13:5 They come from a distant land,
from the horizon. 1
It is the Lord with his instruments of judgment, 2
coming to destroy the whole earth. 3
19:1 Here is a message about Egypt:
Look, the Lord rides on a swift-moving cloud
and approaches Egypt.
The idols of Egypt tremble before him;
the Egyptians lose their courage. 4
1:3 The Lord is slow to anger 5 but great in power; 6
the Lord will certainly not 7 allow the wicked 8 to go unpunished.
He marches out 9 in the whirlwind and the raging storm;
dark storm clouds billow like dust 10 under his feet. 11
1:7 (Look! He is returning with the clouds, 17
and every eye will see him,
even 18 those who pierced him, 19
and all the tribes 20 on the earth will mourn because 21 of him.
This will certainly come to pass! 22 Amen.) 23
1 tn Heb “from the end of the sky.”
2 tn Or “anger”; cf. KJV, ASV “the weapons of his indignation.”
3 tn Or perhaps, “land” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NLT). Even though the heading and subsequent context (see v. 17) indicate Babylon’s judgment is in view, the chapter has a cosmic flavor that suggests that the coming judgment is universal in scope. Perhaps Babylon’s downfall occurs in conjunction with a wider judgment, or the cosmic style is poetic hyperbole used to emphasize the magnitude and importance of the coming event.
4 tn Heb “and the heart of Egypt melts within it.”
5 tn Heb “long of anger,” i.e., “slow to anger” (Exod 34:6; Num 14:18; Joel 2:13; Jonah 4:2; Pss 86:15; 103:8; 145:8; Prov 14:29; 15:18; 16:32; Neh 9:17) or restraining anger (Jer 15:15; Prov 25:15). Cf. NCV “The Lord does not become angry quickly.”
6 tc The BHS editors suggest emending MT “power” (כֹּחַ, koakh) to “mercy” (חֶסֶד, khesed) as in Exod 34:6; Num 14:18; Joel 2:13; Jonah 4:2; Ps 103:8; Neh 9:17. However, this is unnecessary, it has no textual support, and it misses the rhetorical point intended by Nahum’s modification of the traditional expression.
7 tn Or “he will certainly not acquit [the wicked]”; KJV “and will not at all acquit the wicked.” The root נָקַה (naqah, “to acquit”) is repeated for emphasis. The phrase “he will certainly not allow the wicked to go unpunished” (וְנַקֵּה לֹא יְנַקֶּה, vÿnaqqeh lo’ yÿnaqqeh) is an emphatic construction (see GKC 215 §75.hh; IBHS 584-88 §35.3.1).
8 tn The words “the wicked” are not in the Hebrew text but are supplied in the translation; they are implied when this idiom is used (Exod 34:7; Num 14:18). In legal contexts the nuance “the guilty” is most appropriate; in nonlegal contexts the nuance “the wicked” is used.
9 tn Heb “His way is in the whirlwind” (so NIV). The noun דַּרְכּוֹ (darko, “his way”) is nuanced here in a verbal sense. The noun דֶּרֶךְ (derekh) often denotes a “journey” (Gen 28:20; 30:36; 45:23; Num 9:10; Josh 9:13; 1 Sam 21:6; 1 Kgs 18:27). The verb דָּרַךְ (darakh) often means “to tread a path” (Job 22:15) and “to march out” (Judg 5:21). The
10 tn Heb “clouds are dust.”
11 tn Heb “of his feet.”
12 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
13 tn Or “in the sky”; the Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context.
14 tn Here τότε (tote, “then”) has not been translated to avoid redundancy in English.
15 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
16 sn An allusion to Dan 7:13. Here is Jesus returning with full authority to judge.
17 sn An allusion to Dan 7:13.
18 tn Here καί (kai) was translated as ascensive.
19 sn An allusion to Zech 12:10.
20 tn In this context, tribes (φυλαί, fulai) could also be translated as “nations” or “peoples” (L&N 11.56).
21 tn The conjunction ἐπί (epi) is most likely causal here. The people who crucified him are those of every tribe on the earth and they will mourn because he comes as judge.
22 tn Grk “Yes, Amen.” The expression “This will certainly come to pass” is an attempt to capture the force of the juxtaposition of the Greek ναί (nai) and the Hebrew ἀμήν (amhn). See L&N 69.1.
23 sn These lines are placed in parentheses because they form an aside to the main argument.