Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
Nahum 1:15 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 15. 15Behold 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.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Shows a mountain herald announcing peace to Judah, resumption of feasts and vows, and the invader's final cutting off.
Read It With
- Nahum 1:12-15
Read Nahum 1:15 with 1:12-15. Shows a mountain herald announcing peace to Judah, resumption of feasts and vows, and the invader's final cutting off. 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.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Shows a mountain herald announcing peace to Judah, resumption of feasts and vows, and the invader's final cutting off. Its placement follows this logic: The unit gives Judah the pastoral side of Nineveh's judgment: the point is not bare destruction but the breaking of imperial bondage and renewal of communal 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.
Follow the Context
- Verse 12 concedes Assyrian strength and numbers but announces that they will be cut down and pass away.
- The LORD turns to afflicted Judah and promises not to afflict her again through this oppressor.
- Verse 13 breaks the oppressor's yoke and bonds from Judah.
- Verse 14 decrees the end of the hostile name, idols, and grave.
- Verse 15 pictures a herald on the mountains and summons Judah to feasts and vows because the invader is cut off.
Phrase-by-Phrase Explanation
“bringeth good tidings”
In plain language: The herald's good news is defined by peace, restored worship, and the oppressor no longer passing through Judah.
Shows a mountain herald announcing peace to Judah, resumption of feasts and vows, and the invader's final cutting off. Good news here is public release from an imperial yoke and restoration of communal worship.
Why it matters: The wording carries interpretive or ethical risk that requires the full unit and its stated limits.
How certain? probableWhat This Verse Is Not Saying
Nahum 1:15 is not a context-free prosperity promise or authorization to call a modern military victory God's good news.
What Remains True
Good news here is public release from an imperial yoke and restoration of communal worship.
How It Can Shape Life
- Work for peace defined by ended coercion and repaired community, not national triumphalism.
Teach It Back
Explain Nahum 1:15's contribution to Nahum 1:12-15: Shows a mountain herald announcing peace to Judah, resumption of feasts and vows, and the invader's final cutting off. Include what the surrounding verses add, the stated uncertainty, and what this verse does not authorize.
Your explanation stays in this browser. It is not sent or saved.
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 verse closely resembles Isaiah 52:7, but direction and compositional history are disputed.
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 ↗