Nahum 1:12
in Nahum 1This is what the LORD says: “Though they are allied and numerous, yet they will be cut down and pass away. Though I have afflicted you, O Judah, I will afflict you no longer.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Thus saith Jehovah: Though they be in full strength, and likewise many, even so shall they be cut down, and he shall pass away. Though I have afflicted thee, I will afflict thee no more.
KJV
Thus saith the Lord; Though they be quiet, and likewise many, yet thus shall they be cut down, when he shall pass through. Though I have afflicted thee, I will afflict thee no more.
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This verse in Nahum 1
Commentary
8 notes on this verse(Verse 12) Thus says the Lord, if they are perfect, and so they will be many: thus also they will be trimmed and will pass through: I will affix you, and I will not afflict you anymore. LXX: Thus says the Lord who rules over many waters, and thus they will be divided, and your hearing will not be heard anymore. The sense is clear according to the letter: Even though, he says, the Assyrians are strong, and their strength increases with the number of all the nations: thus they will also be trimmed by the devastating angel.
This site's exposition
Though they be quiet, and likewise many
on Nahum 1:12-13
Nineveh's present quiet and her numbers count for nothing when the Lord passes through to cut her down, the security of an empire at its height set against its coming end in one sentence. The oracle turns directly to Judah with the comfort the prophet's own name means, I have afflicted thee, I will afflict thee no more, the yoke Assyria had laid on Judah under tribute now promised broken. Wesley and the older bench read the yoke and bonds as the literal Assyrian tribute Ahaz and Hezekiah's kingdom had carried, not a figure without a history behind it.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
) that though they be quiet and likewise many, very secure, not fearing the sallies out of the besieged upon them, because they are numerous, yet thus shall they be cut down, or certainly shall they be cut down, as grass and corn are cut down, with as little ado, when he shall pass through, even the destroying angel that is commissioned to cut them down.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
Thus saith the Lord, though they be quiet, and likewise many,....
Let each take his portion from it; let sinners read it and tremble; let saints read it and triumph. The wrath of God is here revealed from heaven against him enemies, his favour and mercy are here assured to his faithful loyal subjects, and his almighty power in both, making his wrath very terrible and his favour very desirable.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Though they be - many - Sennacherib invaded Judea with an army of nearly two hundred thousand men. Thus shall they be cut down - The angel of the Lord (a suffocating wind) slew of them in one night one hundred and eighty-five thousand 2Ki 19:35.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
In the height of their pride and power, they shall be clean cut off. The same Hebrew stands for "likewise" and "yet thus." So many as they are, so many shall they perish. when he shall pass through--or, "and he shall pass away," namely, "the wicked counsellor" (Na 1:11), Sennacherib. The change of number to the singular distinguishes him from his host.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Though they be quiet and likewise many, yet thus shall they be cut down - Literally, “If they be entire,” i. e., sound unharmed, unimpaired in their numbers, unbroken in their strength, undiminished, perfect in all which belongs to war; “and thus many even thus shall they be mown down (or shorn), and he passeth away” . With might outwardly unscathed, “without hand” Dan 2:34, and “thus many,” i. e., many, accordingly, as being unweakened; as many as they shall be, “so shall they be mown down, and he,” their head and king, “shall pass away and perish” (compare Psa 48:4). Their numbers shall be, as their condition before, perfect; their destruction as their numbers, complete. It is wonderful how much God says in few words; and how it is here foretold that, with no previous loss, a mighty host secure and at ease, in consequence of their prosperity, all are at one blow mown down, like the dry grass before the scythe, are cut off and perish; and one, their king, “passeth away,” first by flight, and then by destruction. As they had shorn the glory of others Isa 7:20, so should they be shorn and cut down themselves. Though I have afflicted thee, I will afflict thee no more - o. Unless by new guilt thou compel Me. God always relieves us from trouble, as it were with the words, “sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee” Joh 5:14. In the end, afflictions shall be turned into joy, and “God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be anymore paid” Rev 21:4.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
And now I will break off his yoke from you —The Shechinah says this to the prophet, who is of Israel: I will break off the yoke of Assyria from you and from My people.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
14 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כֹּ֣ה׀ | koh | thus | H3541 → | |
| אָמַ֣ר | ʾamar | he says | H559 → | |
| יְהוָ֗ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אִם־ | ʾim- | though | H518 → | |
| שְׁלֵמִים֙ | shelemim | complete | H8003 → | |
| וְכֵ֣ן | vekhen | and thus | H3651 → | |
| רַבִּ֔ים | rabim | numerous | H7227 → | |
| וְכֵ֥ן | vekhen | and thus | H3651 → | |
| נָגֹ֖זּוּ | nagozu | they will be cut down | H1494 → | |
| וְעָבָ֑ר | veavar | and he will pass away | H5674 → | 556 times |
| וְעִ֨נִּתִ֔ךְ | veinitikh | and I have afflicted you | H6031 → | |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אֲעַנֵּ֖ךְ | ʾaanekh | I will afflict you | H6031 → | |
| עֽוֹד׃ | od | again | H5750 → | 490 times |
כֹּ֣ה׀thus
kohH3541 →
אָמַ֣רhe says
ʾamarH559 →
יְהוָ֗הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אִם־though
ʾim-H518 →
שְׁלֵמִים֙complete
shelemimH8003 →
וְכֵ֣ןand thus
vekhenH3651 →
רַבִּ֔יםnumerous
rabimH7227 →
וְכֵ֥ןand thus
vekhenH3651 →
נָגֹ֖זּוּthey will be cut down
nagozuH1494 →
וְעָבָ֑רand he will pass away
veavarH5674 →556 times
וְעִ֨נִּתִ֔ךְand I have afflicted you
veinitikhH6031 →
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
אֲעַנֵּ֖ךְI will afflict you
ʾaanekhH6031 →
עֽוֹד׃again
odH5750 →490 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 30:19O people in Zion who dwell in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. He will surely be gracious when you cry for help; when He hears, He will answer you.
it leads to
- Isaiah 60:20
Your sun will no longer set, and your moon will not wane; for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and the days of your sorrow will cease.
- Isaiah 65:24
Even before they call, I will answer, and while they are still speaking, I will hear.
- Psalms 50:15
Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor Me.”
- Matthew 7:7–11
Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.
- Isaiah 58:9
Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry out, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’ If you remove the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger and…
- Isaiah 60:20
Through
Isaiah 37:36Then the angel of the LORD went out and struck down 185,000 men in the camp of the Assyrians. When the people got up the next morning, there were all the dead bodies!
it leads to
- 2 Kings 19:35
And that very night the angel of the LORD went out and struck down 185,000 men in the camp of the Assyrians. When the people got up the next morning, there were all the…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 10:12
So when the Lord has completed all His work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, He will say, “I will punish the king of Assyria for the fruit of his arrogant heart and the proud…
- 2 Kings 19:35
Through
Joel 2:19And the LORD answered His people: “Behold, I will send you grain, new wine, and oil, and by them you will be satisfied. I will never again make you a reproach among the nations.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 34:29
And I will raise up for them a garden of renown, and they will no longer be victims of famine in the land or bear the scorn of the nations.
- Ezekiel 34:29
Where this verse is studied
About Nahum
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Nahum; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.