Nahum 1 (Contemporary English Version)

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Nahum 1

Contemporary English Version (CEV)

1 I am Nahum from Elkosh.^[a] And this is the message^[b] that I wrote down about Nineveh.^[c]

The Fierce Anger of the Lord

²The Lord God demands loyalty.
In his anger, he takes revenge
    on his enemies.
³The Lord is powerful,
    yet patient;
he makes sure that the guilty
    are always punished.
He can be seen in storms
    and in whirlwinds;
clouds are the dust from his feet.

⁴At the Lord’s command,
    oceans and rivers dry up.
Bashan, Mount Carmel,
and Lebanon^[d] wither,
    and their flowers fade.
⁵At the sight of the Lord,
mountains and hills
    tremble and melt;
the earth and its people
    shudder and shake.
⁶Who can stand the heat
    of his furious anger?
It flashes out like fire
    and shatters stones.

The Power of Assyria Will Be Broken

⁷The Lord is good.
He protects those who trust him
    in times of trouble.
⁸But like a roaring flood,
the Lord chases his enemies
    into dark places
    and destroys them.
⁹So don’t plot against the Lord!
He wipes out his enemies,
    and they never revive.
¹⁰They are like drunkards
    overcome by wine,
or like dry thornbushes
    burning in a fire.^[e]
¹¹Assyria, one of your rulers
has made evil plans
    against the Lord.

¹²But the Lord says, “Assyria,
no matter how strong you are,
    you are doomed!
My people Judah,
I have troubled you before,
    but I won’t do it again.
¹³I’ll snap your chains
and set you free
    from the Assyrians.”

¹⁴Assyria, this is what else
    the Lord says to you:
“Your name will be forgotten.
I will destroy every idol
    in your temple,
and I will send you to the grave,
    because you are worthless.”

¹⁵Look toward the mountains,
    people of Judah!
Here comes a messenger
    with good news of peace.
Celebrate your festivals.
    Keep your promises to God.
Your evil enemies are destroyed
and will never again
    invade your country.

Footnotes:

1.1 Elkosh: The location of Elkosh is not known.
1.1 message: Or “vision.”
1.1 Nineveh: The capital of Assyria, the hated enemy of Israel.
1.4 Bashan, Mount Carmel, and Lebanon: Three regions noted for their trees and flowers.
1.10 fire: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 10.