrace will cover your glory.
- Ezekiel 23:25 And I will set My jealous rage against you, and they will deal with you in fury. They will cut off your noses and ears, and your survivors will fall by the sword. They will seize your sons and daughters, and your remnant will be consumed by fire.
- Micah 1:11 Depart in shameful nakedness, O dwellers of Shaphir. The dwellers of Zaanan will not come out. Beth-ezel is in mourning; its support is taken from you.