Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Nahum 1:12 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 12. 12Thus 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.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Begins the LORD's alternating oracle: numerous, intact Assyrian forces will be cut down, while afflicted Judah hears that this oppression will end.
Read It With
- Nahum 1:12-15
Read Nahum 1:12 with 1:12-15. Begins the LORD's alternating oracle: numerous, intact Assyrian forces will be cut down, while afflicted Judah hears that this oppression will end. The complete unit establishes this movement: The LORD announces that Assyria's numbers will not prevent its cutting down, promises to break the yoke from afflicted Judah, ends the oppressor's name and cultic power, and sends Judah good news of peace and restored worship.
Read Nahum 1:12–15 together
Why these verses belong together: Alternating Assyria-Judah addresses move from cutting down and broken yoke to good news and restored worship.
Verse 12. 12 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.
Verse 13. 13 For now will I break his yoke from off thee, and will burst thy bonds in sunder.
Verse 14. 14 And the LORD hath given a commandment concerning thee, that no more of thy name be sown: out of the house of thy gods will I cut off the graven image and the molten image: I will make thy grave; for thou art vile.
Verse 15. 15 Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace! O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows: for the wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off.
What Remains True
Numbers and apparent stability do not guarantee an oppressive force's permanence.
How It Can Shape Life
- Do not mistake scale for moral legitimacy, and do not broaden Judah's specific relief into immunity from all future suffering.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Nahum 1:12-15 — Judah Hears Peace as the Oppressor's Yoke BreaksSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
The syntax and pronoun shifts produce significantly different translations of Assyria's condition and passing.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
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 ↗