Nahum 3:6

Old Testament Minor Prophet ASV (1901)

What does Nahum 3:6 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “And I will cast abominable filth upon thee, and make thee vile, and will set thee as a gazing-stock.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

And I will cast abominable filth upon thee, and make thee vile, and will set thee as a gazing-stock.
Nahum 3:6 — American Standard Version

Context — Nahum 3

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
6And I will cast abominable filth upon thee, and make thee vile, and will set thee as a gazing-stock.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“And I will cast abominable filth upon thee, etc.] As dirt and dung, or any or everything that is abominable and filthy; and which is thrown at harlots publicly disgraced, and as used to be at persons when carted. The meaning is, that this city and its inhabitants should be stripped of everything that was great and glorious in them, and should be reduced to the utmost shame and ignominy: and make thee vile: mean, abject, contemptible, the offscouring of all things; rejected and disesteemed of all; had in no manner of repute or account, but in the utmost abhorrence: and I will set thee as a gazingstock; to be looked and laughed at: or, “for an example”f77; to others, that they may shun the…”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“And I will cast abominable filth upon thee - Alb.: “like a weight, that what thou wouldest not take heed to as sin, thou mayest feel in punishment.” “Abominable things had God seen” Jeremiah 13:27 in her doings; with abominable things would he punish her. Man would fain sin, and forget it as a thing past. “God maketh him to possess the iniquities of his youth” Job 13:26, and binds them around him, so that they make him to appear what they are, “vile” (compare Wisd. 4:18), “These things hast thou done and I kept silence; - I will reprove thee and set them in order before thine eyes. And will set thee as a gazing-stock” Psalms 50:21, that all, while they gaze at thee, take warning from thee…”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“I will cast: Job 9:31, Job 30:19; Psa 38:5-7; Lam 3:16; Mal 2:2; Co1 4:13 make: Nah 1:14; Job 30:8; Mal 2:9 will set: Kg1 9:7, Kg1 9:8; Isa 14:16-19; Jer 51:37; Zep 2:15; Co1 4:9; Heb 10:33; Jde 1:7 Nahum 3:7”
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Related study paths

Sources and verification