Nahum 1

1Oracle concerning Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum of Elkosh.[#: (Heb. Massa’ ) a word used frequently to describe a prophetic statement against a foreign nation or occasionally Israel; it is used favorably for Israel in Zec 12:1 and Mal 1:1. : Nahum means “comfort.” Elkosh is a clan or village of unknown location, perhaps in southern Judah.]

2A jealous and avenging God is the Lord ,[#A poem written in the style of the alphabetic psalms (cf. Ps 9; 25; 111; 119) in which each verse unit begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The second half of the alphabet is not represented here.; #: see note on Ex 20:5.]

an avenger is the Lord , full of wrath;

The Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries,

and rages against his enemies;

3The Lord is slow to anger, yet great in power;

the Lord will not leave the guilty unpunished.

In stormwind and tempest he comes,

and clouds are the dust at his feet;

4He 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;

5The mountains quake before him,

and the hills dissolve;

The earth is laid waste before him,

the world and all who dwell in it.

6Before his wrath, who can stand firm,[#When God comes in judgment those who oppose God will be destroyed, and those who trust in God will be saved.]

and who can face his blazing anger?

His fury is poured out like fire,

and boulders break apart before him.

7The 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,

8when the flood rages;

He makes an end of his opponents,

and pursues his enemies into darkness.

9What do you plot against the Lord ,

the one about to bring total destruction?

No opponent rises a second time!

10Like a thorny thicket, they are tangled,[#Thorns (Is 34:13), drunkenness (Lam 4:21; Na 3:11), and burning stubble (Ob 18) are all images of the judgment of God’s enemies.]

and like drunkards, they are drunk;

like dry stubble, they are utterly consumed.

11From you has come

one plotting evil against the Lord ,

one giving sinister counsel.

12Thus 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.

13Now I will break his yoke off of you,

and tear off your bonds.

14The Lord has commanded regarding you:[#: the king of Assyria.]

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.

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