Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
Nahum 2:6 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 6. 6The gates of the rivers shall be opened, and the palace shall be dissolved.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Opens river gates and portrays the palace dissolving or convulsing at the siege's turning point.
The vision flashes from red shields to a palace that melts
This verse is one part of that explanation in Nahum 2:3-10. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- Nahum 2:3-10
Read Nahum 2:6 with 2:3-10. Opens river gates and portrays the palace dissolving or convulsing at the siege's turning point. The complete unit establishes this movement: Rapid poetic snapshots make Nineveh's seeming invulnerability dissolve into breached defenses, flight, plunder, emptiness, and terror; the scene is crafted battle poetry, not a complete factual chronicle.
Read Nahum 2:3–10 together
Why these verses belong together: The sustained siege vision moves from flashing attackers through breach, flight, plunder, and embodied terror.
Verse 3. 3 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.
Verse 4. 4 The chariots shall rage in the streets, they shall justle one against another in the broad ways: they shall seem like torches, they shall run like the lightnings.
Verse 5. 5 He shall recount his worthies: they shall stumble in their walk; they shall make haste to the wall thereof, and the defence shall be prepared.
Verse 6. 6 The gates of the rivers shall be opened, and the palace shall be dissolved.
Verse 7. 7 And Huzzab shall be led away captive, she shall be brought up, and her maids shall lead her as with the voice of doves, tabering upon their breasts.
Verse 8. 8 But Nineveh is of old like a pool of water: yet they shall flee away. Stand, stand, shall they cry; but none shall look back.
Verse 9. 9 Take ye the spoil of silver, take the spoil of gold: for there is none end of the store and glory out of all the pleasant furniture.
Verse 10. 10 She is empty, and void, and waste: and the heart melteth, and the knees smite together, and much pain is in all loins, and the faces of them all gather blackness.
Follow the Context
- Verses 3-4 flash red shields, scarlet warriors, fiery chariots, and lightning-like movement.
- Verse 5 shows a commander summoning officers who stumble as they rush to the wall and its siege defense.
- Verse 6 opens river gates and dissolves or convulses the palace.
- Verse 7 announces that it is fixed or that a disputed female figure is led away while attendants mourn.
- Verse 8 names Nineveh, compares it to a draining pool, and pictures futile cries for fleeing people to stop.
- Verse 9 invites the conquerors to seize accumulated silver, gold, and precious goods.
- Verse 10 piles emptiness upon void and waste, then records hearts, knees, loins, and faces reacting in terror.
Phrase-by-Phrase Explanation
“gates of the rivers”
In plain language: The phrase evokes Nineveh's water system, but the poem does not supply an engineering report.
Opens river gates and portrays the palace dissolving or convulsing at the siege's turning point. Nineveh's water-and-palace security becomes part of its collapse.
Why it matters: The wording carries interpretive or ethical risk that requires the full unit and its stated limits.
How certain? probableWhat This Verse Is Not Saying
Nahum 2:6 does not prove that literal flooding alone destroyed Nineveh or settle the exact river-gate mechanism.
What Remains True
Nineveh's water-and-palace security becomes part of its collapse.
How It Can Shape Life
- Do not turn infrastructure confidence into claims of invulnerability.
Teach It Back
Explain Nahum 2:6's contribution to Nahum 2:3-10: Opens river gates and portrays the palace dissolving or convulsing at the siege's turning point. Include what the surrounding verses add, the stated uncertainty, and what this verse does not authorize.
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Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read Nahum 2:3-10 — The Battle Vision Moves from Flashing Assault to Empty TerrorSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
Literal water breach, metaphorical invading flood, and deliberate double imagery are all serious readings.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
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 2:3-10, 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, 2:3-10
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. 1758-1760, translation and notes on 2:3-10
Open source ↗