Nahum 1 - 2 - Legacy Standard Bible

Nahum 1 - 2

Yahweh’s Wrath Against Nineveh

The oracle of Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.

א Aleph

A jealous and avenging God is Yahweh;

Yahweh is avenging and wrathful.

Yahweh is avenging against His adversaries,

And He keeps His anger for His enemies.

Yahweh is slow to anger and great in power,

And Yahweh will by no means leave the guilty unpunished.

ב Beth

In whirlwind and storm is His way,

And clouds are the dust beneath His feet.

ג Gimel

He rebukes the sea and makes it dry;

He dries up all the rivers.

Bashan and Carmel languish;

The blossoms of Lebanon languish.

ה He

Mountains quake because of Him,

ו Vav

And the hills melt;

Indeed the earth is upheaved by His presence,

The world and all the inhabitants in it.

ז Zayin

Who can stand before His indignation?

Who can endure the burning of His anger?

ח Heth

His wrath is poured out like fire,

And the rocks are torn down by Him.

ט Teth

Yahweh is good,

A strong defense in the day of distress,

י Yodh

And He knows those who take refuge in Him.

But with an overflowing flood

כ Kaph

He will make a complete destruction of its place

And will pursue His enemies into darkness.

Whatever you devise against Yahweh,

He will make a complete destruction of it.

Distress will not rise up twice.

Like tangled thorns,

And like those who are drunken with their drink,

They are consumed

As stubble fully dried up.

From you has gone forth

One who devised evil against Yahweh,

A vile counselor.

12 Thus says Yahweh,

“Though they are at full strength and likewise many,

Even so, they will be cut off and pass away.

Though I have afflicted you,

I will afflict you no longer.

So now, I will break his yoke bar from upon you,

And I will break your bands apart.”

And Yahweh has commanded concerning you:

“There will no longer be seed from your name.

From the house of your gods,

I will cut off graven image and molten image.

I will prepare your grave,

For you are contemptible.”

Behold, on the mountains the feet of him who proclaims good news,

Who announces peace!

Celebrate your feasts, O Judah;

Pay your vows.

For never again will the vile one pass through you;

He is cut off completely.

Yahweh’s Destruction of Nineveh

The one who scatters has come up against you.

Guard the fortification, watch the road;

Strengthen your loins, instill your power with exceeding courage.

For Yahweh will restore the majesty of Jacob

Like the majesty of Israel,

Even though those who empty them have emptied them to destruction

And ruined their vine branches.

The shields of his mighty men are colored red,

The valiant men are dressed in scarlet,

The chariots are enveloped in flashing steel

When he is set up to march,

And the cypress spears are brandished.

The chariots race madly in the streets;

They rush wildly in the squares;

Their appearance is like torches;

They dash to and fro like lightning flashes.

He remembers his mighty ones;

They stumble in their march;

They hurry to her wall,

And the mantelet is set up.

The gates of the rivers are opened,

And the palace is melted away.

So it stands fixed:

She is exiled, she is carried away,

And her maidservants are moaning like the sound of doves,

Beating on their hearts.

Though Nineveh was like a pool of water throughout her days,

Now they are fleeing;

“Stand! Stand!”

But no one turns back.

Plunder the silver!

Plunder the gold!

And there is no limit to the treasure—

Wealth from every kind of desirable object.

She is emptied! Yes, she is emptied out and eviscerated!

Hearts are melting and knees knocking!

Also anguish is in all their loins,

And all their faces turn pale!

Where is the den of the lions

And the feeding place of the young lions,

Where the lion, lioness, and lion’s cub prowled,

With nothing to make them tremble?

The lion tore enough for its cubs

And strangled enough for its lionesses

And filled its lairs with torn up prey

And its dens with torn up flesh.

13 “Behold, I am against you,” declares Yahweh of hosts. “And I will burn up her chariots in smoke, and a sword will devour your young lions; and I will cut off your prey from the land, and no longer will the voice of your messengers be heard.”