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.”

Acts 16 - 17

Timothy Joins Paul and Silas

Now Paul also arrived at Derbe and at Lystra. And behold, a disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek, 2 and he was well spoken of by the brothers who were in Lystra and Iconium. 3 Paul wanted this man to go with him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those parts, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. 4 Now while they were passing through the cities, they were delivering the decrees which had been decided upon by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem, for them to keep. 5 So the churches were being strengthened in the faith, and were abounding in number daily.

The Macedonian Vision

6 And they passed through the Phrygian and Galatian region, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia; 7 and after they came to Mysia, they were trying to go into Bithynia, and the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them; 8 and passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas. 9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing and appealing to him, and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 And when he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to proclaim the gospel to them.

Lydia’s Conversion in Philippi

11 So setting sail from Troas, we ran a straight course to Samothrace, and on the day following to Neapolis; 12 and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia, a Roman colony; and we were staying in this city for some days. 13 And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to a riverside, where we were supposing that there would be a place of prayer; and sitting down, we began speaking to the women who had assembled. 14 And a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, a worshiper of God, was listening, whose heart the Lord opened to pay attention to the things spoken by Paul. 15 And when she and her household had been baptized, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us.

Paul and Silas in Prison

16 Now it happened that as we were going to the place of prayer, a servant-girl having a spirit of divination met us, who was bringing her masters much profit by fortune-telling. 17 Following after Paul and us, she kept crying out, saying, “These men are slaves of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation.” 18 And she continued doing this for many days. But being greatly annoyed, Paul turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to leave her!” And it left at that very moment. 19 But when her masters saw that their hope of profit had left, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the authorities, 20 and when they had brought them to the chief magistrates, they said, “These men are throwing our city into confusion, being Jews, 21 and are proclaiming customs that are not lawful for us to accept or to observe, being Romans.” 22 And the crowd joined together to attack them, and the chief magistrates, tearing their garments off of them, proceeded to order them to be beaten with rods. 23 And when they had inflicted them with many wounds, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to guard them securely, 24 who, having received such a command, threw them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.

The Philippian Jailer Converted

25 But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. 26 And suddenly there came a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the jailhouse were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened. 27 And when the jailer awoke and saw the prison doors opened, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here!” 29 And he called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas, 30 and after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your house.” 32 And they spoke the word of the Lord to him together with all who were in his household. 33 And he took them that very hour of the night and washed their wounds, and immediately he was baptized, he and all his household. 34 And he brought them into his house and set food before them, and rejoiced greatly with his whole household, because he had believed in God. 35 Now when day came, the chief magistrates sent their policemen, saying, “Release those men.” 36 And the jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, “The chief magistrates have sent to release you. Therefore come out now and go in peace.” 37 But Paul said to them, “Having beaten us in public without trial, men who are Romans, they have thrown us into prison. And now are they sending us away secretly? No indeed! But let them come themselves and bring us out.” 38 And the policemen reported these words to the chief magistrates. They were afraid when they heard that they were Romans, 39 and they came and appealed to them, and when they had brought them out, they kept requesting them to leave the city. 40 And they went out of the prison and entered the house of Lydia, and when they saw the brothers, they encouraged them and left.

Paul and Silas in Thessalonica

Now when they had traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 2 And according to Paul’s custom, he went to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and setting before them that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is that Christ.” 4 And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with a great multitude of the God-fearing Greeks and not a few of the leading women. 5 But the Jews, becoming jealous, taking along some wicked men from the marketplace, and forming a mob, set the city in an uproar. And attacking the house of Jason, they were seeking to bring them out to the assembly. 6 And when they did not find them, they began dragging Jason and some brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have upset the world have come here also; 7 and Jason has welcomed them, and they all act contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” 8 And they disturbed the crowd and the city authorities who heard these things. 9 And when they had received the bond from Jason and the others, they released them.

In Berea

10 And the brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. 11 Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. 12 Therefore many of them believed, along with not a few prominent Greek women and men. 13 But when the Jews of Thessalonica found out that the word of God had been proclaimed by Paul in Berea also, they came there as well, shaking up and disturbing the crowds. 14 Then immediately the brothers sent Paul out to go as far as the sea; and Silas and Timothy remained there. 15 Now those who escorted Paul brought him as far as Athens; and after receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they left.

In Athens

16 Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was being provoked within him as he was observing the city full of idols. 17 So he was reasoning in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be present. 18 And also some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers were conversing with him. Some were saying, “What would this idle babbler wish to say?” Others, “He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities,”—because he was proclaiming the good news of Jesus and the resurrection. 19 And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is which you are speaking? 20 For you are bringing some strange things to our ears. So we want to know what these things mean.” 21 (Now all the Athenians and the strangers visiting there used to spend their time in nothing other than telling or hearing something newer.) 22 So Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects. 23 For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ Therefore what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you. 24 The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; 25 nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; 26 and He made from one man every nation of mankind to inhabit all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, 27 that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; 28 for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His offspring.’ 29 Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to suppose that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the craft and thought of man. 30 Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now commanding men that everyone everywhere should repent, 31 because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He determined, having furnished proof to all by raising Him from the dead.” 32 Now when they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some began to sneer, but others said, “We shall hear you again concerning this.” 33 In this way, Paul went out of their midst. 34 But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.

Psalm 89:30 - 89:52

“If his sons forsake My law

And do not walk in My judgments,

If they profane My statutes

And do not keep My commandments,

Then I will punish their transgression with the rod

And their iniquity with striking.

But I will not break off My lovingkindness from him,

Nor deal falsely in My faithfulness.

My covenant I will not profane,

Nor will I alter what comes forth from My lips.

Once I have sworn by My holiness;

I will not lie to David.

His seed shall endure forever

And his throne as the sun before Me.

It shall be established forever like the moon,

And the witness in the sky is faithful.” Selah.

But You have cast off and rejected,

You have been full of wrath against Your anointed.

You have spurned the covenant of Your slave;

You have profaned his crown to the ground.

You have broken down all his walls;

You have beset his strongholds with ruin.

All who pass along the way plunder him;

He has become a reproach to his neighbors.

You have exalted the right hand of his adversaries;

You have made all his enemies be glad.

You also turn back the edge of his sword

And have not made him arise in battle.

You have made his splendor to cease

And cast his throne to the ground.

You have shortened the days of his youth;

You have wrapped him up with shame. Selah.

How long, O Yahweh?

Will You hide Yourself forever?

Will Your wrath burn like fire?

Remember what my span of life is;

For what vanity You have created all the sons of men!

What man can live and not see death?

Can he provide his soul escape from the power of Sheol? Selah.

Where are Your former lovingkindnesses, O Lord,

Which You swore to David in Your faithfulness?

Remember, O Lord, the reproach of Your slaves;

How I bear in my bosom the reproach of all the many peoples,

With which Your enemies have reproached, O Yahweh,

With which they have reproached the footsteps of Your anointed.

Blessed be Yahweh forever!

Amen and Amen.