SEV Biblia, Chapter 3:18
Durmieron tus pastores, oh rey de Asiria, reposaron tus valientes; tu pueblo se derramó por los montes, y no hay quien lo junte.
Clarke's Bible Commentary - Nahum 3:18
Verse 18. Thy shepherds slumber] That is, the rulers and tributary princes, who, as Herodotus informs us, deserted Nineveh in the day of her distress, and came not forward to her succour. Diodourus Siculus says, lib. ii., when the enemy shut up the king in the city, many nations revolted, each going over to the besiegers, for the sake of their liberty; that the king despatched messengers to all his subjects, requiring power from them to succour him; and that he thought himself able to endure the siege, and remained in expectation of armies which were to be raised throughout his empire, relying on the oracle that the city would not be taken till the river became its enemy. See the note on chap. ii. 6.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 18. Thy shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria , etc.] Who this king of Assyria was is not easy to say; some think Esarhaddon, who is the last of the kings of Assyria the Scriptures speak of; according to Diodorus Siculus f133 , Sardanapalus was the last of these kings, and in him the Assyrian monarchy ended; though, according to Alexander Polyhistor f134 , Saracus, perhaps the Chyniladanus of Ptolemy, was king when Nineveh was destroyed: it is very likely that Sardanapalus and Saracus design the same person, though set at a great distance by historians; since the same things are said of the one as of the other; particularly that, when they saw their danger, they burnt themselves and theirs in the royal palace at Nineveh; nor is it probable that the same city with the empire should be destroyed and subverted twice by the same people, the Medes and Babylonians, uniting together; and it is remarkable that the double destruction of this city and empire is related by different historians; and those that speak of the one say nothing of the other: but this king, be he who he will, his case was very bad, his “shepherds slumbered”; his ministers of state, his counsellors, subordinate magistrates in provinces and cities, and particularly in Nineveh; his generals and officers in his army were careless and negligent of their duty, and gave themselves up to sloth and ease; and which also was his own character, as historians agree in; or they were dead, slumbering in their graves, and so could be of no service to him: thy nobles shall dwell [in the dust] ; be brought very low, into a very mean and abject condition; their honour shall be laid in the dust, and they be trampled upon by everyone: or, “they shall sleep” f135 ; that is, die, and be buried, as the Vulgate Latin renders it: or, “shall dwell in silence”, as others f136 ; have their habitation in the silent grave, being cut off by the enemy; so that this prince would have none of his mighty men to trust in, but see himself stripped of all his vain confidences: thy people is scattered upon the mountains, and no man gathereth [them] ; like sheep without a shepherd, which being frightened by beasts of prey, run here and there, and there is none to get them together, and bring them back again; so the subjects of this king, being terrified at the approach of the Medes and Babylonians, forsook their cities, and fled to the mountains; where they were scattered about, having no leader and commander to gather them together, and put them in regular order to face and oppose the enemy. So the Targum interprets it “the people of thine armies.”
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 8-19 - Strong-holds, even the strongest, are no defence against the judgment of God. They shall be unable to do any thing for themselves. The Chaldeans and Medes would devour the land like canker-worms. The Assyrians also would be eaten up by their own numerous hired troops which seem to be meant by the word rendered "merchants." Those tha have done evil to their neighbours, will find it come home to them Nineveh, and many other cities, states, and empires, have been ruined and should be a warning to us. Are we better, except as there are some true Christians amongst us, who are a greater security, and a stronge defence, than all the advantages of situation or strength? When the Lord shows himself against a people, every thing they trust in mus fail, or prove a disadvantage; but he continues good to Israel. He is strong-hold for every believer in time of trouble, that cannot be stormed or taken; and he knoweth those that trust in Him __________________________________________________________________
Original Hebrew
נמו 5123 רעיך 7462 מלך 4428 אשׁור 804 ישׁכנו 7931 אדיריך 117 נפשׁו 6335 עמך 5971 על 5921 ההרים 2022 ואין 369 מקבץ׃ 6908
