Your princes are like grasshoppers, your scribes like clouds of locusts settling on the fences in a day of cold— when the sun rises, they fly away; no one knows where they are.
English Standard Version (ESV)
The vivid imagery of locusts isn't just about their destructive numbers, but also their startling fragility; like these insects, Nineveh's proud leaders and officials, despite their vast reach, are revealed to be utterly dependent on favorable conditions. When trouble arrives like the rising sun, they won't stand their ground but will vanish completely, leaving no trace.
Your princes are like grasshoppers, your scribes like clouds of locusts settling on the fences in a day of cold— when the sun rises, they fly away; no one knows where they are.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Nahum's prophecy is detailing the utter destruction and downfall of Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian empire. Following predictions of Nineveh's impending doom and the scattering of its people, this passage describes the uselessness of its leaders and military might. The final verses emphasize that Nineveh's powerful figures will vanish as swiftly and completely as a swarm of locusts dispersed by the sun.
Nahum paints a picture of Nineveh's leaders as a vast insect invasion. But what kind of power is this, and how long does it last?
Nahum uses vivid imagery of locusts and grasshoppers to describe the mighty men of Nineveh – their princes and captains. They are depicted as numerous, like stars, and swarming over the land. This isn't just about sheer numbers; it's about a power that looks overwhelming. They 'camp in the hedges,' giving the impression of strategic positioning and control.
However, this power is entirely dependent on external conditions. Like insects in the cold, their 'might' is revealed as being only for a specific season, a temporary display.
A Show of Force
This imagery highlights how human power, even when vast and seemingly organized, can be superficial and temporary, lacking true substance when tested.
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The warmth of the sun brings life to dormant insects. But for Nineveh's leaders, the rising sun signals not life, but utter disappearance. What does this reveal about their true nature?
The turning point in the verse is the arrival of the sun. For locusts, warmth means activation, the ability to fly, to forage, to move. But for Nineveh's elite, the 'rising sun' – representing divine judgment, the arrival of God's intervention, or simply the opportune moment for their enemy – leads to their complete dissolution.
Vanishing Act
This teaches us that power and influence built on worldly systems and military might alone are ultimately fragile. When the 'sun' of God's judgment or justice rises, such power evaporates.
Understand the original words
nezer · Hebrew Noun
Leaders, commanders, or officials of a nation; those invested with authority who are held responsible for the conduct and eventual judgment of their people.
ṭapsar · Hebrew Noun
Individuals tasked with administrative duties, record-keeping, or the interpretation of law; here, representing the bureaucratic weight of the Assyrian state.
Nahum's vivid imagery of princes and captains like locusts disappearing speaks powerfully to the experience of people living under the oppressive, seemingly unstoppable might of the Assyrian Empire, only to witness its sudden and complete annihilation.
Late 8th Century BC
Assyrian Empire at its Zenith
The Neo-Assyrian Empire, with its capital at Nineveh, was the dominant military and political power in the ancient Near East, known for its vast conquests and administrative reach.
c. 705–701 BC
Revolt in Judah and Philistia
King Hezekiah of Judah, along with other regional powers, revolted against Assyrian rule, defying the authority of Sennacherib, the Assyrian king. This rebellion set the stage for Assyrian retribution.
701 BC
Sennacherib's Campaign Against Judah
Assyrian King Sennacherib besieged and captured numerous fortified cities in Judah. Hezekiah eventually submitted, but Jerusalem was famously spared, a miraculous deliverance according to biblical accounts.
c. 668–627 BC
Reign of Ashurbanipal
Assyria reached its largest territorial extent under Ashurbanipal, but internal strife and overextension began to sow the seeds of its decline. Nineveh was a center of learning and culture, but also of immense wealth and power.
c. 612 BC— this verse
Fall of Nineveh
A coalition of Babylonians, Medes, and Scythians besieged and utterly destroyed the Assyrian capital, Nineveh. This marked the definitive end of the Assyrian Empire and fulfilled Nahum's prophecy of judgment.
This passage vividly describes a devastating plague of locusts that covered the land, mirroring the overwhelming presence of Nineveh's forces that Nahum compares to locusts.
Joel 1:4Joel uses similar imagery of locusts and devouring insects to describe a catastrophic invasion and destruction, echoing Nahum's depiction of Nineveh's oppressive power and subsequent ruin.
Job 20:5-9This text reflects on the fleeting and ultimately disappearing nature of the wicked, much like the princes of Nineveh who vanish without a trace when their time is up.
Jeremiah 51:27Jeremiah calls for armies against Babylon using the imagery of locusts and grasshoppers, creating a thematic parallel with Nahum's judgment on Nineveh through the same devastating insect metaphor.
Psalm 103:16This Psalm speaks of how quickly human life and endeavors can vanish, like grass blown away by the wind, which powerfully connects to the imagery of Nineveh's rulers disappearing so completely that their place is no longer known.
calvinNahum 3:16-17: "Thou hast multiplied thy merchants above the stars of heaven: the cankerworm spoileth, and flieth away."
Thy crowned are as the locusts, and thy captains as the great grasshoppers, which camp in the hedges in the cold day, but when the sun ariseth they flee away, and their place is not known where they are
Principes tui (vel, coronati; deducitur enim a rzk quod significat coronam; sed malo vertere, egregios, vel, praestantissimos quosque; principes ergo tui, vel, eximii…
barnesNahum 3:17: "Thy crowned are as the locusts, and thy captains as the great grasshoppers, which camp in the hedges in the cold day, but when the sun ariseth they flee away, and their place is not known where they are."
Thy crowned are as the locust, and thy captains as the great locusts - What he had said summarily under metaphor, the prophet expands in a likeness. "The crowned" are probably the subordinate princes, of whom Sennacherib said, "Are not my princes altogether kings?" Isaiah 10:8 . I…
The vivid imagery of locusts isn't just about their destructive numbers, but also their startling fragility; like these insects, Nineveh's proud leaders and officials, despite their vast reach, are revealed to be utterly dependent on favorable conditions. When trouble arrives like the rising sun, they won't stand their ground but will vanish completely, leaving no trace.
Nahum's prophecy is detailing the utter destruction and downfall of Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian empire. Following predictions of Nineveh's impending doom and the scattering of its people, this passage describes the uselessness of its leaders and military might. The final verses emphasize that Nineveh's powerful figures will vanish as swiftly and completely as a swarm of locusts dispersed by the sun.
Nahum's prophecy is detailing the utter destruction and downfall of Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian empire. Following predictions of Nineveh's impending doom and the scattering of its people, this passage describes the uselessness of its leaders and military might. The final verses emphasize that Nineveh's powerful figures will vanish as swiftly and completely as a swarm of locusts dispersed by the sun.
"Your princes are like grasshoppers, your scribes like clouds of locusts settling on the fences in a day of cold— when the sun rises, they fly away; no one knows where they are." — The vivid imagery of locusts isn't just about their destructive numbers, but also their startling fragility; like these insects, Nineveh's proud leaders and officials, despite their vast reach, are r…
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Last reviewed October 2026