Nahum 1:5
in Nahum 1The mountains quake before Him, and the hills melt away; the earth trembles at His presence—the world and all its dwellers.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt; and the earth is upheaved at his presence, yea, the world, and all that dwell therein.
KJV
The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt, and the earth is burned at his presence, yea, the world, and all that dwell therein.
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This verse in Nahum 1
Commentary
7 notes on this verse(Version 5.) The mountains were moved by him, and the hills were made desolate, and the earth trembled before him, and the world, and all that dwell therein. LXX: The mountains were moved by him, and the hills were shaken, and the earth was contracted before his face, the whole universe and all who dwell in it. It can also be understood simply that at the end of the world, when the Savior comes in his majesty, the mountains, hills, world, and earth will be moved.
This site's exposition
He rebuketh the sea
on Nahum 1:4-6
The sea dried and the rivers drained recall the Red Sea and the Jordan both stopped at the Lord's rebuke, the same verb of command the Exodus and Joshua narratives use, and the bench reads the memory as deliberate. Bashan, Carmel and Lebanon were the most fertile ground the land had, cattle country, orchard country, forest country, and naming all three languishing together is a merism for the whole earth withering before him. The mountains quaking and the hills melting lead to the question no one in the chapter answers until the next verse gives the Lord's own people their exception.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt,.... As Sinai of old did, when the Lord descended on it, Exo 19:
A particular application of this (as most interpreters think) to the destruction of Sennacherib and the Assyrian army, when they besieged Jerusalem, which was a very memorable and illustrious instance of the power both of God's justice and of his mercy, and spoke abundance of terror to his enemies and encouragement to his faithful servants,
When he pleases the earth is burnt at his presence by the scorching heat of the sun, and he could burn it with fire from heaven, as he did Sodom, and at the end of time he will burn the world and all that dwell therein. The earth, and all the works that are therein, shall be burnt up. Thus great is the Lord and of great power.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The mountains quaked at Him, and the hills melted - As of their own accord. The words are a renewal of those of Amos Amo 9:13. Inanimate nature is pictured as endowed with the terror, which guilt feels at the presence of God.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
earth is burned--so GROTIUS. Rather, "lifts itself," that is, "heaveth" [MAURER]: as the Hebrew is translated in Ps 89:9;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The words behind it
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הָרִים֙ | harim | mountains | H2022 → | 546 times |
| רָעֲשׁ֣וּ | raashu | they quake | H7493 → | |
| מִמֶּ֔נּוּ | mimenu | from him | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| וְהַגְּבָע֖וֹת | vehagevaot | and the hills | H1389 → | |
| הִתְמֹגָ֑גוּ | hitmogagu | they melt | H4127 → | |
| וַתִּשָּׂ֤א | vatisa' | and it lifted up | H5375 → | |
| הָאָ֙רֶץ֙ | haaretz | the earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
| מִפָּנָ֔יו | mipanav | from before him | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| וְתֵבֵ֖ל | vetevel | and [the] world | H8398 → | |
| וְכָל־ | vekhol | and all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| יֹ֥שְׁבֵי | yoshevei | [those who] dwell | H3427 → | |
| בָֽהּ׃ | vah | in it |
הָרִים֙mountains
harimH2022 →546 times
רָעֲשׁ֣וּthey quake
raashuH7493 →
מִמֶּ֔נּוּfrom him
mimenuH4480 →1188 times
וְהַגְּבָע֖וֹתand the hills
vehagevaotH1389 →
הִתְמֹגָ֑גוּthey melt
hitmogaguH4127 →
וַתִּשָּׂ֤אand it lifted up
vatisa'H5375 →
הָאָ֙רֶץ֙the earth
haaretzH776 →2504 times
מִפָּנָ֔יוfrom before him
mipanavH6440 →2123 times
וְתֵבֵ֖לand [the] world
vetevelH8398 →
וְכָל־and all
vekholH3605 →5413 times
יֹ֥שְׁבֵי[those who] dwell
yosheveiH3427 →
בָֽהּ׃in it
vah
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
Psalms 68:8the earth shook and the heavens poured down rain before God, the One on Sinai, before God, the God of Israel.
it leads to
- Judges 5:4–5
O LORD, when You went out from Seir, when You marched from the land of Edom, the earth trembled, the heavens poured out rain, and the clouds poured down water.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Exodus 19:18
Mount Sinai was completely enveloped in smoke, because the LORD had descended on it in fire. And the smoke rose like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently.
- Exodus 19:16
On the third day, when morning came, there was thunder and lightning. A thick cloud was upon the mountain, and a very loud blast of the ram’s horn went out, so that all the…
- Deuteronomy 5:23–25
And when you heard the voice out of the darkness while the mountain was blazing with fire, all the heads of your tribes and your elders approached me,
- Judges 5:4–5
Through
2 Samuel 22:8Then the earth shook and quaked; the foundations of the heavens trembled; they were shaken because He burned with anger.
it leads to
- Judges 5:4
O LORD, when You went out from Seir, when You marched from the land of Edom, the earth trembled, the heavens poured out rain, and the clouds poured down water.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 97:4
His lightning illuminates the world; the earth sees and trembles.
- Job 26:11
The foundations of heaven quake, astounded at His rebuke.
- Judges 5:4
Through
Micah 1:4The mountains will melt beneath Him, and the valleys will split apart, like wax before the fire, like water rushing down a slope.
it leads to
- Psalms 97:5
The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the LORD, before the Lord of all the earth.
- Psalms 97:5
Where this verse is studied
About Nahum
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) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.