Nahum 2:3
New International Version
The shields of the soldiers are red; the warriors are clad in scarlet. The metal on the chariots flashes on the day they are made ready; the spears of juniper are brandished.

New Living Translation
Shields flash red in the sunlight! See the scarlet uniforms of the valiant troops! Watch as their glittering chariots move into position, with a forest of spears waving above them.

English Standard Version
The shield of his mighty men is red; his soldiers are clothed in scarlet. The chariots come with flashing metal on the day he musters them; the cypress spears are brandished.

Berean Standard Bible
The shields of his mighty men are red; the valiant warriors are dressed in scarlet. The fittings of the chariots flash like fire on the day they are prepared, and the spears of cypress have been brandished.

King James Bible
The shield of his mighty men is made red, the valiant men are in scarlet: the chariots shall be with flaming torches in the day of his preparation, and the fir trees shall be terribly shaken.

New King James Version
The shields of his mighty men are made red, The valiant men are in scarlet. The chariots come with flaming torches In the day of his preparation, And the spears are brandished.

New American Standard Bible
The shields of his warriors are dyed red, The warriors are dressed in scarlet, The chariots are fitted with flashing steel When he is prepared to march, And the juniper spears are brandished.

NASB 1995
The shields of his mighty men are colored red, The warriors are dressed in scarlet, The chariots are enveloped in flashing steel When he is prepared to march, And the cypress spears are brandished.

NASB 1977
The shields of his mighty men are colored red, The warriors are dressed in scarlet, The chariots are enveloped in flashing steel When he is prepared to march, And the cypress spears are brandished.

Legacy Standard Bible
The shields of his mighty men are colored red, The valiant men are dressed in scarlet, The chariots are enveloped in flashing steel When he is set up to march, And the cypress spears are brandished.

Amplified Bible
The shields of his soldiers [of Media and Babylon] are colored red; The warriors are dressed in scarlet. The chariots blaze with fire of [flashing] steel When he is prepared to march, And the cypress spears are brandished [for battle].

Christian Standard Bible
The shields of his warriors are dyed red; the valiant men are dressed in scarlet. The fittings of the chariot flash like fire on the day of its battle preparations, and the spears are brandished.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
The shields of his warriors are dyed red; the valiant men are dressed in scarlet. The fittings of the chariot flash like fire on the day of its battle preparations, and the spears are brandished.

American Standard Version
The shield of his mighty men is made red, the valiant men are in scarlet: the chariots flash with steel in the day of his preparation, and the cypress spears are brandished.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
The shields of their mighty men are stained red and the men mighty men parade with torches of fire and in chariots in the day when they are prepared and the horsemen are encouraged

Brenton Septuagint Translation
They have destroyed the arms of their power from among men, their mighty men sporting with fire: the reins of their chariots shall be destroyed in the day of his preparation, and the horsemen shall be thrown into confusion

Contemporary English Version
Nineveh, on this day of attack, your enemies' shields are red; their uniforms are crimson.

Douay-Rheims Bible
The shield of his mighty men is like fire, the men of the army are clad in scarlet, the reins of the chariot are flaming in the day of his preparation, and the drivers are stupefied.

English Revised Version
The shield of his mighty men is made red, the valiant men are in scarlet: the chariots flash with steel in the day of his preparation, and the spears are shaken terribly.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
The shields of his warriors are painted red. His soldiers have red uniforms. The metal on his chariots flashes fiery red, so do the spears when they are waved on the day he prepares for battle.

Good News Translation
The enemy soldiers carry red shields and wear uniforms of red. They are preparing to attack! Their chariots flash like fire! Their horses prance!

International Standard Version
The shields deployed by Israel's elite forces are scarlet, their valiant men are clothed in crimson. When they are prepared, the polished armament on their chariots will shine, and lances will be brandished about ferociously.

JPS Tanakh 1917
The shield of his mighty men is made red, The valiant men are in scarlet; The chariots are fire of steel in the day of his preparation, And the cypress spears are made to quiver.

Literal Standard Version
The shield of his mighty ones has become red, | Men of might [are in] scarlet, | With fiery torches [is] the chariot in a day of his preparation, | And the firs have been caused to tremble.

Majority Standard Bible
The shields of his mighty men are red; the valiant warriors are dressed in scarlet. The fittings of the chariots flash like fire on the day they are prepared, and the spears of cypress have been brandished.

New American Bible
The shields of his warriors are crimsoned, the soldiers clad in scarlet; Like fire are the trappings of the chariots on the day he prepares for war; the cavalry is agitated!

NET Bible
The shields of his warriors are dyed red; the mighty soldiers are dressed in scarlet garments. The metal fittings of the chariots shine like fire on the day of battle; the soldiers brandish their spears.

New Revised Standard Version
The shields of his warriors are red; his soldiers are clothed in crimson. The metal on the chariots flashes on the day when he musters them; the chargers prance.

New Heart English Bible
The shield of his mighty men is made red. The valiant men are in scarlet. The chariots flash with steel in the day of his preparation, and the pine spears are brandished.

Webster's Bible Translation
The shield of his mighty men is made red, the valiant men are in scarlet: the chariots shall be with flaming torches in the day of his preparation, and the fir-trees shall be terribly shaken.

World English Bible
The shield of his mighty men is made red. The valiant men are in scarlet. The chariots flash with steel in the day of his preparation, and the pine spears are brandished.

Young's Literal Translation
The shield of his mighty ones is become red, Men of might are in scarlet, With fiery torches is the chariot in a day of his preparation, And the firs have been caused to tremble.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Overthrow of Nineveh
2For the LORD will restore the splendor of Jacob like the splendor of Israel, though destroyers have laid them waste and ruined the branches of their vine. 3The shields of his mighty men are red; the valiant warriors are dressed in scarlet. The fittings of the chariots flash like fire on the day they are prepared, and the spears of cypress have been brandished. 4The chariots dash through the streets; they rush around the plazas, appearing like torches, darting about like lightning.…

Cross References
Job 39:23
A quiver rattles at his side, along with a flashing spear and lance.

Ezekiel 23:14
But Oholibah carried her prostitution even further. She saw the men portrayed on the wall, images of the Chaldeans, engraved in vermilion,

Ezekiel 23:15
wearing belts on their waists and flowing turbans on their heads; all of them looked like officers of the Babylonians in Chaldea, the land of their birth.

Ezekiel 23:24
They will come against you with a host of peoples, with weapons, chariots, and wagons. They will array themselves against you on every side with buckler and shield and helmet. I will delegate judgment to them, and they will punish you according to their own standards.

Ezekiel 26:7
For this is what the Lord GOD says: 'Behold, I will bring against Tyre from the north Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses and chariots, with cavalry and a great company of troops.

Nahum 3:2
The crack of the whip, the rumble of the wheel, galloping horse and bounding chariot!


Treasury of Scripture

The shield of his mighty men is made red, the valiant men are in scarlet: the chariots shall be with flaming torches in the day of his preparation, and the fir trees shall be terribly shaken.

made.

Isaiah 63:1-3
Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save…

Zechariah 1:8
I saw by night, and behold a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees that were in the bottom; and behind him were there red horses, speckled, and white.

Zechariah 6:2
In the first chariot were red horses; and in the second chariot black horses;

in scarlet.

Isaiah 14:8
Yea, the fir trees rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since thou art laid down, no feller is come up against us.

Zechariah 11:2
Howl, fir tree; for the cedar is fallen; because the mighty are spoiled: howl, O ye oaks of Bashan; for the forest of the vintage is come down.

Jump to Previous
Array Body-Covers Brandished Bright Chargers Chariots Clad Clothed Colored Cypress Dressed Enveloped Fighting Fir Fire Fir-Trees Flame Flames Flaming Flash Flashes Flashing Horses March Metal Mighty Mustered Pine Prance Preparation Prepared Quiver Ready Red Scarlet Shaken Shaking Shield Shields Spears Steel Terribly Torches Trees Valiant Warriors
Jump to Next
Array Body-Covers Brandished Bright Chargers Chariots Clad Clothed Colored Cypress Dressed Enveloped Fighting Fir Fire Fir-Trees Flame Flames Flaming Flash Flashes Flashing Horses March Metal Mighty Mustered Pine Prance Preparation Prepared Quiver Ready Red Scarlet Shaken Shaking Shield Shields Spears Steel Terribly Torches Trees Valiant Warriors
Nahum 2
1. The fearful and victorious armies of God against Nineveh.














(3) His mighty men.--That is, those of the besieger of Nahum 2:1.

Made red.--That is, with blood; not with reference to the bright red copper, which was the material of the shield, for the word usually means "dyed red."

In scarlet.--Red was the favourite colour, not only of the Medes, from whom Xenophon says the Persians obtained their purple tunics, but also of the Babylonians; compare the description in Ezekiel 23:14-15, and Layard's Nineveh, p. 347. Both Medes and Babylonians were engaged in the present siege. The rest of the verse runs, the chariots are [equipped] with flashing steel in the day of his preparation, and the cypress lances are brandished. The "flashing steel" may refer to ornaments of this material attached to the chariot, or, as we incline to think, to scythes or sharp instruments fastened to the wheels. Some form of this weapon may well have been in use long before the present date. Xenophon relates that Cyrus was the first to introduce the scythe-chariot. Ctesias, however, speaks of it as of much earlier origin. The older Hebrew commentators render this word p'ladoth, "torches," as in the Authorised Version. With this rendering, the swiftly-moving war-chariots are likened to flashing torches, as they are in the next verse.

Nahum 2:4-5 describe the state of the city while sustaining this siege. There is a slight contrast between this portraiture and that of Nahum 2:3, which has been made the most of by Kleinert. "Without, God arranges His hosts; within is the disorder of wild terror: without, a steady approach against the city; within, a frantic rushing hither and thither: without, a joyful splendour; within, a deadly paleness, like torch-light." The last part of Nahum 2:4 is thus made a description of the aspect of the Ninevites, not their chariots. This appears to us a fanciful interpretation. In its behalf, the description of a panic in Isaiah 13:8 has been adduced: "They shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames." But it is obviously better to restrict the reference throughout to the chariots of the besieged city, darting hither and thither in wild undisciplined attempts to resist the invader's onset. . . .

Verse 3. - The prophet describes, as though himself an eyewitness, the army advancing against Nineveh. The shield of his mighty men is made red. "His heroes" may be either God's heroes, as sent by him to war against the evil city, or those of the "dasher in pieces" of ver. 1. The shields of the early Assyrians were usually circular or oval in shape, formed of wicker work, with a central boss of wood or metal. In the latest period they were made straight at bottom and rounded only at top (Rawlinson's 'Anc. Mon.,' 1:440). Some bronze shields have been brought to England from Nineveh; these are circular, about two feet and a half in diameter, the rim bending inwards, and forming a deep groove round the edge. The handles are of iron, and fastened by six bosses or nails, the heads of which form an ornament on the outer face of the shield (Layard, 'Discoveries,' p. 194). There were used also in sieges tall oblong shields, sufficient to protect the entire body, constructed of wicker work or the hides of animals (Bonomi, 'Nineveh and its Discoveries,' p. 320, etc.). The shields are said to be "made red," either because they were really so coloured (though the monuments have not confirmed this opinion), or else because of the polished copper with which they were sometimes covered (Josephus, 'Ant.,' 13:12. 5). Septuagint, pointing differently, ὅπλα δυναστείας αὐτῶν ἐξ ἀνθρώπων, "the arms of their power from among men." Are in scarlet. The word rendered "scarlet" is found nowhere else. Septuagint, mistaking the word, ἐμπαίζοντας ἐν πυρί, "sporting in fire:" Vulgate, in coccineis. It is derived from the term applied to the coccus, or worm which was used in dyeing to give to cloth a deep scarlet colour (Henderson). Some have seen in the colour of the soldiers' garments an emblem of the Divine wrath of which they were the appointed ministers. This colour was much affected by combatants in old times as in modern days. Professor Edwards quotes Aelian, 'Var. Hist.' 6:6, "it was necessary to enter into battle clothed in purple, that the colour might denote a certain dignity, and if drops of blood from wounds were sprinkled on it, it became terrible to the enemy" (comp. Xen., 'Cyrop.,' 1:3, 2). Red or purple seems to have been the favourite colour of the Medea and Babylonians (Ezekiel 23:14), blue or violet that of the Assyrians (Ezekiel 23:6; Ezekiel 28:23, etc.) (Orelli). The chariots shall be with flaming torches; literally, are with fire of steels; i.e. flash with steel, and so the clause should be translated, as in the Revised Version. Commentators generally refer the description to the steel bosses of the wheels; but the Assyrian chariots (and those of the Medes and Chaldeans were not dissimilar) were conspicuous for shining metal, hung round with gleaming weapons and figures of the heavenly bodies, carrying bright armed warriors, the homes covered with trappings, which flashed under the sunshine, and fastened to poles of glittering steel. There is no trace in the monuments of chariots armed with scythes, which seem to have been unknown before the time of Cyrus. They are first mentioned in 2 Macc. 13:2 (see Livy, 37:41). The word peladoth, translated "torches," is an ἅπαξ λεγόμενον. The LXX. renders it, αἱ ἡνίαι, "the reins," whence Jerome obtained his version, igneae habenae curruum; but it means, "things made of iron or steel,"and by critics uninstructed in monumental discoveries was naturally referred to the scythes with which chariots were armed in later times, instead of to the gleaming metal with which they were adorned. In the day of his preparation. When the Lord marshals the host for battle, as Isaiah 13:4. The fir trees shall be terribly shaken, i.e. the spears with their fir or cypress shafts are brandished. So Homer often calls the spear "the ash," from the material of which the handle was made (comp. 'Il.,' 16:143; 22:225, etc.). The Septuagint rendering is very far from the present text, Οἱ ἱππεῖς θορυβηθήσονται, "The horsemen shall be thrown into confusion." Nor is the Vulgate any better, Agitatores cosopiti sunt, which is explained to mean that the invaders are so carried away by their courage and fury, that they act as if intoxicated. "Sensus utique non spernedus," says a Roman Catholic commentator, "at unum desidero, ut scil. ex verbo ipso fluat" - which is certainly not the case. The text is possibly corrupt, and might be corrected from the Septuagint. Certainly there seems to be no other passage in the Hebrew Scriptures where the metaphor of "cypress" is used for "a spear." After the mention of the chariots, it is not unnatural that the writer should proceed, "and the riders are in active motion," urging their horses with hand and whip and gesture (see Knabenbauer, in loc.).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
The shields
מָגֵ֨ן (mā·ḡên)
Noun - common singular construct
Strong's 4043: A shield, a protector, the scaly hide of the crocodile

of his mighty men
גִּבֹּרֵ֜יהוּ (gib·bō·rê·hū)
Adjective - masculine plural construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 1368: Powerful, warrior, tyrant

are red;
מְאָדָּ֗ם (mə·’ād·dām)
Verb - Pual - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 119: Flush, turn rosy

the valiant warriors
אַנְשֵׁי־ (’an·šê-)
Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 376: A man as an individual, a male person

are dressed in scarlet.
מְתֻלָּעִ֔ים (mə·ṯul·lā·‘îm)
Verb - Pual - Participle - masculine plural
Strong's 8529: To crimson, dye that color

The fittings
פְּלָד֥וֹת (pə·lā·ḏō·wṯ)
Noun - feminine plural
Strong's 6393: A cleaver, iron armature

of the chariots
הָרֶ֖כֶב (hā·re·ḵeḇ)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 7393: A vehicle, a team, cavalry, a rider, the upper millstone

flash like fire
בְּאֵשׁ־ (bə·’êš-)
Preposition-b | Noun - common singular construct
Strong's 784: A fire

on the day
בְּי֣וֹם (bə·yō·wm)
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3117: A day

they are prepared,
הֲכִינ֑וֹ (hă·ḵî·nōw)
Verb - Hifil - Infinitive construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 3559: To be erect

and the spears of cypress
וְהַבְּרֹשִׁ֖ים (wə·hab·bə·rō·šîm)
Conjunctive waw, Article | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 1265: A cypress, tree, a lance, a musical instrument

have been brandished.
הָרְעָֽלוּ׃ (hā·rə·‘ā·lū)
Verb - Hofal - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 7477: To quiver, shake, reel


Links
Nahum 2:3 NIV
Nahum 2:3 NLT
Nahum 2:3 ESV
Nahum 2:3 NASB
Nahum 2:3 KJV

Nahum 2:3 BibleApps.com
Nahum 2:3 Biblia Paralela
Nahum 2:3 Chinese Bible
Nahum 2:3 French Bible
Nahum 2:3 Catholic Bible

OT Prophets: Nahum 2:3 The shield of his mighty men (Nah. Na)
Nahum 2:2
Top of Page
Top of Page