Nahum 1

1A message about Nineveh, a vision which came to Nahum from Elkosh.

God’s wrath

2The Lord tolerates no rivals.

The Lord is vengeful and fierce in wrath.

The Lord does not fail to punish his foes;

the Lord is vengeful against his enemies.

3The Lord is slow to anger,

great in power.

The guilty will not escape

his punishment.

Storm tempest is his path

and cloud is the dust of his feet.

4He rebukes the sea and dries it up

and makes all the streams run dry.

Bashan and Carmel are languishing

and the bloom of Lebanon is withered.

5The mountains tremble before him

and the hills dissolve.

The earth heaves before him,

the world and all who live in it.

6Who can stand before his wrath?

Who can withstand the heat of his anger?

His fierce fury pours forth like fire,

he shatters rocks.

7The Lord is good to those who hope in him,

a place of refuge in the day of trouble.

8With rushing flood an end he makes

of those who rise against him,

he drives his enemies into darkness.

9Why do you plot against the Lord?

He will end you.

He only takes vengeance once.

10Thorns, tangled and drenched,

they are consumed like dry stubble.

11Nineveh! From you has arisen

one who plots evil against the Lord,

a counsellor of wickedness.

Good news for Judah

12The Lord says:

“Though they are many and strong,

they will pass away and be gone.

Though I have afflicted you,

I will afflict you no more,

13and now I will break his yoke from your necks

and snap your chains.”

14The Lord has given this command concerning you, Nineveh:

“Your name will no longer be remembered.

I will destroy every idol and image

in the house of your God.

I will destroy even your tomb,

for you are worthless.”

15Look! On the mountains a messenger

bringing good news,

announcing peace!

“Celebrate the feasts, Judah,

fulfill your vows.

Never again will these enemies invade your land,

they are destroyed!”