2 The LORD God is jealous and capable of wrath and vengeance on His enemies. 3 He has great power and yet is slow to anger, but will not leave the guilty unpunished. He walks in a whirlwind and clouds of dust are beneath His feet. 4 He rebukes the sea and dries it up. He can cause the rivers of Bashan and Carmel to cease to flow making the blossoms of Lebanon wither. 5 Mountains quake because of Him and hills dissolve. Indeed the earth quakes at His presence, as do its inhabitants. 6 Who can withstand His indignation? Who can endure His fierce anger? His wrath is poured out like fire, shattering the rocks before him.

7 The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble. He knows those who take refuge in Him. 8 But with an overwhelming flood He will make an end of His adversaries, pursuing them into darkness.

COMMENT: Though we may hide, wishing to be enveloped in the darkness under the rocks and mountains, He knows where we are.

9 He will make a complete end of whoever devises evil, and wickedness will not rise up a second time. 10 They will be consumed like entangled thorns and dry stubble.

11 You have sent a wicked councilor who has plotted evil against the LORD. 12 The LORD says, "Though they are at full strength and there are many of them, they will be cut off and pass away. Though you have felt My affliction, you will feel it no longer." 13 "So I will break his hold on you, tearing off your shackles."

14 "The LORD has determined your end and the end of your idols. He will prepare you for your grave, for you are contemptible." 15 "Behold on the mountains the feet of him who brings good news announcing peace. Celebrate your feasts, O Judah, and pay your vows, for never again will the wicked one pass through you. He is completely cut off."

Nahum 2 - RWB Paraphrase (13 V)
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The City Will Fall
1 The one that shatters is coming against you. Man the ramparts and watch the road. Gird your loins and summon all your strength. 2 The LORD will restore the splendor of Jacob like the splendor of Israel, though destroyers have laid them waste and ruined their vines. 3 The shields of his mighty men are colored red and the warriors wear scarlet. The chariots shall be with flaming torches ready to march and his spears are brandished.

4 The chariots race madly in the streets and rush wildly in the squares. Their appearance is like torches as they dash to and for appearing like lightning flashes. 5 The officers are summoned, stumbling as they hasten to the wall. The protective shield is set up. 6 The river gates are thrown open and the palace collapses. 7 Its mistress is stripped and carried off, while her maidens lament and moan like doves while they beat their breasts.

8 Nineveh is like a pool with its water draining away."Stop! Stop!" They cry, but none turn back. 9 Plunder the silver and the gold. There is no limit to the treasure of every kind of desirable object. 10 She is empty and desolate. Hearts melt and knees knock. Everyone is in anguish with pale faces. 11 Where now is the lions' den, where the old lion paced and the cubs were undisturbed? 12 The lion killed enough for his cubs and his mate, filling his dens with prey.

13 "Behold, I am against you, " declares the LORD of hosts."i will burn up your chariots and a sword will devour your young lions. I will cut off your prey from the land, and no longer will the voice of your messengers be heard."

Nahum 3 - RWB Paraphrase (19 V)
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The People Will Be Scattered
1 Woe to the city of blood, full of lies and plunder, and never without victims! 2 Hear the noise of the whip, and the rattling of the wheels. Hear the galloping horses and the bounding chariots! 3 Horsemen charge. Swords flash. Spears gleam and many are slain. Countless dead are piled up or stumbled over.

4 All this is because of the wanton lust of a harlot, the alluring mistress of sorceries, who enslaved nations by her prostitution and witchcraft.

5 "I am against you, " declares the LORD almighty."i will shame you by lifting your skirts over your face to show the nations your nakedness." 6 "I will set you up as a spectacle by throwing filth on you." 7 "All who see you will shrink away, saying, 'Nineveh is devastated and who cares?'" 8 "Are you better than Thebes that sat by the Nile, with water around her for protection?" 9 "Ethiopia and Egypt were her boundless strength. Put and Libya were among her allies." 10 "Yet she went into captivity and her children were dashed to pieces in every street. Lots were cast for her nobles and all her great men were placed in chains." 11 "This will also happen to you as you search for refuge from the enemy." 12 "Your fortifications will be like a fig tree. When shaken its fruit will fall into the eater's mouth."

13 "Look at your troops. They are all women! The gates of your land are wide open to your enemies. Fire has consumed their bars."

14 "Draw water before the siege and make more bricks to fortify your strongholds." 15 "But the fire will still consume you and the sword will cut you down the way locust cuts down the grass." 16 "Your increase will be stripped away before the locust flies away." 17 "Your guards and officials are like swarms of locusts that settle on the walls on a cold day. But when the sun appears they fly away, and no one knows where." 18 "Your shepherds are asleep, O king of Assyria. Your nobles slumber and your people are scattered on the mountains with none to gather them again." 19 "Nothing can heal your wound, for your injury is fatal. Everyone who hears this news will claps his hands, for who has not felt your continual cruelty."

Chapters: 1 2 3