Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
Nahum 3:19 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 19. 19There is no healing of thy bruise; thy wound is grievous: all that hear the bruit of thee shall clap the hands over thee: for upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually?
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Closes with an incurable imperial wound and worldwide applause explained by Assyria's continual wickedness.
Read It With
- Nahum 3:18-19
Read Nahum 3:19 with 3:18-19. Closes with an incurable imperial wound and worldwide applause explained by Assyria's continual wickedness. 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.
Follow the Context
- Verse 18 tells the king that shepherds sleep and nobles lie down.
- The people are scattered on mountains with no one gathering them.
- Verse 19 diagnoses an unhealed breach and a grievous or fatal wound.
- Those hearing the report clap their hands.
- The final question explains the reaction through the empire's continual wickedness passing over everyone.
Phrase-by-Phrase Explanation
“upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually”
In plain language: The final question grounds the applause in the empire's widespread, repeated harm.
Closes with an incurable imperial wound and worldwide applause explained by Assyria's continual wickedness. The end of cruel rule can bring real relief, while scattered people remain human beings needing protection.
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 3:19 does not authorize hatred of Assyrians, revenge violence, or celebration of civilian death.
What Remains True
The end of cruel rule can bring real relief, while scattered people remain human beings needing protection.
How It Can Shape Life
- Welcome ended oppression without ethnic revenge, collective punishment, or delight in civilian suffering.
Teach It Back
Explain Nahum 3:19's contribution to Nahum 3:18-19: Closes with an incurable imperial wound and worldwide applause explained by Assyria's continual wickedness. Include what the surrounding verses add, the stated uncertainty, and what this verse does not authorize.
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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 political wound is rhetorically total, but Assyrian people and culture did not literally cease to exist after Nineveh's fall.
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 ↗