Nahum 1:15

Proclamation of the Deliverance of Judah

1:15 (2:1)71 Look! A herald is running72 on the mountains!

A messenger is proclaiming deliverance:73

“Celebrate your sacred festivals, O Judah!

Fulfill your sacred vows to praise God!74

For never again75 will the wicked76 Assyrians77 invade78 you,

they79 have been completely destroyed.”80

71	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.
72	tn Heb “the feet of a herald.”
73	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).
74	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.
75	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 (béliyya’al, “the wicked one”) which is also misunderstood by the LXX (see below).
76	tc The MT reads בְּלִיַּעַל (béliyya’al, “the wicked one”; so ASV, NASB). The LXX reading εἰς παλαίωσιν (eis palaiōsin, “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. tn Heb “the wicked one.” This is a collective singular and has been translated as a plural.
77	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.”
78	tn Or “pass through you” (NASB); or “march against you”; NCV “attack you.”
79	tn Heb “he.” This is in agreement with the singular “wicked one” in the previous line.
80	tn Heb “he is completely cut off.”

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