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Nahum 1:12-15, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Nahum 1:12-15
Judah Hears Peace as the Oppressor's Yoke Breaks
Though they be quiet and many, they will be cut down
The LORD speaks: though Assyria is intact and numerous, they shall be cut down and pass away. Then the address turns. The LORD has afflicted Judah, and now he will afflict her no more through this oppressor. He will break his yoke from off her and burst her bonds.
Relief is concrete. It is not a vow that Judah, or anyone who trusts God, will never hurt again. It is the end of this imperial harness.
A mountain herald defines peace as the invader cut off
A decree falls on the hostile 'thee': no more of thy name be sown; the house of the gods is cut off; the grave is prepared. Then the poem lifts. Upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace. Judah is to keep feasts and perform vows, because the wicked one shall no more pass through.
Peace here is public: the yoke gone, the raider gone, worship possible again. The language later rhymes with Isaiah 52, but in Nahum it is still Judah's release from Assyria. It is not a blank check to call a modern victory God's good news, and it is not a warrant to smash another people's graves or shrines.
How this should shape us
Work for the end of coercive domination and the repair of ordinary community life. Do not promise a painless future, and do not baptize national triumph as this herald's peace.
Teach it back
Explain Nahum 1:12-15 in your own words. Include its place in the Nineveh-facing oracle, the unit's movement, one material uncertainty, and one use the context rules out.
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Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties
Where do careful interpreters disagree?
Best judgment: Interpreters differ over verse 12's syntax, each pronoun's antecedent, the singular addressee in verse 14, and whether 1:12-2:2 should be one larger section. The alternating Judah-Assyria fates and the herald's defined peace remain clear.
How certain? probableResearch trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact reader-facing Scripture wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Nahum 1:12-15, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew words, morphology, clause relationships, repeated roots, names, and the base wording behind translation discussion.
Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Nah.xml, 1:12-15
Supports: Verse-level translation, syntax, text-critical, poetic, historical, and uncertainty notes.
NET Bible Nahum PDF, printed pp. 1756-1757, translation and notes on 1:12-15
Supports: Literary movement, textual and historical alternatives, ethical criticism, gendered rhetoric, atrocity language, and reader responsibility.
O'Brien, Nahum, Second Edition, pp. 45-49
Supports: Compact book outline, dating and compositional alternatives, verse-level difficulties, and ethical framing.
O'Brien, 'Nahum,' Oxford Bible Commentary, printed pp. 599-601
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing Scripture wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Exact location: Nahum 1:12-15, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Nahum
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew words, morphology, clause relationships, repeated roots, names, and the base wording behind translation discussion.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Nah.xml, 1:12-15
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Nahum with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Verse-level translation, syntax, text-critical, poetic, historical, and uncertainty notes.
Exact location: NET Bible Nahum PDF, printed pp. 1756-1757, translation and notes on 1:12-15
Open source ↗scholarly commentary
Nahum, Second Edition
Julia M. O'Brien
Sheffield Phoenix Press, Readings: A New Biblical Commentary, 2009
Supports: Literary movement, textual and historical alternatives, ethical criticism, gendered rhetoric, atrocity language, and reader responsibility.
Exact location: O'Brien, Nahum, Second Edition, pp. 45-49
Open source ↗scholarly commentary article
Nahum
Julia M. O'Brien
Oxford University Press, in The Oxford Bible Commentary, edited by John Barton and John Muddiman, 2001
Supports: Compact book outline, dating and compositional alternatives, verse-level difficulties, and ethical framing.
Exact location: O'Brien, 'Nahum,' Oxford Bible Commentary, printed pp. 599-601
Open source ↗