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Nahum 2:11-13, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Nahum 2:11-13
The Lion Den Is Empty because the LORD Opposes It
Where is the dwelling of the lions?
The taunt asks a location question. The den, the feeding place, the lion, lioness, and lion's whelps once walked, and none made them afraid. The lion did tear in pieces enough for his whelps, and strangled for his lionesses, and filled his holes with prey, and his dens with ravin.
Assyrian kings loved the lion as a royal image. Nahum does not copy one relief panel. It takes the admired symbol and asks where it went, then answers that the den was an economy of torn flesh.
The LORD of hosts is against the machinery, not a reader's kill list
Behold, I am against thee, saith the LORD of hosts. Chariots burn in the smoke. The sword shall devour thy young lions. Prey is cut off from the earth. The voice of thy messengers shall no more be heard.
War power, heirs, plunder, and the empire's public voice are silenced because the LORD opposes the den. Readers are not told to burn vehicles, kill children, or hunt people labeled as cubs. The metaphor judges a household fed by violence. It does not turn family members into targets.
How this should shape us
Ask what actually feeds an admired institution: whose labor, land, or silence. Oppose extraction and propaganda without attacking families, children, or anyone recoded as a young lion.
Teach it back
Explain Nahum 2:11-13 in your own words. Include its place in the Nineveh-facing oracle, the unit's movement, one material uncertainty, and one use the context rules out.
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Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties
Where do careful interpreters disagree?
Best judgment: Scholars differ on the exact Assyrian iconographic background and whether the lion symbolizes king, dynasty, army, or empire collectively. The repeated den and prey terms support a broad subversion of imperial predatory power.
How certain? probableResearch trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact reader-facing Scripture wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Nahum 2:11-13, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew words, morphology, clause relationships, repeated roots, names, and the base wording behind translation discussion.
Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Nah.xml, 2:11-13
Supports: Verse-level translation, syntax, text-critical, poetic, historical, and uncertainty notes.
NET Bible Nahum PDF, printed pp. 1760-1761, translation and notes on 2:11-13
Supports: Literary movement, textual and historical alternatives, ethical criticism, gendered rhetoric, atrocity language, and reader responsibility.
O'Brien, Nahum, Second Edition, pp. 55-58
Supports: Compact book outline, dating and compositional alternatives, verse-level difficulties, and ethical framing.
O'Brien, 'Nahum,' Oxford Bible Commentary, printed pp. 599-601
Supports: The lion-taunt sequence and the argued reversal of Assyrian royal-power imagery.
Wessels, 'Subversion of power,' Text analysis, Lion metaphor, and Conclusion
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing Scripture wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Exact location: Nahum 2:11-13, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Nahum
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew words, morphology, clause relationships, repeated roots, names, and the base wording behind translation discussion.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Nah.xml, 2:11-13
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Nahum with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Verse-level translation, syntax, text-critical, poetic, historical, and uncertainty notes.
Exact location: NET Bible Nahum PDF, printed pp. 1760-1761, translation and notes on 2:11-13
Open source ↗scholarly commentary
Nahum, Second Edition
Julia M. O'Brien
Sheffield Phoenix Press, Readings: A New Biblical Commentary, 2009
Supports: Literary movement, textual and historical alternatives, ethical criticism, gendered rhetoric, atrocity language, and reader responsibility.
Exact location: O'Brien, Nahum, Second Edition, pp. 55-58
Open source ↗scholarly commentary article
Nahum
Julia M. O'Brien
Oxford University Press, in The Oxford Bible Commentary, edited by John Barton and John Muddiman, 2001
Supports: Compact book outline, dating and compositional alternatives, verse-level difficulties, and ethical framing.
Exact location: O'Brien, 'Nahum,' Oxford Bible Commentary, printed pp. 599-601
Open source ↗peer reviewed journal article
Subversion of power: Exploring the Lion metaphor in Nahum 2:12-14
Wilhelm J. Wessels
Old Testament Essays 27.2, 2014
Supports: The lion-taunt sequence and the argued reversal of Assyrian royal-power imagery.
Exact location: Wessels, 'Subversion of power,' Text analysis, Lion metaphor, and Conclusion
Open source ↗