Yet was she carried away, she went into captivity: her young children also were dashed in pieces at the top of all the streets: and they cast lots for her honourable men, and all her great men were bound in chains.

NAHUM 3:10KJV
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Nahum 3:10 (KJV)

What does Nahum 3:10 mean?

Nahum 3:10 describes how a once-powerful city was completely defeated: its people were taken away as captives, its children were killed in public places, its respected leaders were divided up by lot, and its important men were put in chains. The verse paints a picture of total humiliation and destruction for this city.

The prophet Nahum is speaking to the people of Nineveh, reminding them of what happened to the city of No (Thebes) in Egypt. Nahum uses this example to warn Nineveh that, despite its strength, it too can fall just as completely. The verse emphasizes the thoroughness of the defeat—no one was spared, from children to the most honored leaders.

The Hebrew behind Nahum 3:10

  • The word for "captivity" (שְׁבִי, shevi, H7628) refers to being taken as prisoners of war. This highlights the total loss of freedom and dignity for the city’s people.
  • "Cast lots" (יָדָה, yadah, H3032) means dividing people or things by chance, as if the leaders were just property to be distributed among the conquerors. This shows how little value was placed on even the most important citizens.
  • The term for "chains" (זִיקִים, ziqqim, H2131) refers to iron shackles or fetters, underlining the harsh treatment and humiliation of the city’s great men.

Why Nahum 3:10 matters

  • Nahum 3:10 warns that no city, no matter how strong, is immune to downfall if it opposes God’s justice. The fate of Thebes is used as a sobering example for Nineveh.
  • The verse emphasizes the complete nature of the defeat: not just military loss, but public humiliation, loss of leadership, and suffering for all ages.
  • By recalling a well-known historical event, Nahum makes his warning to Nineveh more vivid and credible, showing that history can repeat itself.

Where else these words appear

“bound” Hebrew H7576 · used in 2 verses

  • Ecclesiastes 12:6 Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern.

“cast” Hebrew H3032 · used in 3 verses

  • Joel 3:3 And they have cast lots for my people; and have given a boy for an harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink.
  • Obadiah 1:11 In the day that thou stoodest on the other side, in the day that the strangers carried away captive his forces, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem, even thou wast as one of them.

“pieces” Hebrew H7376 · used in 6 verses

  • 2 Kings 8:12 And Hazael said, Why weepeth my lord? And he answered, Because I know the evil that thou wilt do unto the children of Israel: their strong holds wilt thou set on fire, and their young men wilt thou slay with the sword, and wilt dash their children, and rip up their women with child.
  • Isaiah 13:16 Their children also shall be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their houses shall be spoiled, and their wives ravished.
  • Hosea 10:14 Therefore shall a tumult arise among thy people, and all thy fortresses shall be spoiled, as Shalman spoiled Betharbel in the day of battle: the mother was dashed in pieces upon her children.

“chains” Hebrew H2131 · used in 6 verses

  • Job 36:8 And if they be bound in fetters, and be holden in cords of affliction;
  • Psalms 149:8 To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron;
  • Isaiah 45:14 Thus saith the LORD, The labour of Egypt, and merchandise of Ethiopia and of the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over unto thee, and they shall be thine: they shall come after thee; in chains they shall come over, and they shall fall down unto thee, they shall make supplication unto thee, saying, Surely God is in thee; and there is none else, there is no God.