Nahum 1:2

God's Vengeance

2 The Lord is a jealous and avenging God; the Lord takes vengeance and is fierce in^[a] wrath. The Lord takes vengeance against His foes; He is furious with His enemies.^[b]

Nahum 1:2 Meaning and Commentary

Nahum 1:2

God [is] jealous, and the Lord revengeth
He is jealous of his own honour and glory, and for his own worship and ordinances; and will not give his glory to another, nor his praise to graven images; and therefore will punish all idolaters, and particularly the idolatrous Assyrians: he is jealous for his people, and cannot bear to see them injured; and will avenge the affronts that are offered, and the indignities done unto them: the Lord revengeth, and [is] furious;
or, is "master of wrath" ^F21; full of it, or has it at his command; can restrain it, and let it out as he pleases, which man cannot do; a furious and passionate man, who has no rule over his spirit. The Lord's revenging is repeated for the confirmation of it; yea, it is a third time observed, as follows; which some of the Jewish writers think has respect to the three times the king of Assyria carried the people of Israel captive, and for which the Lord would be revenged on him, and punish him: the Lord will take vengeance on his adversaries;
on all his adversaries; particularly the Assyrians are here meant, who were both the enemies of him and of his people. The Targum explains it,

``that hate his people:''

vengeance belongs to the Lord, and he will repay it sooner or later; if not immediately, he will hereafter; for it follows: and he reserveth [wrath] for his enemies:
and them for that; if not in this world, yet in the world to come; he lays it up among his treasures, and brings it forth at his pleasure. The word "wrath" is not in the text; it is not said what he reserves for the enemies of himself and church; it is inconceivable and inexpressible.

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FOOTNOTES:

F21 (hmx leb) "dominus irae", Calvin, Vatablus, Grotius; "dominus excandescentiae", Piscator, Tarnovius; "dominus irae aestuantis, [sive] fervoris", Burkius.

Nahum 1:2 In-Context

1 The oracle concerning Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.

2 The Lord is a jealous and avenging God; the Lord takes vengeance and is fierce in wrath. The Lord takes vengeance against His foes; He is furious with His enemies.

3 The Lord is slow to anger but great in power; the Lord will never leave [the guilty] unpunished. His path is in the whirlwind and storm, and clouds are the dust beneath His feet.

4 He rebukes the sea so that it dries up, and He makes all the rivers run dry. Bashan and Carmel wither; even the flower of Lebanon withers.

5 The mountains quake before Him, and the hills melt; the earth trembles at His presence- the world and all who live in it.

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit is a master of
• [b]. Dt 6:15; Jr 46:10; Zph 1:18