My hand hath found as a nest the riches of the people; rather, of the peoples. The Assyrians are fond of comparing their enemies to birds; but the exact metaphor here used does not, I believe, occur in the inscriptions.
The nations' treasures are like eggs found in deserted nests, which the hunter gathers without any, even the slightest, risk. All the earth. Oriental hyperbole. Assyrian monarchs often say that they "have subdued all the races of men," or "carried the glory of their name to the ends of the earth," or "overthrown the armies of the whole world in battle."
Peeped; rather, chirped (see note on Isaiah 8:19). None of the inhabitants offered even such feeble resistance as a bird makes when its nest is robbed.