Chapter 1
1 Oracle concerning Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum of Elkosh.
God’s Terrifying Appearance
2 A jealous and avenging God is the Lord,
an avenger is the Lord, full of wrath;
The Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries,
and rages against his enemies;
3 The Lord is slow to anger, yet great in power;
the Lord will not leave the guilty unpunished.(A)
In stormwind and tempest he comes,
and clouds are the dust at his feet;
4 He roars at the sea and leaves it dry,
and all the rivers he dries up.
Laid low are Bashan and Carmel,
and the bloom of Lebanon withers;
5 The mountains quake before him,
and the hills dissolve;
The earth is laid waste before him,
the world and all who dwell in it.
6 Before his wrath, who can stand firm,
and who can face his blazing anger?(B)
His fury is poured out like fire,
and boulders break apart before him.
7 The Lord is good to those who wait for him,
a refuge on the day of distress,
Taking care of those who look to him for protection,
8 when the flood rages;
He makes an end of his opponents,
and pursues his enemies into darkness.
Nineveh’s Judgment and Judah’s Restoration
9 What do you plot against the Lord,
the one about to bring total destruction?
No opponent rises a second time!
10 Like a thorny thicket, they are tangled,
and like drunkards, they are drunk;
like dry stubble, they are utterly consumed.
11 From you has come
one plotting evil against the Lord,
one giving sinister counsel.
12 Thus says the Lord:
though fully intact and so numerous,
they shall be mown down and disappear.
Though I have humbled you,
I will humble you no more.
13 Now I will break his yoke off of you,
and tear off your bonds.(C)
14 The Lord has commanded regarding you:
no descendant will again bear your name;
From the house of your gods I will abolish
the carved and the molten image;
I will make your grave a dung heap.
Footnotes
- 1:1
- 1:2–8
- 1:2
- 1:3–6
- 1:4
- 1:6–7
- 1:10
- 1:11
- 1:12–13
- 1:14
Cross references
- 1:3 : Ex 34:6–7; Jl 2:13.
- 1:6 : Is 30:27–28; Zep 1:15.
- 1:13 : Is 9:4; 10:27.
