What Does Nahum 3:5 Mean in the King James?
Behold, I am against thee, saith the LORD of hosts; and I will discover thy skirts upon thy face, and I will shew the nations thy nakedness, and the kingdoms thy shame.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
Its judgment is exposure before witnesses: the covering is dragged up, and the nations are made to see.
THE MEANING
The power that stands against the LORD is forcibly stripped and displayed before nations and kingdoms. The verse speaks now wherever power hides its violence behind an image of invulnerability: what it conceals is made visible, and its disgrace is public.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that status or intimidation can make abusive power untouchable and keep its shame unseen.
THE ROOT
וְגִלֵּיתִי
wĕgillîtî
GROWS FROM
גלה
גלה (galah) means to uncover, expose, or reveal.
English “discover” can sound like finding something unknown, while גלה names the act of uncovering it. The same root appears in גָּלָה and נִגְלָה, tracing the movement from concealment to exposure.
ALSO GROWS
galah: to uncover or reveal
גָּלָה
This verbal form shares all three root consonants and makes clear that the verse’s “discover” is an act of exposure.
niglah: to be revealed or become visible
נִגְלָה
This form carries the same root into the state of being exposed, echoing the verse’s removal of concealment.
וְהַרְאֵיתִי
wĕharʾētî
GROWS FROM
ראה
ראה (raʾah) means to see or perceive; in this form, to cause someone to see, to show.
“shew” in this verse is wĕharʾētî. The verse moves from uncovering to making the exposure visible. This root turns the unveiling into a witnessed act: the nations are made to see.
ALSO GROWS
raʾah: to see or perceive
רָאָה
The basic verb names the seeing that the verse forces into view.
marʾeh: appearance or vision
מַרְאֶה
This noun from the same root names what is presented to sight, the exposed image the nations witness.
THE PATTERN
Power’s concealed shame is made publicly visible before witnesses.
Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen: I will take vengeance, and I will not meet thee as a man.Behold, therefore I will gather all thy lovers, with whom thou hast taken pleasure, and all them that thou hast loved, with all them that thou hast hated; I will even gather them round about against thee, and will discover thy nakedness unto them, that they may see all thy nakedness.And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.THE THREAD
Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen: I will take vengeance, and I will not meet thee as a man.Isaiah uses the same Hebrew root, גלה (galah, uncover), for the exposure Nahum names with וְגִלֵּיתִי. The shared verb reveals a recurring movement: the covering comes off, and concealed shame is made visible.
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