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General Information:
Nahum often wrote prophecy in the form of poetry. Hebrew poetry uses different kinds of parallelism. Here he begins to describe the destruction of Nineveh. (See: rc://en/ta/man/jit/writing-poetry and rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-parallelism)
The one who scatters
Nahum speaks of an army or military leader destroying Nineveh as if he were to break Nineveh apart as one would shatter a clay pot and scatter the pieces around. Alternate translation: "The one who will destroy you" (See: rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-metaphor)
is coming up against you
The idiom to "come against" means to attack. Alternate translation: "is preparing to attack you" (See: rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-idiom)
Guard the city wall, watch the road, strengthen your loins, pull together all your strength
Nahum speaks to the people of Nineveh. He tells them to prepare for battle although he knows that the enemy will destroy the city. (See: rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-irony)
watch the road
This refers to having soldiers watch the roads leading to the city so that they can keep track of the enemy's approach.
strengthen your loins
The loins are a synecdoche for the whole body. Alternate translation: "make yourselves strong" or "prepare for battle" (See: rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-synecdoche)
pull together all your strength
This is an idiom that means to prepare oneself for action. Here it applies to military action. Alternate translation: "prepare yourselves for battle" (See: rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-idiom)