Nahum 2:13 - Exposition

I am against thee. The destruction shall be surely accomplished, because God himself directs it. Literally, I to thee ( Nahum 3:5 ; Jeremiah 51:25 ; Ezekiel 38:3 ). The Lord of hosts ( sabaoth ) , Lord of the forces of heaven and earth, and therefore omnipotent. κύριος παντοκράτωρ : I will burn her chariots in the smoke. "Chariots" stand for the whole apparatus of war and military power. Sop-tuagint for "chariots" gives πλῆθος , "multitudes." Thy young lions. Thy fighting men, the metaphor being continued. Cut off thy prey. Thou shalt no more be able to pillage other countries. Thy messengers. These are the heralds who carried the king's commands to his lieutenants, or those, like the imperious Rabshakeh ( 2 Kings 18:17 , etc.; 2 Kings 19:23 ), who summoned nations to surrender, and imposed tributes. "O Nineveh," writes St. Jerome, "thou shalt suffer all that has been spoken. I the Lord will burn to ashes thy chariots, and will cause thy nobles and satraps to be devoured by the sword; never again shalt thou lay countries waste, nor exact tribute, nor will thy emissaries' voice be heard throughout thy provinces."