“I will lift your skirts over your face.” This is a reference to the city of Nineveh (Nahum 3:7). God made a similar statement about Jerusalem many years later (Jer. 13:27). Nineveh is being compared to a woman who is about to meet with disaster and shame. The comparison to a woman is clearly implied, which is the figure of speech hypocatastasis (see commentary on Rev. 20:2). It was common in the biblical culture to refer to cities and nations as women (see commentary on Isa. 1:8). Nineveh was destroyed in 612 BC by an alliance of countries led by Babylon, and then in 586 BC, Babylon destroyed Jerusalem.

“shame.” Used here for the genital organs. See commentary on Jeremiah 13:26.