Nahum 3:18
“Thy shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria: thy nobles shall dwell in the dust: thy people is scattered upon the mountains, and no man gathereth them.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →Assyria's leaders sleep in death, its nobles lie in the dust, and its people are scattered on the mountains with no one to gather them.
What Does Nahum 3:18 Mean?
The prophet addresses the king of Assyria directly with a funeral's stillness. Your shepherds slumber, a gentle phrase for the sleep of death; your nobles lie in the dust of the grave; your people are scattered across the mountains, and no one gathers them. The leaders meant to guard and gather the flock are dead or fallen, and the leaderless people are left to wander and disperse. The once-mighty kingdom dissolves into a scattered, shepherdless crowd.
Shepherd was the ancient title for kings and rulers, charged with protecting and gathering their people. Here the shepherds fail utterly, asleep in death when their flock most needs them, and the result is a people lost on the hills with none to bring them home. The scene carries real pathos, for scattered sheep without a shepherd are among Scripture's most pitiable images. It stirs longing for the true Shepherd who does not slumber, who seeks the scattered and gathers the lost. Assyria's collapse shows what becomes of a people whose only shepherds were proud and faithless men.
In the Original Language
ro'eh (רֹעֶה), "shepherd" — a common title for kings and rulers, charged to feed, guard, and gather the people as a flock.