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The Prophet Nahum

Unlocked Dynamic Bible :: World English Bible Catholic

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- Chapter 1 -

(Jonah 1:1–3)
1
I am Nahum, from the village of Elkosh. This is a message about the city of Nineveh, a message that Yahweh gave me in a vision.
2
Yahweh our God tolerates no rival gods to himself. He is very angry with those who worship other gods, and he continues to be angry with his enemies.
3
Yahweh does not quickly become angry; but he is very powerful, and he will never say that his enemies are innocent. Wherever he walks, there are whirlwinds and storms, and clouds are like the dust stirred up by his feet.
4
When he commands oceans and rivers to become dry, they dry up. He causes the grass to wither in the fields in the region of Bashan and on the slopes of Mount Carmel, and he causes the flowers in Lebanon to fade.
5
When he appears, it is as though the mountains shake and the hills melt; the earth quakes, and the people on the earth tremble.
6
There is no one who can resist him when he becomes extremely angry; there is no one who can survive when his anger is very hot. When he is very angry, it is as though his anger is like a blazing fire, and it is as though mountains are shattered into pieces.
7
But he is good; he protects us, his people, when we experience troubles. He takes care of those who trust in him.
8
But he will get rid of his enemies; he will be to them like a flood that destroys everything. He will chase his enemies into the darkness of the place where the dead are.
9
So it is useless for you people of Nineveh to plot against Yahweh. He will not need to strike you two times to destroy you; he will destroy you by striking you only once.
10
It will be as though his enemies are tangled in thorns and they will stagger like people who have drunk a lot of wine. It will be as though they will be burned up like dry stubble.
11
In Nineveh there was a man who advised people to do very wicked things against Yahweh.
12
But this is what Yahweh says to you Israelites: “Although the people of Assyria have very many people and their army is very powerful, they will be destroyed and they will disappear. I say to my people in Judah, I have already punished you, but I will not punish you again.
13
Now I will cause the people of Assyria to no longer enslave you; it will be as though I will tear off the shackles on your hands and feet.”
14
And this is what Yahweh also declares about you people of Nineveh: “You will not have any descendants who will continue to have your family names. And I will destroy all the statues of your gods that were carved or formed in molds. I will cause you to be killed and sent to your graves, because you are vile!”
15
You people of Judah. Look! A messenger will come across the mountains, and he will bring good news to you. He will declare that you will now have peace. So celebrate your festivals, and do what you solemnly promised to do when your enemies were threatening to attack you, because your wicked enemies will not invade your country again, because they will be completely destroyed.
(Jonah 1:1–3)
1
A revelation about Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.
2
The LORD (a) is a jealous God (b) and avenges. The LORD avenges and is full of wrath. The LORD takes vengeance on his adversaries, and he maintains wrath against his enemies.
3
The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will by no means leave the guilty unpunished. The LORD has his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.
4
He rebukes the sea and makes it dry, and dries up all the rivers. Bashan and Carmel languish. The flower of Lebanon languishes.
5
The mountains quake before him, and the hills melt away. The earth trembles at his presence, yes, the world, and all who dwell in it.
6
Who can stand before his indignation? Who can endure the fierceness of his anger? His wrath is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken apart by him.
7
The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and he knows those who take refuge in him.
8
But with an overflowing flood, he will make a full end of her place, and will pursue his enemies into darkness.
9
What do you plot against the LORD? He will make a full end. Affliction won’t rise up the second time.
10
For entangled like thorns, and drunken as with their drink, they are consumed utterly like dry stubble.
11
One has gone out of you who devises evil against the LORD, who counsels wickedness.
12
The LORD says: “Though they are in full strength and likewise many, even so they will be cut down and pass away. Though I have afflicted you, I will afflict you no more.
13
Now I will break his yoke from off you, and will burst your bonds apart.”
14
The LORD has commanded concerning you: “No more descendants will bear your name. Out of the house of your gods, I will cut off the engraved image and the molten image. I will make your grave, for you are vile.”
15
Behold,(c) on the mountains the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace! Keep your feasts, Judah! Perform your vows, for the wicked one will no more pass through you. He is utterly cut off.

Footnotes

(a)1:2 When rendered in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS, “LORD” or “GOD” is the translation of God’s Proper Name.
(b)1:2 The Hebrew word rendered “God” is “אֱלֹהִ֑ים” (Elohim).
(c)1:15 “Behold”, from “הִנֵּה”, means look at, take notice, observe, see, or gaze at. It is often used as an interjection.