B. Yahweh's plans for Nineveh and Judah 1:9-11

Whereas the previous section assured Nineveh's doom, the primary focus of attention in it was the character of Yahweh and His ability to destroy His enemies. Now the focus shifts more directly to Nineveh. Three sections reveal Yahweh's plans for Nineveh (vv. 1-11, 14) and Judah (vv. 12-13) in chiastic form.

 1. The consumption of Nineveh 1:9-11

1:9 Yahweh will frustrate and destroy all attempts to thwart His will. Even though they may appear to succeed at first, they will not endure. Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, had besieged Jerusalem once (1 Kings 18), but the Assyrians never did so a second time. Their plan to oppose God's people was really opposition to Him, and He did not permit it to succeed. Once Nineveh fell, it was never rebuilt.²¹

1:10 Tangled (Heb. sebukim) thorns are tough to penetrate, but they are no match for fire. Likewise the Ninevites, as confused as they would be when their city was under attack, would be no match for the consuming fire of Yahweh's wrath (cf. v. 6). Many of the Ninevites were confused because they were drunk (Heb. sebu'im). Yahweh would destroy them as easily and quickly as fire burned up the dead stalks left in fields after harvest.

1:11 Since the Lord will destroy any plot against Him and His people (v. 9), the Assyrians were in trouble. One of the Assyrians had gone forth who plotted evil against Him. This is probably a reference to Sennacherib. He was wicked and worthless because He had opposed Yahweh (cf. 2 Kings 18).

 2. The liberation of Judah 1:12-13

Emphasis now shifts from Assyria to Judah.

1:12 Yahweh declared that even though the Assyrians were powerful and numerous, He would cut them off and they would pass off the stage of history. This must have been hard for many Israelites to believe since the Assyrians had been their dreaded enemy for centuries. Even though the Lord had afflicted the Israelites, He would afflict them no longer. Evidently He meant that He would not afflict them with the Assyrians any longer since other nations did afflict them after Assyria passed off the scene. This is the only place in the prophecy where, "Thus says the LORD,"occurs, guaranteeing that what He said would definitely happen.

1:13 The Lord promised to break Assyria's oppression of the Israelites as when someone removed a yoke from the neck of an ox or the chains that bound a prisoner. For years the Israelites had to endure Assyrian oppression including invasion, occupation, and taxation (cf. 2 Kings 19:20-37; 2 Chron. 32:1-7; Isa. 37:27-38).

 3. The termination of Nineveh 1:14

The subject reverts back to Nineveh.

Yahweh had commanded His heavenly host to manage the world's affairs so Nineveh's name (or perhaps the king of Nineveh's name) would not continue forever. This does not mean that succeeding generations would be completely ignorant of Nineveh and its rulers.²²But the residents, particularly the king, would have no surviving descendants (heirs).

The Lord also promised to destroy Nineveh's idols and remove them from their temples. The Assyrians often carried off the idols of the nations they conquered to demonstrate the superiority of their gods over those of the conquered. The conquering Medes, however, despised idolatry and did away with multitudes of images that existed in Nineveh.²³Yahweh would prepare Nineveh's grave since He would bury the contemptible city. It was a great curse in the ancient Near East to have no descendants, and it was a great humiliation to have no gods, but both fates would befall Nineveh.