Nahum 1 5

Nahum 1:5 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.

Nahum 1:5 nkjv

The mountains quake before Him, The hills melt, And the earth heaves at His presence, Yes, the world and all who dwell in it.

Nahum 1:5 niv

The mountains quake before him and the hills melt away. The earth trembles at his presence, the world and all who live in it.

Nahum 1:5 esv

The mountains quake before him; the hills melt; the earth heaves before him, the world and all who dwell in it.

Nahum 1:5 nlt

In his presence the mountains quake,
and the hills melt away;
the earth trembles,
and its people are destroyed.

Nahum 1 verses

Nahum 1 5 Meaning

Nahum 1:5 profoundly depicts the majestic, irresistible power of God, especially in the context of His forthcoming judgment. It portrays the physical creation—the mountains, hills, and the entire earth with its inhabitants—reacting with cataclysmic instability and dissolution in His awesome presence. This imagery underscores the universal, uncontainable nature of His sovereignty and His ability to humble any earthly power.

Nahum 1 5 Context

Nahum chapter 1 introduces the nature of the Lord, preparing the reader for the prophecy of Nineveh's destruction. The chapter opens with an oracle against Nineveh and swiftly moves to describe YHWH's attributes: He is a jealous and avenging God, yet also slow to anger, abundant in power, and a stronghold for those who trust Him (Nahum 1:2-3, 7). Verse 5, nestled within this powerful divine self-revelation, serves to magnify God's overwhelming might. It graphically illustrates the futility of any resistance against Him, emphasizing that if even the most stable elements of creation cannot withstand His presence, then no empire, no matter how formidable (like Assyria), can escape His righteous judgment. This powerful imagery served as a reassurance to the oppressed people of Judah, assuring them that God was able to decisively deal with their Assyrian oppressors. It subtly functions as a polemic against the regional polytheism and the presumed invincibility of Assyrian deities or military strength, asserting YHWH's unparalleled cosmic supremacy.

Nahum 1 5 Word analysis

• The mountains: (Hebrew: hārim). These represent the most solid, ancient, and enduring elements of creation, symbolizing permanence and strength. Their disturbance signifies an overturning of fundamental order.

• quake: (Hebrew: ra‘ashu, a verb from ra‘ash). Means to shake, tremble, or quake. It describes violent seismic activity and is frequently associated with divine manifestations (theophanies) in the Bible, indicating awe-inspiring power.

• before Him: (Hebrew: mippānāw, "from His face/presence"). Denotes direct exposure to God's manifested being or active power. It's not a remote influence but a palpable effect of His very self being revealed or present.

• The hills: (Hebrew: gəva‘ot). Smaller landforms than mountains but still solid. Their inclusion emphasizes the comprehensive and pervasive nature of God's power, affecting even less imposing structures.

• melt: (Hebrew: hitməgōḡāḡū, a hithpolel stem of mūg). Signifies dissolving, becoming fluid, or collapsing from intense heat or overwhelming force. This powerful imagery suggests total breakdown and dissolution of solid matter. It underscores the utter vulnerability of creation before God.

• And the earth: (Hebrew: wəhā’āreṣ). Refers to the physical land, and by extension, the world.

• heaves: (Hebrew: niś’āh, a niphil participle from nāśā’). Can mean "is lifted up," "is swollen," "is removed," or "is destroyed/consumed." In this context, it suggests intense instability, possibly shaking so violently it seems to lift or fall apart, or is utterly overwhelmed. This term points to radical transformation or annihilation.

• at His presence—: Again, highlights the direct cause of this upheaval: God's manifest being and action.

• Yes, the world: (Hebrew: tēvēl). Often used specifically for the inhabited earth, emphasizing its global scope and inclusion of human civilization.

• and all who dwell in it: Leaves no ambiguity that no part of the creation, no human being, is exempt from the pervasive impact of God’s awesome presence and power. It signals the universal reach of His judgment and sovereignty.

• "The mountains quake before Him, The hills melt": This phrase portrays the complete loss of stability in even the most unyielding aspects of the natural world. It underscores that what humans perceive as immutable is utterly fragile and subject to the Lord’s will, evoking a sense of ultimate vulnerability. This speaks to a disruption not merely on a local scale, but one affecting fundamental cosmic structures.

• "And the earth heaves at His presence—Yes, the world and all who dwell in it": This extends the scope from geological features to the entirety of the terrestrial realm and humanity itself. The 'heaving' earth suggests profound distress or dissolution, and the inclusion of "the world and all who dwell in it" ensures that the cosmic tremor extends to all nations and individuals, making it clear that no one, not even mighty Nineveh, can stand. It establishes the universality of God's dominion and the inescapable reach of His judgment.

Nahum 1 5 Bonus section

The apocalyptic imagery of Nahum 1:5, with its description of the natural world reacting to God's presence, anticipates and lays foundational ground for later biblical descriptions of the Day of the Lord and eschatological judgments in both the Old and New Testaments. The "melting" and "heaving" elements echo passages speaking of the earth being consumed or reshaped by divine fire at the end of days. Furthermore, the terrifying depiction of God's power here is balanced elsewhere in Nahum by His goodness to those who take refuge in Him (Nahum 1:7), providing both comfort to the righteous and terror to the wicked. It also draws from ancient Near Eastern motifs where divine power was often associated with storms and natural upheaval, but in Nahum, YHWH is uniquely portrayed as the ultimate source and master of such forces, far beyond any pagan deity.

Nahum 1 5 Commentary

Nahum 1:5 serves as a profound poetic declaration of God’s omnipotence. The imagery of mountains quaking and hills melting is not necessarily a literal prediction for a single event, but rather a hyperbole drawn from theophanic traditions (like Mount Sinai's trembling), designed to impress upon the reader the absolute, awe-inspiring power of YHWH. This power reduces even the most stable elements of creation—the mountains and hills—to fluidity and chaos. The mention of the entire "world and all who dwell in it" signifies the universal reach of His dominion, extending beyond the physical earth to all of humanity and its political structures. This verse underscores a central biblical truth: no force, empire, or individual can withstand or escape the holy and just wrath of God. It sets the stage for the specific judgment on Nineveh by illustrating that the divine power marshaled against them is not limited by time, space, or human resistance, ensuring that His promise of justice will certainly come to pass.