NAHUM
The Minor Prophets:
Nahum 1
Nahum lived about 2600 years ago. He was a native of Elkosh (about 20 miles southwest of Jerusalem). The Bible's book of Nahum is short in length and consists almost entirely of a prophecy of Nineveh's destruction. It is believed that Nahum wrote his book about two years before Nineveh was destroyed in 612 BC.
Nineveh at that time was the capital of the Assyrian Empire, which was one of the most powerful empires of the ancient world. The Assyrians conquered the kingdom of Israel in about 722 BC, about 2700 years ago. The conquest was as ruthless and cruel as it was devastating. The little we know touching the Prophet Nahum must be gathered from his book, for nowhere else in the canonical Scriptures does his name occur, and extracanonical Jewish writers are hardly less reticent. The scant positive information vouchsafed by these sources is in no wise supplemented by the worthless stories concerning the Prophet put into circulation by legend-mongers. We will deal only with what may be gathered from the canonical Book of Nahum, the only available first-hand document at our disposal. From its title (i,1), we learn that Nahum was an Elcesite (so D. V.; A. V., Elkoshite). On the true import of this statement commentators have not always been of one mind.
1 This is a revelation from the LORD(Jesus) about Nineveh. This book contains the vision of Nahum from Elkosh.
Nahum lived about 2600 years ago. He was a native of Elkosh (about 20 miles southwest of Jerusalem). The Bible's book of Nahum is short in length and consists almost entirely of a prophecy of Nineveh's destruction. It is believed that Nahum wrote his book about two years before Nineveh was destroyed in 612 BC.
Nineveh at that time was the capital of the Assyrian Empire, which was one of the most powerful empires of the ancient world. The Assyrians conquered the kingdom of Israel in about 722 BC, about 2700 years ago. The conquest was as ruthless and cruel as it was devastating. The little we know touching the Prophet Nahum must be gathered from his book, for nowhere else in the canonical Scriptures does his name occur, and extracanonical Jewish writers are hardly less reticent. The scant positive information vouchsafed by these sources is in no wise supplemented by the worthless stories concerning the Prophet put into circulation by legend-mongers. We will deal only with what may be gathered from the canonical Book of Nahum, the only available first-hand document at our disposal. From its title (i,1), we learn that Nahum was an Elcesite (so D. V.; A. V., Elkoshite). On the true import of this statement commentators have not always been of one mind.
1 This is a revelation from the LORD(Jesus) about Nineveh. This book contains the vision of Nahum from Elkosh.
2 The LORD(Jesus) is a jealous LORD(Jesus), filled with vengeance and wrath. The LORD(Jesus) takes revenge on all who oppose him and furiously destroys his enemies!
3 The LORD(Jesus) is slow to get angry, but his power is great, and he never lets the guilty go unpunished. He displays his power in the tornado and the storm. The billowing clouds are the dust beneath his feet.
4 He commands the sea to make it dry. He dries up all the rivers. Bashan and Carmel wither. The flowers of Lebanon wither.
5 The mountains quake because of him. The hills melt. The earth draws back in his presence. The world and all who live in it draw back as well.
6 Who can stand in the presence of his rage? Who can oppose his burning anger? He pours out his rage like fire and smashes the rocky cliffs.
7 The LORD(Jesus) is good. When trouble comes, he is a strong refuge. And he knows everyone who trusts in him.
8 He will put an end to Nineveh with a devastating flood. He will pursue his enemies with darkness.
9 Why are you scheming against the LORD(Jesus)? He will destroy you with one blow; he won't need to strike twice!
10 His enemies, tangled like thorns, staggering like drunks, will be burned like straw in a field.
11 Who is this king of yours who dares to plot evil against the LORD(Jesus)?
12 This is what the LORD(Jesus) says: Even though the Assyrians have many allies, they will be destroyed and disappear. O my people, I have already punished you once, and I will not do it again.
13 But now I will break Nineveh's yoke off of you and tear its chains from you.
14 The LORD(Jesus) has given this command about you, Nineveh: You will no longer have descendants to carry on your name. I will remove the wooden and metal idols from the temple of your gods. I will prepare your grave because you are worthless.
15 There on the mountains are the feet of a messenger who announces the good news: "All is well!" Celebrate your feast days, Judah! Keep your vows! This wickedness will never pass your way again. It will be completely removed.
Nahum 2
1 The one who will scatter you is coming to attack you. Guard your fortress! Keep a lookout on the road! Prepare for battle! Be very courageous!
2 The LORD(Jesus) will restore Jacob's glory like Israel's glory, although enemies have looted it and have destroyed its vines.
3 The shields of his warriors are painted red. His soldiers have red uniforms. The metal on his chariots flashes fiery red, so do the spears when they are waved on the day he prepares for battle.
4 Chariots are racing madly through the streets, rushing this way and that in the city squares. They look like torches, like lightning, as they dart about.
5 He remembers his best fighting men. They stumble over themselves as they march. They hurry to Nineveh's wall. The shield has been set up for the battering ram.
6 The gates of the rivers are opened, and the palace melts away.
7 The LORD(Jesus) has determined: It will be stripped. It will be carried away. Its young women will be mourning like doves as they beat their breasts.
8 Nineveh was like a pool of water from its first day on. But now its people are fleeing. "Stop! Stop!" But no one turns around.
9 Steal the silver! Steal the gold! There is no end to what is stored here-- everything a person could ever want.
10 Nineveh is destroyed, deserted, demolished. Hearts are melting. Knees are knocking. Every stomach becomes upset. Every face turns pale.
11 Where is the lions' den, that feeding place for young lions? Where are the lion, the lioness, and the lion cub who moved about with no one to terrify them?
12 The lion tore its prey to pieces to feed its cubs. It strangled prey for its mates. It used to fill its caves with torn carcasses and its dens with torn flesh.
13 "I am against you, Nineveh," declares the LORD(Jesus) of Hosts. "I will send your chariots up in smoke, and a sword will kill your young lions. I will remove your prey from the earth, and no one will ever hear the voice of your messengers again."
Nahum 3
1 Woe to the bloody city! It is all full of lies and robbery. Its victim never departs.
2 The sound of the whip! The sound of rattling wheels! Horses gallop! Chariots bounce along!
3 Horses charge! Swords flash! Spears glitter! Many are killed! Dead bodies pile up! There is no end to the corpses! People trip over corpses
4 because of Nineveh's constant prostitution, this very charming mistress of evil magic. She used to sell nations her prostitution and people her evil magic.
This assigns the reason for Nineveh's destruction.
of the well-favoured harlot--As Assyria was not a worshipper of the true God, "whoredoms" cannot mean, as in the case of Israel, apostasy to the worship of false gods; but, her harlot-like artifices whereby she allured neighboring states so as to subject them to herself. As the unwary are allured by the "well-favored harlot's" looks, so Israel, Judah (for example, under Ahaz, who, calling to his aid Tiglath-pileser, was made tributary by him, 2 Kings 16:7-10 ), and other nations, were tempted by the plausible professions of Assyria, and by the lure of commerce ( Revelation 18:2 Revelation 18:3 ), to trust her. (Jamieson)
of the well-favoured harlot--As Assyria was not a worshipper of the true God, "whoredoms" cannot mean, as in the case of Israel, apostasy to the worship of false gods; but, her harlot-like artifices whereby she allured neighboring states so as to subject them to herself. As the unwary are allured by the "well-favored harlot's" looks, so Israel, Judah (for example, under Ahaz, who, calling to his aid Tiglath-pileser, was made tributary by him, 2 Kings 16:7-10 ), and other nations, were tempted by the plausible professions of Assyria, and by the lure of commerce ( Revelation 18:2 Revelation 18:3 ), to trust her. (Jamieson)
5 I am against you, Nineveh, says the LORD(Jesus) of Hosts. I will lift up your dress over your face. I will show nations your naked body and kingdoms your disgrace.
6 I will throw filth on you. I will make you look like a fool. I will make you a sight to be seen.
7 Everyone who sees you will run from you, saying, 'Nineveh has been violently destroyed! Who will feel sorry for her?' Where can I find anyone to comfort you?"
8 Are you any better than Thebes, surrounded by rivers, protected by water on all sides?
9 Sudan and Egypt were her endless strength. Put and the Lybians were her help.
10 Yet she was carried away, She went into captivity; Her young children also were dashed to pieces At the head of every street; They cast lots for her honorable men, And all her great men were bound in chains.
11 You will stagger like a drunk. You will disappear. Even you will look for a fortress [to escape] from the enemy.
12 All your defenses will be like fig trees with the earliest figs. When shaken, the figs fall into the mouth of the eater.
13 Look at your soldiers; they're women! The gates of your country are wide open to your enemies. Fire has destroyed the bars of your gates.
14 Get ready for the siege! Store up water! Strengthen the defenses! Make bricks to repair the walls! Go into the pits to trample clay, and pack it into molds!
15 But in the middle of your preparations, the fire will devour you; the sword will cut you down. The enemy will consume you like locusts, devouring everything they see. There will be no escape, even if you multiply like grasshoppers.
16 Merchants, as numerous as the stars, have filled your city with vast wealth. But like a swarm of locusts, they strip the land and then fly away.
17 Your officers are like locusts, and your scribes are like swarms of locusts that settle on the fences when it is cold. The sun rises, and they scatter in every direction. No one knows where they've gone.
18 Your shepherds, king of Assyria, have fallen into a deep sleep. Your best fighting men are at rest. Your people are scattered on the mountains, and there is no one to gather them.
19 There is no relief for your collapse. Your wound is fatal. All who hear the news about you will clap their hands. Who hasn't suffered from your endless evil?
