Nahum 1:4

Nahum 1:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)He rebuketh the sea, and maketh it dry, and drieth up all the rivers: Bashan languisheth, and Carmel, and the flower of Lebanon languisheth.
• New International Version (NIV)He rebukes the sea and dries it up; he makes all the rivers run dry. Bashan and Carmel wither and the blossoms of Lebanon fade.
• English Standard Version (ESV)He rebukes the sea and makes it dry; he dries up all the rivers; Bashan and Carmel wither; the bloom of Lebanon withers.
• New King James Version (NKJV)He rebukes the sea and makes it dry, And dries up all the rivers. Bashan and Carmel wither, And the flower of Lebanon wilts.

Context of Nahum 1:4

2A jealous and avenging God is Adonai. Yes, Adonai is the avenger and master of wrath. Adonai is avenger to His adversaries, Yes, a keeper of wrath for His foes. 3Adonai is slow to anger and great in power, but He will by no means acquit the guilty. Adonai’s way is with a whirlwind or with a storm wind, Clouds are the dust of His feet. Rebuking the sea, He made it dry, as He has dried up all the rivers. Bashan and Carmel languished, Yes, Lebanon’s budding languished. 5Mountains quaked because of Him, and the hills have melted. The earth has heaved up at His presence—yes, the world and everything dwelling in it. 6Before His indignation who can stand? Who can withstand His burning anger? His wrath is poured out like fire, and cliffs break down before Him.

Nahum 1:4 word by word

גּוֹעֵ֤ר בַּיָּם֙ וַֽיַּבְּשֵׁ֔הוּ וְכָל־הַנְּהָר֖וֹת הֶֽחֱרִ֑יב אֻמְלַ֤ל בָּשָׁן֙ וְכַרְמֶ֔ל וּפֶ֥רַח לְבָנ֖וֹן אֻמְלָֽל׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• He rebukethגָּעַרgâ‛ar · to rebukeH1605
• the seaיָםyâm · seaH3220
• and maketh it dryחָרֵבchârab chârêb · to dryH2717
• and drieth upיָבֵשׁyâbêsh · to witherH3001
• all the riversנָהָרnâhâr · riverH5104
• Bashanבָּשָׁןbâshân · BashanH1316
• languishethאָמַל'âmal · be weakH535
• and Carmelכַּרְמֶלkarmel · CarmelH3760
• and the flowerפֶּ֫רַחperach · flowerH6525
• of Lebanonלְבָנוֹןlebânôn · LebanonH3844

Cross-references for Nahum 1:4

• Job 38:11when I said, ‘This far you may come, but no further; here your majestic waves will stop.’
• Psalms 104:7At Your rebuke the waters fled. At the sound of Your thunder they hurried away.
• Psalms 106:9He rebuked the Sea of Reeds and it dried up, and He led them through the depths as through a wilderness.
• Psalms 114:3The sea saw and fled, the Jordan turned back.
• Isaiah 50:2Why was no one there when I came? Why was there no one to answer when I called? Is My hand too short to redeem? Or have I no power to deliver? Behold, I dry up the sea at My rebuke, I make rivers a wilderness— their fish stink for lack of water and die of thirst.
• Isaiah 51:10Was it not You who dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep, who made the depths of the sea a path for the redeemed to pass over?
• Amos 5:8He who made the Pleiades and Orion and changes deep darkness to morning. Who darkens the day into night. Who summons the water of the sea and pours it out on the face of the earth —Adonai is His Name.
• Matthew 8:26He said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became totally calm.
• Joshua 3:13It will come to pass when the soles of the feet of the kohanim who are carrying the ark of Adonai, Sovereign of all the earth, rest in the waters of the Jordan, the Jordan’s waters will be cut off. The waters coming downstream will stand up in one heap.”
• Psalms 74:15You opened up spring and brook. You dried up ever-flowing rivers.
• Isaiah 19:5The waters from the sea will dry up, and the river will be drained dry.
• Isaiah 44:27while saying to the deep, “Be dry, I will dry up your rivers,”
• Ezekiel 30:12I will make the rivers dry. I will sell the land into the hand of evildoers. I will make the land desolate, and all that is in it, by the hand of strangers. I, Adonai, have spoken it.”
• Isaiah 33:9The land mourns and languishes; Lebanon is shamed and withers; Sharon is like a wilderness; Bashan and Carmel are shaken bare.
• Amos 1:2He said: Adonai roars from Zion, From Jerusalem He gives His voice. The shepherds’ pastures mourn, and the top of Mount Carmel withers.

Commentaries on Nahum 1:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4He rebuketh the sea - The Red Sea and the rivers: probably an allusion to the passage of the Red Sea and Jordan. The description of the coming of Jehovah, from the third to the sixth verse, is dreadfully majestic. He is represented as controlling universal nature. The sea and the rivers are dried up, the mountains tremble, the hills melt, and the earth is burnt at his presence. Bashan, Carmel, and Lebanon are withered and languish: streams of fire are…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4He rebuketh the sea and maketh it dry - Delivering His people, as He did from Pharaoh Psalm 106:9, the type of all later oppressors, and of antichrist. “His word is with power; to destroy them at once with one rough word (Wisd. 12:9). The restlessness of the barren and troubled sea is an image of the wicked. “And drieth up all the rivers” Isaiah 57:20, as He did Jordan. His coming shall be far more terrible than when all the hearts of the inhabitants of…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4Like clouds (Nahum 1:3) and mountains (1:5), oceans and rivers are under God's control. The Old Testament prophets often recall God's actions against the seas and rivers during the exodus (Exodus 15:8–10; 2 Samuel 22:16; Psalms 66:6; 77:16; Habakkuk 3:15). God's power over the waters challenged the myths of the ancient Canaanites, who believed the sea-god Yam controlled the oceans and rivers. Bashan, east of the Sea of Galilee, was known for its rich…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. rebuketh the sea--as Jesus did (Mt 8:26), proving Himself God (compare Is 50:2). Bashan languisheth--through drought; ordinarily it was a region famed for its rich pasturage (compare Joe 1:10). flower of Lebanon--its bloom; all that blooms so luxuriantly on Lebanon (Ho 14:7). As Bashan was famed for its pastures, Carmel for its corn fields and vineyards, so Lebanon for its forests (Is 33:9). There is nothing in the world so blooming that God cannot…Read the comment

Topics related to Nahum 1:4

• Bashan
• God
• Lebanon

In the dictionaries

• Bashan
• Carmel
• Lebanon
• Carmel, Mount Carmel
• the sea, the Great Sea, the western sea
• Adversary
• Lightning
• Vengeance
• Flowers
• Job, Book of

Commentaries on Nahum 1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings