42:14 “I have been inactive 1 for a long time;
I kept quiet and held back.
Like a woman in labor I groan;
I pant and gasp. 2
1:9 All of them intend 3 to do violence;
every face is determined. 4
They take prisoners as easily as one scoops up sand. 5
1 tn Heb “silent” (so NASB, NIV, TEV, NLT); CEV “have held my temper.”
2 sn The imagery depicts the Lord as a warrior who is eager to fight and can no longer hold himself back from the attack.
3 tn Heb “come.”
4 tn Heb “The totality of their faces is to the east” (or “is forward”). The precise meaning of the Hebrew term מְגַמַּת (megammat) is unclear. For a discussion of options see J. J. M. Roberts, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (OTL), 93. NEB has “a sea of faces rolls on”; NIV “their hordes advance like a desert wind”; NRSV “with faces pressing forward.”
5 tn Heb “and he gathers like sand, prisoners.”