Nahum 1:1-3
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 1
1 Oracle[a] concerning Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum of Elkosh.
God’s Terrifying Appearance
2 [b]A jealous and avenging God[c] is the Lord,
an avenger is the Lord, full of wrath;
The Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries,
and rages against his enemies;
3 The Lord is slow to anger, yet great in power;
the Lord will not leave the guilty unpunished.(A)
In stormwind[d] and tempest he comes,
and clouds are the dust at his feet;
Footnotes
- 1:1 Oracle: (Heb. Massa’) a word used frequently to describe a prophetic statement against a foreign nation or occasionally Israel; it is used favorably for Israel in Zec 12:1 and Mal 1:1. Nahum of Elkosh: Nahum means “comfort.” Elkosh is a clan or village of unknown location, perhaps in southern Judah.
- 1:2–8 A poem written in the style of the alphabetic psalms (cf. Ps 9; 25; 111; 119) in which each verse unit begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The second half of the alphabet is not represented here.
- 1:2 A jealous…God: see note on Ex 20:5.
- 1:3–6 In stormwind: the power of God is often pictured by natural forces and cosmic disruption (Ex 19:9–25; Ps 18:8–16; 104:1–9).
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.