:
1 He that dasheth in pieces is come up before thy face: keep the munition, watch the way, make thy loins strong, fortify thy power mightily. 2 For the LORD hath turned away the excellency of Jacob, as the excellency of Israel: for the emptiers have emptied them out, and marred their vine branches. 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. 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. 5 He shall recount his worthies: they shall stumble in their walk; they shall make hast to the wall thereof, and the defence shall be prepared. 6 The gates of the rivers shall be opened, and the palace shall be dissolved. 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. 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. 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. 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. 11 Where is the dwelling of the lions, and the feedingplace of the young lions, where the lion, even the old lion, walked, and the lion's whelp, and none made them afraid? 12 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. 13 Behold, I am against thee, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will burn her chariots in the smoke, and the sword shall devour thy young lions: and I will cut off thy prey from the earth, and the voice of thy messengers shall no more be heard.
[AD 386] Cyril of Jerusalem on Nahum 2:1
He imparted the fellowship of this Holy Spirit to the apostles, for it is written, “When he had said that, he breathed upon them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit; whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained.’ ” This was the second breathing (the first had been impaired by willful sins)2 to fulfill the Scripture: “One who has been delivered from affliction has come up panting into your presence.” He has been delivered from Hades. For it was after his resurrection, according to the gospel, that he breathed on them. He gives the grace at this time, and he will lavish it more abundantly. He says to them, “I am ready to give it to you even now, but the vessel cannot yet hold it. Accept for the time the grace of which you are capable, but look forward to yet more.” “But wait here in the city” of Jerusalem “until you are clothed with power from on high.” Receive it in part now; then you will be clad in its fullness. For he who receives often has the gift only in part, but he who is clothed is entirely covered by his garment. Fear not, he says, the weapons and darts of the devil, for you will possess the power of the Holy Spirit. But be mindful of our recent admonition, that the Holy Spirit is not divided, but only the grace he bestows.

[AD 420] Jerome on Nahum 2:1-2
Chapter 2, verses 1 and 2: He who scatters has ascended before your face, guarding the siege: consider the way, strengthen your loins, greatly fortify your strength. For just as the Lord has repaid the pride of Jacob, so He will repay the pride of Israel. Because the desolators have scattered them and spoiled their branches. I am compelled by necessity to turn my course between the rocks and the cliffs, with imminent shipwreck, so as to navigate between the history and allegory of my discourse, and to be cautious lest it suddenly collide. Indeed, according to the fables of the poets:

Scylla threatens on the right side, Charybdis on the left, unrelenting. If we flee the rocks, we plunge into the deep; if we avoid the swirling whirlpools, we are thrown onto the rocks. The Lord is my witness that in all I have said according to the Hebrew, I am not speaking in my own sense, which is an argument used against false prophets, but rather following the interpretation of the Hebrews, from whom I have learned a great deal over a considerable time, and I must simply indicate what I have learned to my own people. Certainly, it will be at the discretion of the reader, when he goes through both, to judge which one he should follow more. Now, the speech is turned to Nineveh (and hence the prophets are especially obscure because suddenly, while something else is being discussed, the person is changed to others) and it is said to her: Nebuchadnezzar, who will besiege you, is coming to you, who will devastate the fields in front of your mouth, pursue the farmers, plunder the countryside, and also keep you enclosed herself. Therefore, because war is imminent for you, behold, the joyful prophet now predicts: carefully consider and behold what may happen to you. Strengthen your loins, that is, prepare yourself: gather strength greatly, that is, gather an army: just as the Lord avenged Judah from the pride of Sennacherib, with his army being killed in Judah, and he himself being slain by his own sons: so will he avenge Israel, that is, the ten tribes that are possessed by Nineveh. For both the Assyrians devastated and destroyed both Judah and Israel, and under the metaphor of the vine, they corrupted the offspring of both (or 'of both trees').

LXX: Contemplate the way, hold your loins, strengthen yourself vigorously, because the Lord has turned away the disgrace of Jacob, as the disgrace of Israel: for those who shook them off have shaken themselves off, and their branches have been demolished. Three things are commanded to the Jews. First, that they contemplate the way, and diligently look at the path by which they will walk, according to what is written in Jeremiah: Stand in the ways, and ask for the eternal paths, and see what the good way is; And walk in it (Jeremiah 6:16): so that when we stand in many ways, we may come to that way which says: I am the way (John 14:6). Then it is said to him, to hold his loins, that is, to mortify his body after the election of the way, and to subject himself to servitude, lest, preaching to others as a king and master, he himself be found reprobate (1 Corinthians IX). It is now too long to say how the virtue of the devil is chiefly in the loins, and how the promise is made to David: I will set the fruit of thy loin upon thy throne (Psalms CXXXI, 11). And that of the Apostle: For as yet Levi, who received tithes, paid tithes in Abraham: For he was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchisedech met him (Hebrews VII, 10). And that John is girded with a leather belt (Matth. III), and that the disciples are commanded by the Savior: Let your loins be girded (Luke XII, 35). And the Apostle to the Ephesians: Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth (Ephes. VI, 14): for although exercise is very beneficial, and a life of self-control is superior to the mortification of the loins, yet nothing mortifies them so much as the knowledge of the truth. Hence it is said: Gird your loins with truth. For if the truth is Christ, he who believes with his whole mind in Christ has mortified his desires in Christ. Thirdly, it is commanded to be strengthened exceedingly: 'You have chosen,' he says, 'the way, you have held tight to your desire, take on virtue, so that you may be able to fight against your enemies.' And lest perhaps you doubt, a reason is given to you why you should hope: 'The Lord has turned away the disgrace of Jacob, just as he has turned away the disgrace of Israel,' which is ambiguous: either he has turned away the disgrace of Jacob himself, which he was inflicting on others, or he has turned away the disgrace which Jacob was enduring from others. But it seems to me better that the insult which Jacob used to do to others should be turned away from the Lord. For it is not of such great virtue to endure injury done by others, as it is of the grace of the Lord to be unable to do injury, being gentle, meek, and tranquil. It is asked, how injury is turned away from Jacob, just as it had been turned away from Israel. After Jacob wrestled with the angel, he deserved to receive the name Israel (Genesis XXXII), and because he saw God, he ceased to do injury. Just as Israel, the understanding or man who sees God, and always thinking about God, does not know how to do wrong, so every insolence and outrage is turned away from Jacob, that is, from the supplanter, from him who is still in the struggle and supplants enemies. But in order that we may know how wrong is taken in a bad sense, Solomon is witness, saying: Eyes full of contempt, a wicked tongue (Prov. 6). But how according to both interpretations wrong is turned away from Jacob, which was first turned away from Israel, the following passage makes clear: Because they shook them off, and demolished, or corrupted, their scourges. The angels, he says, of each one who daily behold the face of the Father (Matthew XV, 10), shook off whatever dust had adhered to Jacob and Israel. Hence also the feet of Peter are washed (John XIII). And through the prophet it is said: Shake off the dust, and arise, Jerusalem (Isaiah LII, 2). It is also commanded to the disciples by the Savior: Shake off the dust from your feet (Matthew X, 14). And in the Psalms it is written: Like arrows in the hand of a mighty one, so are the children of the shaken off (Psalm CXXVI, 4). Therefore, the mind is inclined towards insult, not only by Jacob, but also by Israel: because whatever was earthly in them and formed from the lower elements, this was shaken off and purified by the ministering angels, or rather by the guardians and teachers, who not only expelled them, but also scattered the vices which temporarily satisfy the senses and are like whips and branches devoid of fruit, as the Lord says: Every branch that abides in me and bears fruit, my Father cleanses, that it may bear more fruit; but what does not abide in me and does not bear fruit, my Father cuts off and throws into the fire (Matthew 15).

[AD 444] Cyril of Alexandria on Nahum 2:1
Now, the verse God is jealous and the rest would properly apply also to those not wishing to follow the straight and narrow path of godliness, but rather to be diverted to a fleshly style of life. After all, there is no doubt that he will take vengeance by inflicting punishment and subjecting to penalties the stubborn and guilty, especially if it is true that “all of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ so that each may receive recompense for what has been done in the body, whether good or evil.” (2 Cor 5.10) The passage is no less relevant, however, also to the leaders of the Jews—I mean the scribes and Pharisees—who rejected faith in Christ and were guilty of destroying themselves and others. Their attitude was hostile, in fact, and they took issue with the Incarnation of the Only-begotten;  they  “took  away  the  key  of knowledge,” as he says himself, not entering themselves or allowing others to enter. (Lk 11.52) If he is also long-suffering, therefore, he still will certainly not absolve the guilty who have warred against the true faith.
[AD 458] Theodoret of Cyrus on Nahum 2:1
“One has come up blowing in your face, rescuing you from tribulation.” God is the cause of this for you by his decision as though by some kind of blowing, destroying them but freeing you from their power. Just as by blowing a breath of life into Adam he made him a living being, so he provided you with salvation by the blowing of life. This is also what Christ the Lord gave the sacred apostles after the resurrection. Since Adam lost what he had received by way of image through the divine blowing, it was right that Christ the Lord should renew the image and restore it to the sacred apostles and through them to all the believers, blowing on them and saying, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” Since former things are a type of the new, therefore, let us take the Assyrians’ kingdom that was destroyed as the devil’s tyranny brought to an end through Christ the Lord.

[AD 444] Cyril of Alexandria on Nahum 2:2
Keep watch on the road, gird your loins, summon your strength to the utmost, because the Lord has turned aside the abuse of Jacob, like the abuse of Israel. As though speaking to people on their way to Judea and due to reach home, he necessarily states the need now to have an eye to the road and gird their loins, that is, to be equipped and ready for the hardship of traveling, to overcome all lethargy, and to prove superior to long delays by applying irrepressible enthusiasm. Having one’s loins girt and, so to speak, decent is a sign of readiness; our Lord Jesus Christ, for instance, says to the holy apostles, or rather also to all who believe in him, “Take your place with loins girt.” It is in fact the right and proper way to travel for those preaching the divine Gospel and being ready to proceed in that direction. He therefore says, gird your loins, meaning, “be ready and equipped for departure,” for the Lord has turned aside the abuse of Jacob, like the abuse of Israel. Note once again the distinction necessarily drawn here: by Jacob he refers to the inhabitants of Samaria, that is, the ten tribes ruled over by kings from the tribe of Ephraim and Manasseh, descendants of Joseph, who was son of Jacob, whereas by Israel he refers to those in Jerusalem, namely, Judah and Benjamin. Since at the devastation of Samaria by Sennacherib Jerusalem was not captured, thanks to God’s protecting them and destroying the Assyrian by the hand of an angel, and since Cyrus released not only the captives from Samaria deported to Nineveh but also those from Jerusalem as a result of Nebuchadnezzar’s capture of the country, the prophet consequently says, because the  Lord  has  turned  aside  the  abuse  of  Jacob,  like  the  abuse  of Israel, meaning by abuse enslavement or service. Now, the fact that God will release everyone, not protecting some and leaving others to be consumed by hardship, he conveys by saying, he has turned aside the abuse of Jacob as that of Israel will be turned aside; all returned to Judea, as we said, escaping from the toll taken by captivity. Now, in my view there is also a very urgent need for those redeemed by Christ to be wanting no longer to live a heedless life; rather,  they  should  be  attentive  to  following  the  straight  and narrow path of a way of life pleasing to God, and gird their loins, that is, rise above bodily indulgence and pleasure and “make no provision for the flesh to gratify its desires,” and prevail over passions and all lethargy. This is the way, in fact, they will come to  the  holy  city,  the  heavenly  Jerusalem,  and  there  offer  God spiritual sacrifices, having shaken off the yoke of the former servitude, and they will live a glorious and free life that is rid of all depravity.
[AD 1781] Richard Challoner on Nahum 2:2
Hath rendered the pride of Jacob: He hath punished Jacob for his pride; and therefore Ninive must not expect to escape. Or else, rendering the pride of Jacob means rewarding, that is, punishing Ninive for the pride they exercised against Jacob.
[AD 420] Jerome on Nahum 2:3-7
(Verse 3 and following) The shield of the strong is ablaze, the men of the army in scarlet; the fiery chariots are on the day of its preparation; and the drivers are asleep, they are disturbed on the journey, the chariots collide in the streets. Their appearance is like torches, like lightning running to and fro. They will remember their mighty men, they will rush on their way, they will quickly climb its walls, and the shelter will be prepared. The gates of the rivers are opened, and the temple is laid waste to the ground, and the captive soldier is taken away, and her maidservants threatened, moaning like doves, murmuring in their hearts. LXX: The arms of his power are from men, strong men mocking in fire, the reins of their chariots on the day of his preparation, and the horsemen will fear in the exits: and the chariots will be confounded, and they will collide in the streets. Their appearance is like lamps of fire, and like running lightning, and their nobles will be remembered, and they will flee in the days, and they will be weakened on their journey, and they will hasten to the walls, and they will prepare their defenses: the gates of the cities are open, and the royal palaces have fallen, and the wealth has been revealed; and she herself ascended, and her maids were led like doves speaking in their hearts. According to the history, the order follows against Nineveh, and the army of the Babylonians coming against it is described. Moreover, what it says: fiery reins of chariots, in burning cords, signifies the preparedness of speed, and is narrated as the parade of those preparing for battle. And now the Scripture weaves together things that Israel once suffered, things that Assyria did, and things that the Babylonians practice against the Assyrians. Therefore, he says, it is not surprising that they come so quickly to devastate, since the charioteers and strong men, either before or after, have been put to sleep, either in Israel or in Assyria. And returning to the order of description: The multitude of those coming is so great, that the marching column is mixed together on the path, and cannot be distinguished. The chariots themselves, while not finding the way, collide with each other in the streets due to the multitude. The appearance of the Babylonians is like lamps, like lightning running around, so that they terrify their enemies before they defeat them with the sword. Then Assyria will remember its strong ones, and will seek out those who fell on the journeys, and will quickly climb the walls of Nineveh, and because of the very long siege will prepare tents to drive away the heat. But what does it profit to build a house, unless the Lord builds it? What does it profit to close the gates, which the Lord opens? The gates of Nineveh are open, which had a multitude of citizens like rivers, and its temple, that is, its kingdom, is destroyed, and its soldiers are taken captive, that is, they are all led into Babylon. But understand that the handmaids of Nineveh, by metaphor, are the smaller cities, villages, and castles. Indeed, even the captive women will threaten before the faces of the victors; and there will be so great a terror that not even a sob or a wail of pain will burst forth, but they will silently groan within themselves and, with a muffled murmur, swallow their tears in the manner of cooing doves. This is according to Hebrew tradition. Now let us come to the translators of the Septuagint. They examined, who shook off Jacob and Israel, and dispersed their scourges; they also broke the weapons which they had been accustomed to have in order to hurl insults, and with which they had oppressed the weak; and not only did they do this, but they also burned the strong men who were mocking in the fire. Consider if you can say that strong men deride in the fire, the opposite strengths that serve as burning darts of the devil, who once had strong men deriding in the fire Jacob and Israel, having chariots and horses on which they were carried swiftly into battle on the day of their preparation. Therefore, the reins of these chariots and the horsemen will be confused on their journeys, and they will collide in the streets, when the illumination of the Lord shines upon Jacob and Israel, both demons and those who serve their will, will be overthrown by the Lord. We can understand these things by his coming, when brave men and charioteers and horsemen were speaking: What have we to do with you, Son of David? Have you come here to torment us before the time? (Matth. VIII, 29) But since we have once received a prophecy against Nineveh concerning the end of the world, it is better that we say that the weapons of the power of the devil were then taken away from men, and his strong ministers, who deceived men in fire. For all those who adulterate, their hearts are like an oven; the chains by which they were led into vices and the chariot's wheels will be released. The horsemen will be fearful at the exits, which is at the end of the world, and they will be confused and the chariots will collide in the streets. For although there is a wide and spacious road that leads to death, they will not be able to find the right path due to the pressure of time. They will collide with each other and yet continue to breathe out their old fury, flashing here and there like lightning. I saw, said the Lord, Satan falling like lightning from heaven (Luke 10:18). When the devil and all his officials understand this, they will remember the end that was predicted in the past, and they will flee in those days. For they will not move about at night, but as the day dawns, darkness will be driven away, and they will be weakened on their journey, making no progress and not fulfilling their efforts, and they will hasten to the walls. Indeed, such a great terror of the coming Lord will invade them, and they will be so weak to resist that they will flee to the ends of the world, where the world is enclosed and surrounded like walls, and they will prepare themselves to resist. When someone flees from an enemy, not daring to resist them, and comes to a solitary place, if by chance the enemy pursues them, they are forced to fight back out of necessity. But as they ponder these things, everything they have obtained and possessed will be brought forth and the doors they had closed will be opened, and their kingdoms will fall, and their wealth, that is, their riches, will be revealed. However, the substance of the world itself and all its servants, after they submit themselves to Christ and begin to serve Him, will be led joyfully and with gladness, and from the depths of their hearts they will believe, so that they may be compared to the cleanliness of doves, and they will murmur or speak in their hearts. And then will be fulfilled what is said in the sixty-seventh psalm about the victory of the Savior: He ascended on high, he led captivity captive.

[AD 1781] Richard Challoner on Nahum 2:3
Of his mighty men: He speaks of the Chaldeans and Medes sent to destroy Ninive.

Stupefied: consopiti. That is, they drive on furiously like men intoxicated with wine.
[AD 1781] Richard Challoner on Nahum 2:5
Stumble in their march: By running hastily on.
[AD 397] Ambrose of Milan on Nahum 2:6
But is this the only place we read of “substance”? Has it not also been said in another passage: “The gates of the cities are broken down, the mountains are fallen, and his substance is revealed”? What, does the word mean something created here also? Some, I know, are accustomed to say that the substance is substance in money. Then, if you give this meaning to the word, the mountains fell in order that someone’s possessions of money might be seen. But let us remember what mountains fell, those, namely, of which it has been said, “If you shall have faith as a grain of mustard seed you shall say to this mountain, ‘Be removed, and be cast into the sea!’ ” By mountains, then, are meant high things that exalt themselves.

[AD 420] Jerome on Nahum 2:8-9
(Verses 8, 9.) And Nineveh is like a pool of water; its waters are fleeing. Stand! Stand! But there is no one who can turn back. Plunder the silver, plunder the gold; there is no end to the treasures, the desirable vessels. LXX: And Nineveh is like a pool of water; and they who flee do not stand; there is no one who looks back. They plunder silver, they plunder gold, and there is no end to its ornaments; it is burdened with all the vessels of its desire. It is evident that, when the cities of Nineveh (which Scripture calls her daughters) were led into captivity, Nineveh herself, which had nourished such great populations that it could be compared to the waters of the sea, now has a useless multitude because there is no one who resists and endures the attack of the Babylonians. For it had populations that only fled, and when the mother shouted, 'Stand, stand, close the gates, climb the walls, resist the enemies,' there was no one who would return, no one who would look back at the mother, but everyone turned their backs and abandoned the city to the spoils of the enemies. Where it is said to the Babylonians, because they fled, plunder the silver, and in such a long time gather riches and seize them by sudden devastation. For there is no end to riches, furniture, and vessels that were stored up in Nineveh; nor can you plunder as much as it offers itself for plundering. But because we have already said that Nineveh is splendid, that is, the world, let us see what kind of pool the world is. Scripture does not say that the waters of Nineveh are like the waters of the sea, nor like the waters of rivers, nor like the waters of springs, nor like the waters of wells, but like the waters of a pool: just as, in the book of Jeremiah, the people are accused who have forsaken the fountain of living water and have dug for themselves cracked cisterns that cannot hold water (Jeremiah 2): so also in Nineveh, all those waters that have fallen from the sky, leaving behind their former depth, have poured down into the lowest depths. For all the teachings of the world, which are outside the Church's source and sealed garden, cannot say: The river's current makes the city of God rejoice (Ps. 45:4): nor are they the waters that praise the name of the Lord above the heavens, although they may seem great, yet they are small and confined within a narrow boundary. Let no one be disturbed because we understand the pool in a negative sense, while that pool is understood in a positive sense, to which Isaiah the son of Amos the prophet is commanded to ascend. For there, with an addition, it is said: A pool of flowing water, and a pool of the cloth washer (Is. VII and XXXVI), which is accustomed to wash away filth and stains of clothing (or filth). Because it is placed on high, therefore the prophet is commanded to ascend to it, and to promise victory in the encounter with the king from the two burnt towers. It follows: The fleeing did not stand firm, namely the inhabitants of Nineveh. First, indeed, they should not have fled from God, then also if they had fled, at some point they should have stood firm: For there is a great difference between someone who flees and stands firm, and someone who, fleeing, never stands firm. For the one who stands firm has ceased to flee; the one who does not stand firm always remains in flight. In such a great crowd of those fleeing, there was none who would look back, and repent, and hear the Lord speaking: Return to me, my children, returning, and I will heal your contritions (Jerem. III, 22). Hence also the Holy One speaks in the Psalms: Flight has perished from me (Ps. CXLI, 5). Indeed, I think this also signifies the mystery of leprosy, above which it is said in Leviticus: When a leper has been separated from the priest outside the camp: if the leprosy should stand firm, it [the person] is to be a clean human (Levit. XIII and XIV), and he who had been cast out like a leper is to be cleansed, and to return to camp, and to dwell among the people. But if, the text says, the leprosy has spread, that is, if it does not stand firm but grows and makes progress in evil, and has changed the color of its former health, then the leprosy is most plainly proved by the one who has the knowledge to examine and cleanse the leprosy. But we are also instructed by the true Solomon to dwell in Jerusalem, and to never go out from it. But if that which had been subjected before us flees from us, and goes to other nations, let us not go out of the walls of our city, nor follow the tracks of the fugitives: lest while we wish to save those who are fleeing, we ourselves perish: rather, let us allow them to bury their own dead (Matth. VIII): and let us cut off and cast away from us the eye, hand, and foot that causes scandal, while it is still possible (Marc. IX). Now, what is said: They plundered silver, they plundered gold, and there was no end to their treasures: it refers to the waters of Nineveh, and to those who fled and did not stand firm: there was no one who would look back; and not content with having fled and not looked back, they also plundered silver, whatever eloquence seemed to be in the world: they plundered gold, whatever brilliant sentiments there were in the doctrine of the age, so that they might adorn Nineveh, so that they might compose their teachings with the full flower of all senses and words. Therefore, Nineveh was weighed down with all the treasures of its desires; for the more it possessed a great amount of gold and silver wealth, and various valuable possessions, which were heavy, the more it itself was weighed down, for it loved things that were heavy. Hence, in the book of Zechariah, iniquity sits on a weighed-down talent (Zach. V); and the Egyptians, who were heavy with sins, were submerged in the sea like lead (Exod. XIV). And in the persona of a sinner it is said in the psalm: They were weighed down on me like a heavy burden (Ps. XXXVII, 5). And Peter, who before lightly stepped on the waves: after being weighed down by unbelief, was swallowed up by the waves, is lifted up by the hand of the Lord (Matth. XIV).

[AD 420] Jerome on Nahum 2:10
(Verse 10) She is scattered and torn and ripped apart, with a wasting heart, and knees loosened, and weakness in all the kidneys, and the faces of all like the darkness of a pot. LXX: Shaking, trembling, and bubbling, and the breaking of the heart, and knees loosened, and pains over every loin, and the faces of all like the burning of a pot. Under the metaphor of a captive woman, Nineveh is described as scattered, torn, and ripped apart: with a wasting heart, loosened knees, and broken kidneys, and the faces of all its inhabitants, due to the terror of the enemies and the magnitude of fear, appear burnt, wasted, and deformed with paleness. Furthermore, according to the Septuagint, a higher understanding is needed of what the terms 'excussio' and 'rediscussio' signify. As for the people of God, it is as if a person has sinned at some point and returns to their previous state, as Jerusalem is said to them: Shake off the dust from your feet and arise, Jerusalem (Isaiah 52:2). And for someone who is such, that after being shaken off, they may deserve to pass into the arrows of God and be aimed against the enemies by the Lord, it is sung about them: Like arrows in the hand of a mighty one, so are the children of those who are shaken off (Psalm 127:4). And when his footsteps, as though entering upon the earth, are sprinkled with dust, we hear from the Savior: Shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony to them (Mk. 6:11): doubtless he speaks of those who refuse to receive the preachers. But as for Nineveh, which was burdened with all the vessels of its desires, it is not merely shaken off once, but frequently. And after it has been shaken off again, and its surface has been cleaned (so that no impurity remains inside), there is even a boiling, which is more significantly called ἐκβρασμὸς in Greek: for properly speaking, ἐκβρασμὸς is used in such cases, when what was hidden inside erupts to the surface. And the pimples that also arise on the lips after an illness are called ἐκβράσματα, and it seems to indicate health, that the disease has erupted on the surface. But not only is this remedy applied in Nineveh, so that it is frequently shaken off and the hidden illness within its vital organs is forced to leave; but also the breaking and dissolution of the heart and knees ((or kidneys)) is proclaimed, just as the hard and stony heart of Pharaoh was broken, which as long as he had it, he did not let the people of God go (Exodus VII and thereafter): so too the broken heart of Nineveh is softened and transformed into flesh, and the stiff knees that were not previously bowed to God are dissolved, and bend to God: from which all fatherhood in heaven and on earth is named: and at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth (Philippians II, 10). So after they come to know their creator, let them hear: Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees (Isaiah 35:3). And he says, 'Pain upon every loin.' We have already said that intercourse is signified by the loin, and that all works related to mingling are designated by the term 'loins.' Therefore, in the consummation, there will be great pains in the loins, because all the power of the dragon is in the loins (Job 40:11). And for all these things, because of which there is shaking, shaking again, bubbling, and breaking of the heart, dissolving of the knees, pains of the loins, the faces of all will be like the scorching of a pot, so that it either becomes close to fire and heat, or loses the shine of oil and turns black like coal, and is covered with eternal confusion, from which the saint is far off, saying, 'The light of your face has shone upon us, Lord' (Psalm 4:7). For when the face of God is revealed, He is contemplated in His glory (2 Corinthians III). And I think, just as the glory of the sun is different from the glory of the moon and from the glory of the stars, and one star differs from another in brightness (1 Corinthians XV, 41), so in the resurrection of the dead, there will be a great distance between the glory of the saints and the darkness of sinners.

[AD 420] Jerome on Nahum 2:11
(Verse 11) Where is the den of the lions, and the feeding ground of the lion cubs, to which the lion went to enter there with its lion cub, and there is no one to drive them away? The lion has taken enough for its cubs, and has killed for its lionesses; and it has filled its dens with prey and its lair with the spoils. Concerning dens and lionesses, seventy are carried off in translation, and the same meaning holds for the rest. However, it is still said about Nineveh: that it was the dwelling place of kings and the court of nobles; to which the Babylonian lion king, that is, Nebuchadnezzar, went, along with his lion cub, his sub-rulers, and there was no one to resist them. The lion captured its own cubs sufficiently, and killed its own lionesses. Likewise, Nabuchodonosor rightfully possessed all the spoils of victory, and he delivered the captured captives into slavery to his free cities or certainly to his wives, and he filled his caves with booty, or as it is said in Hebrew, his pits, and his den with plunder, fully enriching it with treasures, cities, gold, silver, clothes, and all kinds of ornaments, so that he would possess what he had in Nineveh, and conquered Babylon. But according to the ἀναγωγή (i.e., interpretation), both in Jonah and in this Prophet, we have interpreted the world as Nineveh; and according to John: The whole world is set in the evil one (1 John 5:18); after the world has passed through the dwelling place of beasts, and in which lions were fed, then amazed and rejoicing we will say: Where is the dwelling place of the lions that the devil went to, about which Peter speaks: Your adversary (or our adversary) the devil is like a roaring lion, prowling around, seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). And the lion's cub, the Antichrist, and all perverse teachings, a contrary word. You have heard, says John, the Antichrist will come: but now there are many Antichrists (I John 2): for as many false doctrines as there are, there are as many Antichrists. And before the coming of Christ there was no one who expelled; but after our Lord came and entered Nineveh, he saw Satan falling from heaven like lightning (Luke 10): and Lucifer, who rose in the morning, fell from heaven (Isaiah 14). For the true Samson came to the Philistines; and while he was going to Thamna, which means his consummation, to take as his wife the poor girl from the nations, Delilah, he killed a lion to whom his consummation had come, and when it was dead, he ate the sweet honey. And the true David, keeping his father's sheep, seized the lion and killed it (1 Samuel 17); and Banias, which means the builder of the Lord (1 Chronicles 11), went down into the lake of this age, which is accustomed to refresh the hot waters, and killed the lion. And in the vision of Isaiah, which is seen against quadrupeds, first the distress of these beasts is mentioned: In tribulation and distress, a lion and the whelp of a lion (Isa. XXXV). This lion, before being killed by Christ, captured many as prey for his cubs: and he killed his lion cubs, his attendants, that is, demons. See the assemblies of the heretics and you will not find many captured by the lion. Consider the dead who have left life, and you will not call their churches the shepherd's flock, but rather the lion's dens, which are filled with corpses and the blood of the dead. You have set darkness (says David), and it became night: in it all the beasts of the forests will pass by. Lion's whelps roar and seek food from God. The lion is difficult to find during the day, but he always prowls at night, in order to snatch from the Church of Christ, in order to be satiated with the chosen ones, according to Habakkuk's foods. Finally, Judas was from the sheepfold of Christ, and he was snatched by the lion and suffocated by hanging. But that prophet, to whom the Lord had commanded not to eat bread in that region where the golden calves were, and who falsely claimed that he did not eat, was struck by a lion (3 Kings 13). Jeremiah also speaks about sinners: The lion has struck them from the forest, and the wolf has dispersed them even to their houses, and the leopard has watched over their cities. Everyone who goes out from them shall be caught (Jeremiah 5:6). Take note that no one shall be caught except those who have gone out from the cities of God. In the fourth book of Kings (verse 17), the inhabitants of the cities of Samaria, not knowing the judgment of God, were being killed by lions until they learned to worship God and were freed from the lions. For this reason, I believe and whatever is captured by beasts should not be offered in the sacrifices to God (Leviticus 22:8), and it is said by the prophet: 'Unclean and captured by a beast has not entered into my mouth' (Ezekiel 4:14). Therefore, the lion was slain, and the false doctrines were refuted, the food came out of the one who was eating, and the sweet came out of the strong (Judges 14).

[AD 420] Jerome on Nahum 2:13
(v. 13) Behold, I am coming to you, says the Lord of hosts, and I will set fire to your chariots until they are smoking, and the sword will devour your young lions, and I will eliminate your plunder from the land, and the voice of your messengers will no longer be heard. (LXX: Behold, I am coming to you, says the Almighty Lord, and I will set fire to your multitude until it is smoke, and the sword will devour your lions, and I will take away your plunder from the land, and your works will no longer be heard.) O Nineveh, all that has been said, with me as the author, you will suffer. I, the Lord, will set fire to your chariots until they are smoking and consumed, and I will make even your nobles and officials be devoured by the sword. You will no longer ravage the lands, nor demand tribute, and your messengers will not be heard throughout your provinces. Even if I do not hear the angels, who are your guardians, praying continuously for your protection. But these same words are also spoken to the world, where there is a multitude that travels along a broad and spacious road leading to death (Matthew 7), which the Lord threatens to set ablaze, suffocating in the smoke of its own wickedness (or excessive goodness). The sword will also devour lions, the living word of God, sharp and polished on all sides. It promises to take away its prey from the land, so that no one in Nineveh will be captured, and like a merciful one, it removes evil deeds and suppresses them, so that the sound of their voice and noise can no longer be heard. Hence it says: And your deeds will no longer be heard.