Nahum 1

Berean Standard Bible · Compare translations · 663 BC – 612 BC · Judah alone · Tap a verse to copy, share or highlight ·

15 verses · 379 words · ~2 min read · ~3 min listen

The Burden against Nineveh

Jonah 1:1–3

¹This is the burden against Nineveh, the book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite:

²The Lord is a jealous and avenging God;

the Lord is avenging and full of wrath.

The Lord takes vengeance on His foes

and reserves wrath for His enemies.

³The Lord is slow to anger

and great in power;

the Lord will by no means

leave the guilty unpunished.

His path is in the whirlwind and storm,

and clouds are the dust beneath His feet.

⁴He rebukes the sea and dries it up;

He makes all the rivers run dry.

Bashan and Carmel wither,

and the flower of Lebanon wilts.

⁵The mountains quake before Him,

and the hills melt away;

the earth trembles at His presence—

the world and all its dwellers.

⁶Who can withstand His indignation?

Who can endure His burning anger?

His wrath is poured out like fire;

even rocks are shattered before Him.

⁷The Lord is good,

a stronghold in the day of distress;

He cares for those who trust in Him.

⁸But with an overwhelming flood

He will make an end of Nineveh

and pursue His enemies into darkness.

⁹Whatever you plot against the Lord,

He will bring to an end.

Affliction will not rise up

a second time.

¹⁰For they will be entangled as with thorns

and consumed like the drink of a drunkard—

like stubble that is fully dry.

¹¹From you, O Nineveh, comes forth

a plotter of evil against the Lord,

a counselor of wickedness.

¹²This is what the Lord says:

“Though they are allied and numerous,

yet they will be cut down and pass away.

Though I have afflicted you, O Judah,

I will afflict you no longer.

¹³For I will now break their yoke from your neck

and tear away your shackles.”

¹⁴The Lord has issued a command concerning you, O Nineveh:

“There will be no descendants

to carry on your name.

I will cut off the carved image and cast idol

from the house of your gods;

I will prepare your grave,

for you are contemptible.”

¹⁵Look to the mountains—

the feet of one who brings good news,

who proclaims peace!

Celebrate your feasts, O Judah;

fulfill your vows.

For the wicked will never again march through you;

they will be utterly cut off.

Footnotes (1)

a v8 Literally of her place

Study notes on this chapter · 2

Prophecy & fulfillmentLinked by the New Testament

How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news

Isaiah pictures a messenger on the mountains announcing peace and salvation, and saying to Zion, 'Your God reigns'. Paul applies it to those who proclaim the gospel, in his argument that faith comes by hearing.

When: Isaiah, c. 700–540 BC; Romans, c. AD 57.

Original passageIsaiah 52:7Nahum 1:15

Where the New Testament applies itRomans 10:14–15

Echoed inEphesians 6:15

Editorial note by BibleWay. Interpretations vary; dates are approximate scholarly estimates.

BackgroundWidely held reading

Conditional prophecy: Nineveh and Jeremiah's principle

Jonah announced that Nineveh would be overturned in forty days, but when the city repented God relented. Jeremiah states the principle: if a nation God has warned turns from evil, he will change his mind about the disaster, and if a nation he has promised to build does evil, he will change his mind about the good. Prophecy in the Bible can be conditional.

When: Jonah, c. 780–750 BC; Jeremiah's potter's house, c. 605–597 BC.

Original passageJonah 3:4–10Jeremiah 18:7–10

Echoed inNahum 1:1–3

Ways people read this (3)

Many prophecies have implied conditions, which explains why some warnings were not carried out as stated.
The principle shows how God's freedom and human response interact; traditions describe this differently (open theism, compatibilism, and others).
Nahum later announces Nineveh's destruction, after the repentance was forgotten.