Nahum 3:12 kjv
All thy strong holds shall be like fig trees with the firstripe figs: if they be shaken, they shall even fall into the mouth of the eater.
Nahum 3:12 nkjv
All your strongholds are fig trees with ripened figs: If they are shaken, They fall into the mouth of the eater.
Nahum 3:12 niv
All your fortresses are like fig trees with their first ripe fruit; when they are shaken, the figs fall into the mouth of the eater.
Nahum 3:12 esv
All your fortresses are like fig trees with first-ripe figs ? if shaken they fall into the mouth of the eater.
Nahum 3:12 nlt
All your fortresses will fall.
They will be devoured like the ripe figs
that fall into the mouths
of those who shake the trees.
Nahum 3 12 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Nahum 3:12 | Thy strong holds shall be like figs with the first ripe fruit: if they be shaken, they shall even fall into the mouth of the eater. | Nahum 3:12 |
| Isaiah 17:5-6 | And as the harvest man gathereth the corn, and reapeth the ears with his arm; and as he that gathereth ears in the valley of Rephaim. Yet gleaning grapes shall be left in it, as the shaking of an olive tree, two or three berries in the top of the uppermost bough, four or five in the outermost fruitful branches thereof, saith the LORD God of Israel. | Isaiah 17:5-6 (Figurative judgment) |
| Jeremiah 52:7-11 | And the city was broken up, and all the men of war fled, and went forth out of the city by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, which was by the king's garden: and the Chaldeans were against the city round about: and the king went the way toward the plain. And the army of the Chaldeans pursued after the king, and overtook him in the plains of Moab: and all his army was scattered from him. And they took the king, and brought him up to the king of Babylon to Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he gave judgment upon him. And they did in the king of Babylon's kitchen the king of Babylon's sons alive before his eyes: and they put out the eyes of Zedekiah; and bound him with fetters of brass, and carried him to Babylon. | Jeremiah 52:7-11 (Fall of Jerusalem) |
| Micah 7:1-2 | Woe is me! for I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits, as the grape-gleanings of the vintage: there is no cluster to eat: my soul desired the first ripe fruit. The good man is perished out of the earth: and there is none upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his neighbor with a net. | Micah 7:1-2 (Loss of goodness, ripe fruit metaphor) |
| Revelation 14:15-16 | And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time of harvest of the earth is ripe. And he that sat on the cloud thrust his sickle upon the earth; and the earth was reaped. | Revelation 14:15-16 (Harvest judgment metaphor) |
| 1 Corinthians 10:13 | There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye be able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. | 1 Corinthians 10:13 (God's faithfulness amidst trial) |
| Psalm 11:5 | The LORD trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth. | Psalm 11:5 (God's judgment on wicked) |
| Deuteronomy 28:53 | And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters, which the LORD thy God hath given thee, in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee. | Deuteronomy 28:53 (Consequences of disobedience) |
| Isaiah 5:1-7 | Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill: And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes. And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes? And now go to, I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall eat up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down. I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel; and the men of Judah are his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold, oppression; for righteousness, but behold, a cry. | Isaiah 5:1-7 (Parable of the vineyard) |
| Jeremiah 6:9 | Thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall throughly glean the remnant of Israel as a vineyard: turn back thine hand as a grape-gatherer into the baskets. | Jeremiah 6:9 (Gleaning imagery) |
| Joel 3:13 | Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great. | Joel 3:13 (Harvest imagery) |
| Revelation 18:5 | For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. | Revelation 18:5 (Divine remembrance of sin) |
| Jeremiah 49:13 | For I have sworn by myself, saith the LORD, that Bozrah shall become a desolation, an reproach, a waste, and a curse; and all the cities thereof shall be perpetual wastes. | Jeremiah 49:13 (Prophecy against a city) |
| Hosea 9:10 | I found Israel as a grape in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the first ripe in the fig tree at her first time: but they went to Baalpeor, and separated themselves unto that shame, and became abomination, even as their love. | Hosea 9:10 (Fathers as first ripe figs) |
| Psalm 37:2 | For they shall soon cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb. | Psalm 37:2 (Fleeting nature of the wicked) |
| Proverbs 3:11-12 | My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction: For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth. | Proverbs 3:11-12 (Discipline as a sign of love) |
| Amos 8:1-3 | Thus hath the LORD GOD shewed unto me: and, behold, a basket of summer fruit. And he said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A basket of summer fruit. Then said the LORD unto me, The end is come upon my people of Israel; they shall not be put out of the way any more. And the songs of the temple shall be howlings in that day, saith the LORD GOD: there shall be many dead bodies; in all places shall they cast them along with silence. | Amos 8:1-3 (Summer fruit signifies the end) |
| Matthew 21:41 | They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons. | Matthew 21:41 (Parable of wicked husbandmen) |
| Acts 1:25 | That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place. | Acts 1:25 (Judas' fall) |
| John 15:5 | I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. | John 15:5 (Bearing fruit in Christ) |
| Isaiah 28:4 | Woe unto them that glory in their shame, for they are a great mixture of confederate. | Isaiah 28:4 (Woes for misplaced pride) |
| Zephaniah 1:10-12 | And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD, that there shall be a great noise from the fish gate, and an howling from the second, and a great crashing from the hills. Howl, ye inhabitants of Maktesh, for all the merchant people of Canaan are cut off; all they that bear silver are cut off. And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men that are settled on their lees: that say in their heart, The LORD will not do good, neither will he do evil. | Zephaniah 1:10-12 (Judgment on complacent) |
Nahum 3 verses
Nahum 3 12 Meaning
This verse speaks of the fortified cities of Nineveh, likening them to fig trees ready for harvest. When the time of God's judgment arrives, they will easily yield to the attackers, their fruits falling into the mouths of those who would devour them. It signifies Nineveh's vulnerability despite its apparent strength.
Nahum 3 12 Context
Nahum 3:12 is part of the concluding judgment pronounced against Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian Empire. Assyria, having committed brutal acts of violence and oppression against Israel and other nations, was now facing God's impending retribution. The prophet Nahum delivers a stark prophecy of Nineveh's complete destruction, emphasizing its moral corruption and arrogance. In this specific verse, the imagery of ripe figs highlights the ease with which Nineveh's defenses would fall to the invading forces. This would be a definitive end to its power and dominance, fulfilling God's promise of justice against its wickedness. The surrounding verses in chapter 3 detail the shame, plunder, and death that awaited the city.
Nahum 3 12 Word Analysis
Thy (Hebrew:
yəḵúor possessive pronoun suffix referring to "you," specifically Nineveh, addressed in the second person singular masculine in the preceding verses, but here often referring to the city collectively). Indicates possession, directly linking the strongholds to Nineveh.strong holds (Hebrew:
maʿōzîm, meaning "fortresses," "defenses," "places of strength," "strongholds"). Plural ofmaʿōz, referring to fortified places or cities designed for protection. The strength of these fortifications is about to be rendered useless.shall be (Hebrew:
yəhiyeh, the future tense of the verb "to be"). A declarative statement about a future condition.like (Hebrew:
kə, a preposition meaning "as," "like," "in the manner of"). Introduces a simile.figs (Hebrew:
təʾenîm, meaning "figs"). Plural oftəʾenah, a common fruit, typically eaten when ripe or dried.with the first (Hebrew:
rêʾšîyt, meaning "first," "chief," "best," "beginning," "prime"). Refers to the early part of the season, when figs are earliest and most desirable.ripe fruit (Hebrew:
bəḵûrôṯ, meaning "choice fruits," "first-fruits," or "early fruits." It implies those that are mature, ready for picking, and often of superior quality). Specifically, "early ripe" figs, which are plump and easily detached. The ripeness suggests a state of fullness and readiness for harvest or judgment.if they be shaken (Hebrew:
ki yûqăšû, meaning "when they are shaken," "when they are moved," "when they are agitated"). Refers to a gentle shaking or disturbance, not necessarily a violent one, emphasizing how little force would be needed to bring them down.they shall even fall (Hebrew:
yəplû, the future tense ofnap̄al, "to fall"). Signifies the inevitability of their downfall.into the mouth (Hebrew:
ləp̄î, meaning "into the mouth of," "to the opening of").of the eater (Hebrew:
ʾōḵel, meaning "eater," "devourer," "destroyer"). The one who consumes or takes. This represents the enemy who will swiftly seize what falls.
Word Group Analysis
- figs with the first ripe fruit: This idiom refers to figs that are mature and easily plucked from the tree. Their readiness for picking mirrors the vulnerability of Nineveh's defenses at the appointed time of judgment. The "first ripe" suggests a state of fullness and peak ripeness, making them easy to take. This imagery evokes both the tempting bounty of a harvest and the fatal flaw of being overly ready for the plucking hand of destruction.
Nahum 3 12 Bonus Section
The concept of "falling figs" as a symbol of judgment and ruin appears in other parts of Scripture, underscoring its resonance. It signifies not just defeat but an easy, complete subjugation. This emphasizes God's sovereign control over history and His ultimate justice against oppressive nations. The "eater" represents not merely the conqueror but the agent of divine wrath, consuming that which God has deemed ready for judgment. This parallels prophetic pronouncements against other cities and nations facing divine retribution, where their perceived strength is revealed to be no protection against God's might. The image also suggests a certain readiness for judgment that has been built up through persistent sin, much like fruit ripens to a point where it can no longer remain on the branch.
Nahum 3 12 Commentary
The verse uses a powerful agricultural metaphor to illustrate Nineveh's impending doom. Its once-mighty fortifications, symbolic of its power and security, are depicted as a cluster of early-ripe figs on a fig tree. This means that Nineveh has reached its zenith and is ripe for destruction. When the slightest disturbance comes—the "shaking"—its defenses will yield and its people will fall easily into the hands of the enemy, the "eater" or devourer. This signifies that the city's overconfidence in its strength will prove to be its undoing. God's judgment, when it arrives, will not require a prolonged siege or immense effort to overcome Nineveh; its defenses will collapse almost effortlessly, just as ripe figs fall into a waiting hand. This imagery conveys a sense of inevitability and complete vulnerability for the Assyrian capital.