Nahum 1:5

5 In his presence the mountains quake, and the hills melt away; the earth trembles, and its people are destroyed.

Nahum 1:5 Meaning and Commentary

Nahum 1:5

The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt
As Sinai of old did, when the Lord descended on it, ( Exodus 19:18 ) ( Judges 5:5 ) . Mountains figuratively signify kings and princes; and hills large countries, as Jarchi and Abarbinel observe, and the inhabitants of them; particularly the kingdoms and nations belonging to the Assyrian empire, which would tremble and quake, and their hearts melt with fear, when they should hear of the destruction of Nineveh their chief city; and of the devastation made by the enemy there and in other parts, under the direction of the Lord of hosts; his power and providence succeeding him: and the earth is burnt at his presence;
either when he withholds rain from it, and so it be comes parched and burnt up with the heat of the sun; or when he rains fire and brimstone on it, as he did on Sodom and Gomorrah; or consumes any part of it with thunder and lightning, as he sometimes does; nay, if he but touch the mountains, they smoke; see ( Psalms 104:32 ) ; yea, the world, and all that dwell therein;
as in the last day, at the general conflagration, when the world, and all the wicked inhabitants of it, will be burnt up; see ( 2 Peter 3:10 ) .

Nahum 1:5 In-Context

3 The LORD is slow to get angry, but his power is great, and he never lets the guilty go unpunished. He displays his power in the whirlwind and the storm. The billowing clouds are the dust beneath his feet.

4 At his command the oceans dry up, and the rivers disappear. The lush pastures of Bashan and Carmel fade, and the green forests of Lebanon wither.

5 In his presence the mountains quake, and the hills melt away; the earth trembles, and its people are destroyed.

6 Who can stand before his fierce anger? Who can survive his burning fury? His rage blazes forth like fire, and the mountains crumble to dust in his presence.

7 The LORD is good, a strong refuge when trouble comes. He is close to those who trust in him.