经文研读
Nahum 3:1 — Woe to the Bloody City
Nahum 3:1 pronounces a woe upon Nineveh, the bloody city, charging it with being full of lies and violence, with prey never ceasing.
经文
- 1.禍 哉 ！ 這 流 人 血 的 城 ， 充 滿 謊 詐 和 強 暴 ， 搶 奪 的 事 總 不 止 息 。Woe to the bloody city! it is all full of lies and rapine; the prey departeth not.
这段经文的意思
The verse opens with a funeral-style pronouncement, "Woe to the bloody city!" directing grief-laden accusation against a city identified in the chapter as Nineveh (v. 7). The wording functions as a prophetic verdict rather than a prediction: the crimes being condemned have already filled the city, so the "woe" announces the consequence already deserved.
The middle clause, "it is all full of lies and rapine;" catalogs the charges in sweeping terms. "Lies" (the Hebrew covers deception, fraud, and false testimony) and "rapine" (violent plunder, tearing prey from others) characterize the city as saturated with wrongdoing, not merely stained by it.
The final line, "the prey departeth not," stresses that the plundering never stops. The continual seizing of victims is presented as the city's defining feature, the reason the preceding "woe" is justified.
背景
Nahum 3:1 stands as the opening of the third and final chapter, a sustained woe oracle against Nineveh. The accusation of bloodshed in v. 1 is immediately followed by vv. 2-3, which paint the sounds and sights of an invading army — whips, wheels, horses, chariots, swords, spears, and heaps of corpses — illustrating the violence the city itself unleashed now returning upon it.
V. 4 then supplies a reason behind the bloodshed charge: Nineveh is depicted as the "well-favored harlot" whose seductive idolatry and sorcery sold nations and families. The chapter continues with God's "I am against thee" declaration (v. 5), comparisons to fallen No-Amon (vv. 8-10), siege imagery (vv. 11-14), swarming-insect metaphors (vv. 15-17), and a closing lament over the king of Assyria and his scattered people (vv. 18-19). The opening woe of v. 1 thus frames the entire chapter's indictment.
常见问题
Who is the "bloody city" in Nahum 3:1?
The chapter itself identifies the city as Nineveh in v. 7 ("Nineveh is laid waste"). The bloody city designation refers to the Assyrian capital charged with violence and deceit.
What kinds of sin does Nahum 3:1 condemn?
The verse condemns two chief sins: "lies" (deception, fraud, false witness) and "rapine" (violent plunder and seizure of prey). The closing line emphasizes that such plundering is continual rather than occasional.
How does Nahum 3:1 fit into the chapter as a whole?
V. 1 opens the chapter with a one-line woe that announces the verdict, then vv. 2-4 elaborate the violence and its idolatrous cause, vv. 5-17 detail the coming judgment with military, animal, and siege imagery, and vv. 18-19 close with mourning over Assyria's king.