Your guardsמִנְּזָרַיִךְare like the locust,כָּאַרְבֶּהand your officialsוְטַפְסְרַיִךְlike a swarm of grasshoppersכְּגוֹב גֹּבָיthat campהַחוֹנִיםin the wallsבַּגְּדֵרוֹתon a dayבְּיוֹםof cold;קָרָהthe sunשֶׁמֶשׁrises,זָרְחָהand they flee,וְנוֹדַדand their placeמְקוֹמוֹis notוְלֹאknown;נוֹדַעwhere are they?אַיָּם
Nahum 3:17
Study it in the app“Your guards are like the locust, and your officials like a swarm of grasshoppers that camp in the walls on a day of cold; the sun rises, and they flee, and their place is not known; where are they?”
With the Hebrew beneath
Nahum 3:17, word by word
- Your guardsמִנְּזָרַיִminzarayi
guard, official
A guard or prince; a word of foreign origin whose exact sense is not certain.
Where else “minzarayi” appears- are like the locustאַרְבֶּהarbe
locust
Locust: an insect that comes in huge swarms and devours everything green.
Where else “arbe” appears- and your officialsטַפְסְרַיִtafsrayi
officer
Officer, military commander.
Where else “tafsrayi” appears- like a swarm of grasshoppersגוֹבgov
locust
A locust, a swarm of locusts.
Where else “gov” appears- that campחוֹנִיםchonim
encamp
To pitch tents and stay, or besiege a city.
Where else “chonim” appears- in the wallsגְּדֵרוֹתgederot
wall
A stone wall that encloses and protects a place.
Where else “gederot” appears- on a dayיוֹםyom
day
The day, the hours of light, or a whole day.
Where else “yom” appears- of coldקָרָהkara
cold
Cold.
Where else “kara” appears- the sunשֶׁמֶשׁshemesh
sun
The star that gives light and heat by day and marks the day and the year; "under the sun" means in this world.
Where else “shemesh” appears- risesזָרְחָהzarcha
rise, shine
Rise (of the sun); shine, dawn.
Where else “zarcha” appears- and they fleeנוֹדַדnodad
flee
To go far away, or flap wings.
Where else “nodad” appears- and their placeמְקוֹמmekom
place
A place, a spot.
Where else “mekom” appears- knownנוֹדַעnoda
know
To know something, realize.
Where else “noda” appears
Translation note
“Guards” and “officials”: words of foreign origin, of sense not entirely certain.
The context
16You have multiplied your traders more than the stars of the heavens; the young locust strips off and flies away.
17 · This verse (above)
18Your shepherds slumber, king of Assyria; your nobles rest; your people are scattered on the mountains, and there is no one to assemble them.