God Is Awesome

The (A)pronouncement of (B)Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite:

A (C)jealous and avenging God is the Lord;
The Lord is (D)avenging and [a]wrathful.
The Lord takes (E)vengeance on His adversaries,
And He reserves wrath for His enemies.
The Lord is (F)slow to anger and great in power,
And the Lord will by no means leave the guilty unpunished.
In the (G)gale and the storm is His way,
And (H)clouds are the dust beneath His feet.
He (I)rebukes the sea and dries it up;
He dries up all the rivers.
(J)Bashan and Carmel wither,
The blossoms of Lebanon wither.
Mountains (K)quake because of Him,
And the hills (L)come apart;
Indeed the earth is (M)upheaved by His presence,
The (N)world and all the inhabitants in it.
(O)Who can stand before His indignation?
Who can endure the (P)burning of His anger?
His (Q)wrath gushes forth like fire,
And the (R)rocks are broken up by Him.
The Lord is (S)good,
A stronghold in the day of trouble,
And (T)He knows those who take refuge in Him.
But with an (U)overflowing flood
He will make a complete end of [b]its site,
And will pursue His enemies into (V)darkness.

Whatever you (W)devise against the Lord,
He will make a (X)complete end of it.
Distress will not rise up twice.
10 Like tangled (Y)thorns,
And like those who are (Z)drunken with their drink,
They are (AA)consumed
Like stubble completely dried up.
11 From you has gone out
One who (AB)plotted evil against the Lord,
A [c](AC)wicked counselor.

12 This is what the Lord says:

“Though they are at full strength and so they are many,
So also they will be (AD)cut off and pass away.
Though I have afflicted you,
I will afflict you (AE)no longer.
13 So now, I will (AF)break his yoke from upon you,
And I will tear your shackles to pieces.”

14 The Lord has issued a command concerning [d]you:
[e]Your name will (AG)no longer be perpetuated.
I will eliminate the (AH)carved image and the cast metal image
From the house of your gods.
I will prepare your (AI)grave,
For you are contemptible.”

15 [f]Behold, (AJ)on the mountains, the feet of him who brings good news,
Who announces peace!
(AK)Celebrate your feasts, Judah,
Pay your vows.
For (AL)never again will the [g]wicked one pass through you;
He is (AM)eliminated completely.

The Overthrow of Nineveh

[h]The one who (AN)scatters has come up against [i]you.
Keep watch over the fortress, watch the road;
[j]Bind up your waist, [k]summon all your strength.
For the Lord will restore the (AO)splendor of Jacob
(AP)Like the splendor of Israel,
Even though destroyers have laid waste to them
And (AQ)ruined their vines.

The shields of [l]his warriors are dyed red,
The warriors are dressed in (AR)scarlet,
The chariots are fitted with [m]flashing steel
[n]When he is prepared to march,
And the juniper (AS)spears are brandished.
The (AT)chariots drive wildly in the streets,
They rush around in the [o]public squares;
Their appearance is like torches,
They drive back and forth like lightning flashes.
He remembers his (AU)officers;
They (AV)stumble in their advance,
They hurry to her wall,
And the [p]mantelet is set up.
The gates of the rivers are opened
And the palace sways back and forth.
It is set:
She is stripped, she is led away,
And her slave women are (AW)sobbing like the sound of doves,
(AX)Beating their [q]breasts.

Though Nineveh was like a pool of water throughout her days,
Yet they are fleeing;
“Stop, stop,”
But (AY)no one turns back.
Plunder the silver,
Plunder the (AZ)gold!
For there is no end to the treasure—
Wealth from every kind of desirable object.
10 She is (BA)emptied! Yes, she is desolate and waste!
(BB)Hearts are melting and knees wobbling!
Also trembling is in [r]the entire body,
And all their (BC)faces have become pale!
11 Where is the den of the lions
And the feeding place of the (BD)young lions,
Where the lion, lioness, and lion’s cub went
With nothing to disturb them?
12 The lion tore enough for his cubs,
[s]Killed enough prey for his lionesses,
And filled his lairs with prey
And his dens with torn flesh.

13 “Behold, (BE)I am against you,” declares the Lord of armies. “I will (BF)burn up her chariots in smoke, and a sword will devour your young lions; I will (BG)eliminate your prey from the land, and no longer will the voice of your messengers be heard.”

Nineveh’s Complete Ruin

(BH)Woe to the bloody city, completely full of lies and pillage;
Her prey does not leave.
The (BI)sound of the whip,
The sound of the roar of the wheel,
Galloping horses
And [t]bounding chariots!
Horsemen charging,
Swords flashing, (BJ)spears gleaming,
(BK)Many killed, a mass of corpses,
And there is (BL)no end to the dead bodies—
They stumble over [u]the dead bodies!
All because of the (BM)many sexual acts of the prostitute,
The charming one, the (BN)mistress of sorceries,
Who (BO)sells nations by her sexual acts,
And families by her sorceries.
“Behold, (BP)I am against you,” declares the Lord of armies;
“And I will [v](BQ)lift up your skirts over your face,
And (BR)show the nations your nakedness,
And the kingdoms your shame.
I will (BS)throw filth on you
And (BT)declare you worthless,
And set you up as a (BU)spectacle.
And it will come about that all who see you
Will [w]shrink from you and say,
‘Nineveh is devastated!
(BV)Who will have sympathy for her?’
Where shall I seek comforters for you?”

Are you better than [x](BW)No-amon,
Which was situated by the (BX)canals of the Nile,
With water surrounding her,
Whose rampart was [y]the sea,
Whose wall consisted of [z]the sea?
(BY)Ethiopia was her might,
Egypt too, without limits.
(BZ)Put and (CA)Lubim were among [aa]her helpers.
10 Yet she (CB)became an exile,
She went into captivity;
Also her (CC)small children were smashed to pieces
(CD)At the head of every street;
They (CE)cast lots for her honorable men,
And all her great men were bound with shackles.
11 You too will become (CF)drunk,
You will be (CG)hidden.
You too will search for a refuge from the enemy.
12 All your fortifications are (CH)fig trees with [ab](CI)ripe fruit—
When shaken, they fall into the eater’s mouth.
13 Behold, your people are (CJ)women in your midst!
The gates of your land are (CK)opened wide to your enemies;
Fire consumes your gate bars.
14 (CL)Draw for yourself water for a siege!
(CM)Strengthen your fortifications!
Go into the clay and tread the mortar!
Take hold of the brick mold!
15 There (CN)fire will consume you,
The sword will cut you down;
It will (CO)consume you as the creeping locust consumes a crop.
Multiply yourself like the creeping locust,
Multiply yourself like the migratory locust.
16 You have made your (CP)traders more numerous than the stars of heaven—
The creeping locust sheds its skin and flies away.
17 Your (CQ)courtiers are like the migratory locust.
Your (CR)officials are like a swarm of locusts
Settling in the stone shelters on a cold day.
The sun rises and they flee,
And the place where they are is not known.
18 Your shepherds are (CS)sleeping, O (CT)king of Assyria;
Your (CU)officers are lying down.
Your people are (CV)scattered on the mountains
And there is no one to gather them.
19 There is (CW)no relief for your collapse,
Your (CX)wound is incurable.
All who hear [ac]about you
Will (CY)clap their hands over you,
For upon whom has your evil not come continually?

Footnotes

  1. Nahum 1:2 Lit a possessor of wrath
  2. Nahum 1:8 I.e., Nineveh’s
  3. Nahum 1:11 Or worthless; Heb Belial
  4. Nahum 1:14 I.e., the king of Nineveh
  5. Nahum 1:14 Lit No more of your name will be sown
  6. Nahum 1:15 Ch 2:1 in Heb
  7. Nahum 1:15 Or worthless one; Heb Belial
  8. Nahum 2:1 Ch 2:2 in Heb
  9. Nahum 2:1 Lit your face
  10. Nahum 2:1 Lit Strengthen your loins
  11. Nahum 2:1 Lit strengthen power greatly
  12. Nahum 2:3 I.e., those attacking Nineveh
  13. Nahum 2:3 Lit fire of steel
  14. Nahum 2:3 Lit On the day of his preparation
  15. Nahum 2:4 Lit broad places
  16. Nahum 2:5 I.e., a shield used for stopping projectiles
  17. Nahum 2:7 Lit hearts
  18. Nahum 2:10 Lit all the loins
  19. Nahum 2:12 Lit Strangled
  20. Nahum 3:2 Lit leaping
  21. Nahum 3:3 Lit their
  22. Nahum 3:5 Lit uncover your private parts
  23. Nahum 3:7 Lit flee
  24. Nahum 3:8 I.e., the city of Amon: Thebes
  25. Nahum 3:8 I.e., the Nile
  26. Nahum 3:8 I.e., the Nile
  27. Nahum 3:9 Lit your
  28. Nahum 3:12 Lit first fruits
  29. Nahum 3:19 Lit your report

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