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Power of the creator

The Lord is a jealous and vengeful God;
        the Lord is vengeful and strong in wrath.
    The Lord is vengeful against his foes;
        he rages against his enemies.
The Lord is very patient but great in power;
        the Lord punishes.
    His way is in whirlwind and storm;
        clouds are the dust of his feet.
He can blast the sea and make it dry up;
        he can dry up all the rivers.
    Bashan and Carmel wither;
        the bud of Lebanon withers.
The mountains quake because of him;
        the hills melt away.
The earth heaves before him—
        the world and all who dwell in it.
Who can stand before his indignation?
        Who can confront the heat of his fury?
    His wrath pours out like fire;
        the rocks are shattered because of him.
The Lord is good,
        a haven in a day of distress.
    He acknowledges those who take refuge in him.
With a rushing flood, he will utterly destroy her[a] place
        and pursue his enemies into darkness.

A challenge to God’s enemies

What are you plotting against the Lord?
        He is one who can annihilate!
        Distress will not arise twice.
10 They are tangled up like thorns,
        like drunkards in their cups.
    They are consumed like stubble
        that is entirely dried up.
11 From you[b] goes out
        one who plots evil against the Lord
            a worthless counselor!

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Footnotes

  1. Nahum 1:8 her; likely Nineveh
  2. Nahum 1:11 you (feminine singular); likely Nineveh

The Lord’s victory

The prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, according to Shigionoth:

Lord, I have heard your reputation.
        I have seen your work.
Over time, revive it.
        Over time, make it known.
Though angry, remember compassion.
God comes from Teman
        and the holy one from the mountain of Paran. Selah
His majesty covers the heavens
        and his praise fills the earth.
His radiance is like the sunlight,
        with rays flashing from his hand.
        That is the hiding place of his power.
Pestilence walks in front of him.
        Plague marches at his feet.
He stops and measures the earth.
        He looks and sets out against the nations.
The everlasting mountains collapse;
        the eternal hills bow down;
        the eternal paths belong to him.
I saw the tents of Cushan under duress.
        The curtains of the land of Midian were quaking.

Was the Lord raging against the rivers?
        Or was your anger directed against the rivers?
        Or was your fury directed against the sea
            when you rode on your horses
            or rode your chariots to victory?
You raise up your empty bow,
        uttering curses for the arrows.[a] Selah
With rivers you split open the earth.
10         The mountains see you and writhe.
        A flood of water rushes through.
        The deep utters its voice;
            it raises its hands aloft.[b]
11         Sun and moon stand still high above.
        With the light, your arrows shoot,
            your spear at the flash of lightning.
12 In fury, you stride the earth;
        in anger you tread the nations.
13 You go out to save your people.
        For the salvation of your anointed
            you smashed the head of the house of wickedness,
            laying bare the foundation up to the neck. Selah
14 You pierce the head of his warrior with his own spear.
        His warriors are driven off,
            those who take delight in oppressing us,[c]
            those who take pleasure in secretly devouring the poor.
15 You make your horses tread on the sea;
        turbulent waters foam.

The prophet responds

16 I hear and my insides tremble.
        My lips quiver at the sound.
        Rottenness enters my bones.
I tremble while I stand,[d]
        while I wait for the day of distress to come against the people who attack us.
17 Though the fig tree doesn’t bloom,
            and there’s no produce on the vine;
        though the olive crop withers,
            and the fields don’t provide food;
        though the sheep are cut off from the pen,
            and there are no cattle in the stalls;
18 I will rejoice in the Lord.
        I will rejoice in the God of my deliverance.
19 The Lord God is my strength.
        He will set my feet like the deer.
        He will let me walk upon the heights.[e]

To the director, with stringed instruments

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Footnotes

  1. Habakkuk 3:9 Heb uncertain
  2. Habakkuk 3:10 Heb uncertain
  3. Habakkuk 3:14 Or me
  4. Habakkuk 3:16 Or I tremble beneath me.
  5. Habakkuk 3:19 Or my heights

Judgment on the world and Judah

I will wipe out everything from the earth, says the Lord.
        I will destroy humanity and the beasts;
        I will destroy the birds in the sky and the fish in the sea.
        I will make the wicked into a heap of ruins;
        I will eliminate humanity from the earth, says the Lord.

I will stretch out my hand against Judah
        and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
I will eliminate what’s left of Baal from this place
        and the names of the priests of foreign gods,[a]
        those bowing down to the forces of heaven on the rooftops,
            those swearing by the Lord along with those swearing by Milcom,
        those turning away from the Lord,
            those who don’t seek the Lord and don’t pursue him.

The day of the Lord

Hush before the Lord God,
        for the day of the Lord is near!
        The Lord has established a sacrifice;
            he has made holy those he has summoned.
On the day of the Lord’s sacrifice,
        I will punish the princes, the king’s sons,
            and all those wearing foreign clothes.
I will punish the one leaping on the threshold on that day,
            those filling the house of their master with violence and deceit.
10 On that day—says the Lord
        an outcry will resound from the Fish Gate,
        wailing from the second quarter,
        a loud crash from the hills.
11 The ones who grind the grain[b] will wail;
        all the merchants will be silenced.
        I will eliminate all those weighing out silver.
12 At that time, I will search Jerusalem with lamps;
        I will punish the men growing fat on the sediment in their wine,
            those saying to themselves, The Lord won’t do good or evil.
13         Their wealth will be looted and their houses destroyed.
        They will rebuild houses, but not live in them;
        they will plant vineyards, but not drink the wine.
14 The great day of the Lord is near;
        it is near and coming very quickly.
The sound of the day of the Lord is bitter.
        A warrior screams there.
15 That day is a day of fury,
        a day of distress and anxiety,
        a day of desolation and devastation,
        a day of darkness and gloominess,
        a day of clouds and deep darkness,
16         a day for blowing the trumpet and alarm against their invincible cities
            and against their high towers.
17 I will make humanity suffer;
            they will walk like the blind
            because they sinned against the Lord.
        Their blood will be poured out like dust
        and their intestines like manure.
18 Moreover, their silver and their gold won’t be able to deliver them
        on the day of the Lord’s fury.
His jealousy will devour the entire land with fire;
        he will make an end,
            a truly horrible one,
        for all the inhabitants of the land.

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Footnotes

  1. Zephaniah 1:4 Or the name of the priests of foreign gods along with the priests
  2. Zephaniah 1:11 Or keeper of the mortar

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