Nahum 1:2–3
Nahum: YHWH is slow to anger and great in power, yet by no means leaves sin unpunished
Study it word by word2A jealous and avenging El is YHWH; avenging is YHWH and a master of fury; avenging is YHWH on his adversaries, and he holds it against his enemies.
3YHWH is slow to anger and great in power, and will by no means leave the guilty unpunished. YHWH, in the whirlwind and in the storm is his way, and clouds are the dust of his feet.
In its context
1The burden of Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.
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4He rebukes the sea and dries it up, and all the rivers he drains; Bashan and Carmel wither, and the bloom of Lebanon withers.
5The mountains quake before him, and the hills melt; and the earth heaves at his presence, and the world and all who dwell in it.
Its words in the original
- אֵלel· El, God, god
"El", an ancient Hebrew word for "God". Alone or with another title it is a name of the God of Israel: El Elyon (God Most High), El Shaddai (God Almighty). Neighboring peoples used the same word for their gods; then this translation writes "god" in lower case. It also means "mighty".
- קַנּוֹאkano· jealous
Jealous: not allowing another to share what is one's own. It is said of God, who does not accept that his people serve other gods.
- נֹקֵםnokem· avenge
Avenge: make someone pay for the wrong done; take vengeance.
- יְהוָהyehva· YHWH
The personal name of the God of Israel, written in Hebrew with four letters, Y-H-W-H, without vowels. Out of reverence Jews stopped pronouncing it and read "Adonai" (Lord), so many Bibles put "the LORD" or "Jehovah". This translation keeps the four letters. The name is related to the verb "to be" (Exodus 3:14-15). He is not a god other than Elohim: "YHWH Elohim" is the same Creator God, called by his name.
- בַעַלvaal· owner, husband
Owner, master of something; husband. With another word it says who has that thing: "masters of a covenant" = allies; "master of dreams" = dreamer.
- חֵמָהchema· wrath, fury
Wrath, burning anger, fury; also venom.
- צָרָיtsaray· enemy; distress
Enemy, adversary; also distress, a tight spot. The common idea is something that hems in and presses.
- נוֹטֵרnoter· keep, bear a grudge
Keep, take care of (a vineyard); keep anger, bear a grudge.
- אֹיְבָיoyvay· enemy
Enemy, foe: one who hates and opposes another.
- אֶרֶךְerech· long, slow
Long. "Long of nose" is the Hebrew way of saying "slow to anger", patient.
- אַפַּיִםapayim· anger, nose
Nose, nostrils. Since breathing grows hard in anger, the same word also means "anger"; sometimes "face".
- גְדָלgedal· great
Great in size, number, age or importance; also "the elder" of two; "high priest" is "great priest".
- כֹּחַkoach· strength
Strength, power, vigor; also what the ground can produce. A word with the same letters names a large lizard.
- נַקֵּהnake· be free, go unpunished
Be free of an obligation or of guilt; be held innocent, go unpunished. With God, leave the guilty unpunished.
- סוּפָהsufa· storm, whirlwind; Suphah
Whirlwind, storm. In Numbers 21:14, Suphah, the name of a place.
- שְׂעָרָהseara· storm, tempest
A tempest, a storm wind.
- דַּרְכּdark· way
Way, road, journey. Figuratively, the way one lives or acts.
- עָנָןanan· cloud
Cloud.
- אֲבַקavak· fine dust
Very fine dust.
- רַגְלָיraglay· foot
Foot; the foot of an animal; also a step.