Nahum 1:1-8
New International Reader's Version
1 Here is a prophecy the Lord gave Nahum, who was from the town of Elkosh. The prophecy came in a vision and is written in a book. The prophecy is about Nineveh.
The Lord Is Angry With Nineveh
2 The Lord is a jealous God who punishes people.
He pays them back for the evil things they do.
He directs his anger against them.
The Lord punishes his enemies.
He holds his anger back
until the right time to use it.
3 The Lord is slow to get angry.
But he is very powerful.
The Lord will not let guilty people go
without punishing them.
When he marches out, he stirs up winds and storms.
Clouds are the dust kicked up by his feet.
4 He controls the seas. He dries them up.
He makes all the rivers run dry.
Bashan and Mount Carmel dry up.
The flowers in Lebanon fade.
5 He causes the mountains to shake.
The hills melt away.
The earth trembles because he is there.
The world and all those who live in it also tremble.
6 Who can stand firm when his anger burns?
Who can live when he is angry?
His anger blazes out like fire.
He smashes the rocks to pieces.
7 The Lord is good.
When people are in trouble,
they can go to him for safety.
He takes good care of those
who trust in him.
8 But he will destroy Nineveh
with a powerful flood.
He will chase his enemies
into the place of darkness.
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