Nahum 3:6

3:6 I will pelt you with filth; ¹ 

I will treat you with contempt;

I will make you a public spectacle.

Nahum 2:9

2:9 Her conquerors cry out: ² 

“Plunder the silver! Plunder the gold!”

There is no end to the treasure;

riches of every kind of precious thing.

Nahum 3:1

Reason for Judgment: Sins of Nineveh

3:1 Woe to the city guilty of bloodshed! ³ 

She is full of lies; ⁴ 

she is filled with plunder; ⁵ 

she has hoarded her spoil! ⁶ 

Nahum 2:12

2:12 The lion tore apart as much prey as his cubs needed ⁷ 

and strangled prey to provide food ⁸  for his lionesses;

he filled ⁹  his lairs with prey

and his dens with torn flesh.

Nahum 1:15

Proclamation of the Deliverance of Judah

1:15 (2:1) ¹⁰  Look! A herald is running ¹¹  on the mountains!

A messenger is proclaiming deliverance: ¹² 

“Celebrate your sacred festivals, O Judah!

Fulfill your sacred vows to praise God! ¹³ 

For never again ¹⁴  will the wicked ¹⁵  Assyrians ¹⁶  invade ¹⁷  you,

they ¹⁸  have been completely destroyed.” ¹⁹ 

[3:6]  ¹ tn Heb “detestable things”; KJV, ASV “abominable filth”; NCV “filthy garbage.”

[2:9]  ² tn The phrase “Her conquerors cry out” has been supplied from context.

[3:1]  ³ tn Heb “of bloods.” The plural noun דָּמִים (damim, “bloods”) connotes “bloodshed” or “blood guilt” (BDB 196-97 s.v. דָּם 2.f; HALOT 224-25 s.v. דָּם 5; DCH 2:443-47 s.v. דָּם). Human blood in its natural state in the body is generally designated by the singular form דָּם (dam, “blood”); after it has been spilled, the plural form is used to denote the abundance of blood in quantity (IBHS 119-20 §7.4.1; BDB 196-97 s.v. דָּם 2.f). The plural is often used with the verb שָׁפַךְ (shafakh, “to spill, to shed”) to connote bloodshed (Gen 9:6; 37:22; Lev 17:4; Num 35:33; Deut 21:7; 1 Sam 25:31; 1 Kgs 18:28; 2 Kgs 21:16; 24:4; 1 Chr 22:8; Ezek 16:38; 22:4, 6, 9, 12, 27; 23:45; 33:25; 36:18; Prov 1:16). The plural often denotes bloodshed (Gen 4:10; 2 Sam 3:27, 28; 16:8; 20:12; 1 Kgs 2:5; 2 Kgs 9:7, 26, 33; 2 Chr 24:25; Job 16:18; Isa 1:15; 4:4; 9:4; 26:21; 33:15; 34:3, 6, 7; Ezek 7:23; 16:6, 9, 36; 21:37; 22:13; 24:8; Hos 1:4; 4:2; Hab 2:8, 12, 17; Mic 3:10; Zech 9:7) or blood-guilt (Exod 22:1; Lev 20:9; Num 35:27; Deut 19:10; 22:8; Judg 9:24; 1 Sam 25:26, 33; 2 Sam 21:1; Isa 33:15; Ezek 9:9). The term can refer to murder (2 Sam 16:7, 8; Pss 5:7; 26:9; 55:24; 59:3; 139:10; Prov 29:10) or more generally, connote social injustice, cruelty, and oppression (Deut 21:8, 9; 1 Sam 19:5; 2 Kgs 21:6; 24:4; Pss 94:21; 106:38; Prov 6:17; Isa 59:7; Jer 7:6; 22:3; Joel 4:19; Jonah 1:14). The term may refer to blood that has been shed in war (1 Kgs 2:5) and the unnecessary shedding of blood of one’s enemy (1 Kgs 2:31), which is probably the intended meaning here. The phrase “city of bloodshed” (עִיר דָּמִים [’ir damim], “city of bloods”) is used elsewhere to describe a city held guilty before God of blood-guilt and about to be judged by God (Ezek 22:2; 24:6).

[3:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “All of her [is] lying.”

[3:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “full of plunder.”

[3:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “prey does not depart.”

[2:12]  ⁷ tn Heb “as much as he needs.” The term בְּדי (bÿdi, “as much as he needs”; HALOT 219 s.v. 2a) is composed of the preposition בְּ (bet) and the noun דַּי (day, “enough, what is required”). This idiom means” to satisfy the hunger of [something]” (cf. Jer 51:58; Hab 2:13).

[2:12]  ⁸ tn The words “to provide food” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[2:12]  ⁹ tn The Piel verb וַיְמַלֵּא (vayÿmalle’) is a preterite with vav (ו) consecutive which depicts a sequence of events.

[1:15]  ¹⁰ sn Beginning with 1:15, the verse numbers through 2:13 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 1:15 ET = 2:1 HT, 2:1 ET = 2:2 HT, etc., through 2:13 ET = 2:14 HT. Beginning with 3:1, the verse numbers in the English Bible and the Hebrew Bible are again the same.

[1:15]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the feet of a herald.”

[1:15]  ¹² tn Heb “a messenger of peace.” The Hebrew noun translated “peace” is sometimes used in reference to deliverance or freedom from enemy attack or destruction (e.g., Jer 4:10; 6:14; 8:11; 12:5; 28:9; 29:7).

[1:15]  ¹³ sn The sacred vows to praise God were often made by Israelites as a pledge to proclaim the mercy of the Lord if he would be gracious to deliver (e.g., Gen 28:20; 31:13; Lev 7:16; Judg 11:30, 39; 1 Sam 1:11, 21; 2 Sam 15:7-8; Pss 22:25 [26]; 50:14; 56:12 [13]; 61:5 [6], 8 [9]; 65:1 [2]; 66:13; 116:14, 18; Eccl 5:4 [3]; Jonah 1:16; 2:9 [10]). The words “to praise God” are not in the Hebrew, but are added in the translation for clarification.

[1:15]  ¹⁴ tc The LXX reflects the plural יוֹסִיפוּ (yosifu, “they shall [never]”). The MT reads the singular יוֹסִיף (yosif, “he shall [never]”) which is also found in the Dead Sea Scrolls (4QpNah). The subject of the verb is the singular noun בְּלִיַּעַל (bÿliyya’al, “the wicked one”) which is also misunderstood by the LXX (see below).

[1:15]  ¹⁵ tc The MT reads בְּלִיַּעַל (bÿliyya’al, “the wicked one”; so ASV, NASB). The LXX reading εἰς παλαίωσιν (ei" palaiwsin, “to old age”) mistakenly derived בְּלִיַּעַל from בָּלָה (balah, “to become worn”). There are several places in the book of Nahum where the LXX produced poor translations.

[1:15]  tn Heb “the wicked one.” This is a collective singular and has been translated as a plural.

[1:15]  ¹⁶ tn The term “Assyrians” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied from context for clarity. If left unspecified, the prophetic statement could be understood to mean that the wicked [i.e., wicked conquerors in general] would never again invade Judah. Cf. NLT “your enemies from Nineveh.”

[1:15]  ¹⁷ tn Or “pass through you” (NASB); or “march against you”; NCV “attack you.”

[1:15]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “he.” This is in agreement with the singular “wicked one” in the previous line.

[1:15]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “he is completely cut off.”