Nahum includes direct statements where the LORD says, “Behold, I am against you.” These declarations introduce specific judgments like burning chariots, ending prey, and bringing public shame on Nineveh (Nahum 2:13; Nahum 3:5).
Nahum 2:13 closes the chapter with Yahweh’s direct, final announcement to Nineveh: he is personally opposed to the city and will dismantle what made it powerful. The speech moves through a chain of losses—military hardware destroyed, fighters killed, plunder cut off, and communication silenced. Nahum 2 as a whole paints Nineveh’s collapse in rapid, vivid snapshots: attackers advance, defenses fail, and the city’s wealth is carried away. The chapter’s earlier lines describe the siege and panic, then portray Nineveh as a lion’s den—secure, well-fed, and feared.
Nahum 2:13 presents Yahweh’s final, direct word against Nineveh in this chapter. The verse is framed as Yahweh’s own speech, not merely the prophet’s opinion.
A common mistake is to turn the wording into a slogan. The better reading keeps the phrase tied to the passage, the speaker, and the problem the book is addressing.
Start with Nahum 2:13, then read the surrounding section so the answer stays connected to the passage's flow.
13"Behold, I am against you," says Yahweh of Hosts, "and I will burn her chariots in the smoke, and the sword will devour your young lions; and I will cut off your prey from the earth, and the voice of your messengers will no longer be heard."