Nahum 1-2

New King James Version

^(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.

“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.

² For the Lord will restore the excellence of Jacob
Like the excellence of Israel,
For the emptiers have emptied them out
And ruined their vine branches.

³ The shields of his mighty men are made red,
The valiant men are in scarlet.
The chariots come with flaming torches
In the day of his preparation,
And ^[j]the spears are brandished.
⁴ The chariots rage in the streets,
They jostle one another in the broad roads;
They seem like torches,
They run like lightning.

⁵ He remembers his nobles;
They stumble in their walk;
They make haste to her walls,
And the defense is prepared.
⁶ The gates of the rivers are opened,
And the palace is dissolved.
^7 [k]It is decreed:
She shall be led away captive,
She shall be brought up;
And her maidservants shall lead her as with the voice of doves,
Beating their breasts.

⁸ Though Nineveh of old was like a pool of water,
Now they flee away.
^[l]“Halt! Halt!” they cry;
But no one turns back.
^9 [m]Take spoil of silver!
Take spoil of ^(U)gold!
There is no end of treasure,
Or wealth of every desirable prize.
¹⁰ She is empty, desolate, and waste!
The heart melts, and the knees shake;
Much pain is in every side,
And all their faces ^[n]are drained of color.

¹¹ Where is the dwelling of the ^(V)lions,
And the feeding place of the young lions,
Where the lion walked, the lioness and lion’s cub,
And no one made them afraid?
¹² The lion tore in pieces enough for his cubs,
^[o]Killed for his lionesses,
^(W)Filled his caves with prey,
And his dens with ^[p]flesh.