Nahum 3:13
“Behold, thy people in the midst of thee are women: the gates of thy land shall be set wide open unto thine enemies: the fire shall devour thy bars.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →Nineveh's defenders lose all courage, her gates stand open to the enemy, and fire consumes the bars that once held them shut.
What Does Nahum 3:13 Mean?
The prophet announces the collapse of Nineveh's defenses from within. Her troops, by the idiom of the day, have become like frightened women on the battlefield, their courage drained away. The gates of the land stand wide open to the enemy, and fire devours the great bars that once locked them fast. The city's last protections fail one by one: no nerve to fight, no closed gate, no bar to hold the door. The way lies open for the invader to walk straight in.
The verse pictures the total failure of defense when God removes His protection. Bravery, gates, and bars all give way together, and a city that trusted in them is left utterly exposed. The ancient idiom is not a comment on the worth of women but simply names the loss of fighting resolve that seizes the doomed. The deeper lesson is that no barrier holds when the Lord has set Himself against a place. Conversely, where He is the keeper, no gate need fear, for He Himself is the wall of fire around His own and the open door no enemy can force.