Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Nahum 3:18 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 18. 18Thy shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria: thy nobles shall dwell in the dust: thy people is scattered upon the mountains, and no man gathereth them.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Addresses the king of Assyria as shepherds sleep, nobles lie still, and people scatter on mountains without a gatherer.
Read It With
- Nahum 3:18-19
Read Nahum 3:18 with 3:18-19. Addresses the king of Assyria as shepherds sleep, nobles lie still, and people scatter on mountains without a gatherer. The complete unit establishes this movement: Nahum closes with a mock dirge: Assyria's leaders cannot gather its scattered people, the imperial wound has no healing, and widespread victims applaud because the empire's cruelty had reached everyone.
What Remains True
Leadership is judged by whether it protects and gathers people, especially in collapse.
How It Can Shape Life
- Plan humane continuity and aid for people rather than only survival for rulers and officers.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Nahum 3:18-19 — The King Hears a Final Dirge over Scattered People and Incurable RuleSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
The verbs can mean sleep, slumber, lie still, or settle in dust; each depicts failed leadership.
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 3:18-19, 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, 3:18-19
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. 1767-1768, translation and notes on 3:18-19
Open source ↗