נחום, פרק ג׳, פסוק ט״ו

Nineveh's desperate attempts to fortify its walls are doomed to fail, as destruction will ultimately strike from within. In the very fortresses where the city seeks shelter and mounts its defense, the enemy will break through. Fire will consume the city, and its inhabitants will fall by the sword [רד״ק, מצודת דוד, מלבי״ם, שטיינזלץ].

The total devastation is compared to a swarm of locusts [מצודת ציון, מלבי״ם]. Just as locusts devour every green plant in a field until absolutely nothing remains, the invading army will completely consume the city [רש״י, רד״ק, מצודות]. Commentators offer two primary ways to understand how this destruction unfolds. One approach connects the impending doom to the act of sweeping and cleaning. The city will be swept clear of its people, left entirely empty by the enemy, much like locusts stripping a field bare [רש״י, רד״ק, מצודות, שטיינזלץ]. Another perspective views the warning through the lens of vast numbers. Even if Nineveh gathers massive armies and multiplies its forces like a swarm of insects, these desperate measures will offer no salvation from the coming ruin [רש״י, רד״ק, אבן עזרא, שטיינזלץ]. The intense repetition of this warning serves to emphasize the absolute certainty and severity of the city's fate [רד״ק, מצודת דוד, מלבי״ם].

A deeper layer of meaning is found in the different life stages of the locust, reflecting the behavior of Nineveh's own people. A young locust crawls on the ground without wings, while the adult develops wings and takes to the sky. The countless merchants and residents of Nineveh are initially like the young, wingless locusts, swarming and multiplying within the city walls. However, the moment the city is conquered, they will suddenly sprout wings like adult locusts and fly away, abandoning Nineveh to its bitter end [מלבי״ם].