Nahum 1
EasyEnglish Bible
God is angry with Nineveh
1 Nahum lives in Elkosh and this is his prophecy about the people in Nineveh.[a]
2 God is angry with the people in Nineveh. The Lord loves his people.[b] But he is very angry with his enemies. He is so angry with them that he must punish them. He will be angry until he has killed his enemies. 3 The Lord will punish those who do wrong things. But he does not get angry quickly. He is a powerful God. The Lord does not get angry quickly. But he gets angry when people do wrong things. Then he punishes those people.
He is very powerful. You can see his power in the wind and the storms. The clouds are like dust that his feet shake. 4 He can cause the sea and the rivers to become dry by one word. The fertile places of Bashan and Carmel become dry and the green forests of Lebanon die too.[c] 5 He causes the mountains to shake and he causes the hills to become flat. The earth and all the people in the world are afraid of God.
6 Nobody can fight God when he is very angry. The Lord pours his anger out like fire and he breaks the rocks in his path. 7 The Lord loves those who believe him. When they are in trouble, they can put their hope in God. 8 But the people in Nineveh are his enemies and he will kill them. 9 The Lord will stop anything that you decide to do immediately. He does not let his enemies have a second chance. 10 He will kill them. And then it will be like when thorn bushes have caught people. Or it will be like when they have drunk too much alcohol. It will be like when someone burns dry straw. 11 The Lord tells the king of Nineveh that he has done bad things against God. And the king has told his people that they should do wrong things.
12 The Lord has said, ‘The people in Nineveh are many. And they think that they are safe. But I will kill them. I have punished you, my people, before now. But I will not punish you any more. 13 Now I will make you free from the people from Nineveh. And I will break the things that are holding you like iron.’
14 Nineveh, the Lord has said what will happen to you. He has said, ‘You will have no children and your family name will have an end. I will destroy the statues that you made from wood and metal. You worship those statues in your temples. There I will make graves for you because you are bad.’
15 People in Judah, look at the mountains. You will see the feet of the person who will bring good news. He causes peace. You can have your special festivals again now. And now you can do what you promised to me. The bad people will not win a war against you because I have killed them.[d]
Footnotes
- 1:1 Elkosh is a town in Judah.
- 1:2 When we write Lord like this, it is a special name for God. Sometimes people write it as ‘Yahweh’, or as ‘Jehovah’. It is his own name that he told Moses. See Exodus 3:14. It means ‘I am who I am’. This shows that God has always been there and he always will be there.
- 1:4 ‘fertile’ land is land where you can grow strong and healthy plants for food.
- 1:15 God has used armies to punish his people. This is because they have not listened to him. And they have not done what he says. One of those armies came from Nineveh. Now God will help his people. God will use other armies to punish the people in Nineveh because they have been so cruel and bad.
Nahum 1
New King James Version
God’s Mercy and Judgment
1 The [a]burden (A)against Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.
God’s Wrath on His Enemies
2 God is (B)jealous, and the Lord avenges;
The Lord avenges and is furious.
The Lord will take vengeance on His adversaries,
And He reserves wrath for His enemies;
3 The Lord is (C)slow to anger and (D)great in power,
And will not at all acquit the wicked.
(E)The Lord has His way
In the whirlwind and in the storm,
And the clouds are the dust of His feet.
4 (F)He rebukes the sea and makes it dry,
And dries up all the rivers.
(G)Bashan and Carmel wither,
And the flower of Lebanon wilts.
5 The mountains quake before Him,
The hills melt,
And the earth [b]heaves at His presence,
Yes, the world and all who dwell in it.
6 Who can stand before His indignation?
And (H)who can endure the fierceness of His anger?
His fury is poured out like fire,
And the rocks are thrown down by Him.
7 (I)The Lord is good,
A stronghold in the day of trouble;
And (J)He knows those who trust in Him.
8 But with an overflowing flood
He will make an utter end of its place,
And darkness will pursue His enemies.
9 (K)What do you [c]conspire against the Lord?
(L)He will make an utter end of it.
Affliction will not rise up a second time.
10 For while tangled (M)like thorns,
(N)And while drunken like drunkards,
(O)They shall be devoured like stubble fully dried.
11 From you comes forth one
Who plots evil against the Lord,
A [d]wicked counselor.
12 Thus says the Lord:
“Though they are [e]safe, and likewise many,
Yet in this manner they will be (P)cut down
When he passes through.
Though I have afflicted you,
I will afflict you no more;
13 For now I will break off his yoke from you,
And burst your bonds apart.”
14 The Lord has given a command concerning you:
[f]“Your name shall be perpetuated no longer.
Out of the house of your gods
I will cut off the carved image and the molded image.
I will dig your (Q)grave,
For you are (R)vile.”[g]
15 Behold, on the mountains
The (S)feet of him who brings good tidings,
Who proclaims peace!
O Judah, keep your appointed feasts,
Perform your vows.
For the [h]wicked one shall no more pass through you;
He is (T)utterly cut off.
Footnotes
- Nahum 1:1 oracle, prophecy
- Nahum 1:5 Tg. burns
- Nahum 1:9 Or devise
- Nahum 1:11 Lit. counselor of Belial
- Nahum 1:12 Or at peace or complete
- Nahum 1:14 Lit. No more of your name shall be fruitful
- Nahum 1:14 Or contemptible
- Nahum 1:15 Lit. one of Belial
Nahum 1
English Standard Version
1 (A)An oracle concerning (B)Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum of Elkosh.
God's Wrath Against Nineveh
2 (C)The Lord is a jealous and avenging God;
the Lord is avenging and wrathful;
(D)the Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries
and (E)keeps wrath for his enemies.
3 (F)The Lord is slow to anger and (G)great in power,
and (H)the Lord will by no means clear the guilty.
(I)His way is in whirlwind and storm,
and the clouds are the dust of his feet.
4 (J)He rebukes the sea and makes it dry;
he dries up all the rivers;
(K)Bashan and (L)Carmel wither;
the bloom of (M)Lebanon withers.
5 (N)The mountains quake before him;
(O)the hills melt;
the earth heaves before him,
(P)the world and all who dwell in it.
6 (Q)Who can stand before his indignation?
Who can endure the heat of his anger?
His wrath (R)is poured out like fire,
and (S)the rocks are broken into pieces by him.
7 (T)The Lord is good,
(U)a stronghold in the day of trouble;
(V)he knows those who take refuge in him.
8 But (W)with an overflowing flood
he will make a complete end of the adversaries,[a]
and (X)will pursue his enemies into darkness.
9 What (Y)do you plot against the Lord?
(Z)He will make a complete end;
trouble will not rise up a second time.
10 For they are (AA)like entangled thorns,
like drunkards as they drink;
(AB)they are consumed like stubble fully dried.
11 From you came one
(AC)who plotted evil against the Lord,
a worthless counselor.
12 Thus says the Lord,
“Though they are at full strength and many,
(AD)they will be cut down and pass away.
(AE)Though I have afflicted you,
I will afflict you no more.
13 And now (AF)I will break his yoke from off you
and will burst your bonds apart.”
14 The Lord has given commandment about you:
(AG)“No more shall your name be perpetuated;
from (AH)the house of your gods I will cut off
the carved image and the metal image.
(AI)I will make your grave, (AJ)for you are vile.”
15 [b] (AK)Behold, upon the mountains, (AL)the feet of him
who brings good news,
who publishes peace!
(AM)Keep your feasts, O Judah;
(AN)fulfill your vows,
(AO)for never again shall the worthless pass through you;
he is utterly cut off.
Footnotes
- Nahum 1:8 Hebrew of her place
- Nahum 1:15 Ch 2:1 in Hebrew
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
