Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
Nahum 1:3 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 3. 3The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the LORD hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Balances the vengeance language with slowness to anger, great power, unresolved guilt, and storm-theophany imagery.
Read It With
- Nahum 1:2-8
Read Nahum 1:3 with 1:2-8. Balances the vengeance language with slowness to anger, great power, unresolved guilt, and storm-theophany imagery. The complete unit establishes this movement: The poem holds together the LORD's zealous opposition to enemies, restraint in anger, irresistible power over creation, goodness toward those who seek refuge, and decisive judgment against the enemy's place.
Read Nahum 1:2–8 together
Why these verses belong together: Jealousy, patience, creation-scale power, refuge, and judgment form one carefully shaped theophanic poem.
Verse 2. 2 God is jealous, and the LORD revengeth; the LORD revengeth, and is furious; the LORD will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies.
Verse 3. 3 The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the LORD hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.
Verse 4. 4 He rebuketh the sea, and maketh it dry, and drieth up all the rivers: Bashan languisheth, and Carmel, and the flower of Lebanon languisheth.
Verse 5. 5 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.
Verse 6. 6 Who can stand before his indignation? and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger? his fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by him.
Verse 7. 7 The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.
Verse 8. 8 But with an overrunning flood he will make an utter end of the place thereof, and darkness shall pursue his enemies.
Follow the Context
- Verse 2 repeats jealousy, vengeance, and wrath against adversaries.
- Verse 3 immediately joins slowness to anger with great power and refusal to clear guilt automatically.
- Verses 3-6 picture the LORD advancing through storm, sea, river, mountain, earth, fire, and shattered rock.
- Verse 7 turns to the LORD's goodness, stronghold, and knowledge of those who seek refuge.
- Verse 8 returns with a contrast: an overwhelming flood brings an end to the enemy's place and darkness pursues enemies.
Phrase-by-Phrase Explanation
“slow to anger”
In plain language: The expression names restraint and must be read with both great power and refusal to leave guilt unresolved.
Balances the vengeance language with slowness to anger, great power, unresolved guilt, and storm-theophany imagery. Divine patience is powerful restraint, not indifference to guilt.
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 1:3 does not teach that patience means acquitting harm or that human power may imitate the storm warrior.
What Remains True
Divine patience is powerful restraint, not indifference to guilt.
How It Can Shape Life
- Practice patience without using delay to protect wrongdoing from accountability.
Teach It Back
Explain Nahum 1:3's contribution to Nahum 1:2-8: Balances the vengeance language with slowness to anger, great power, unresolved guilt, and storm-theophany imagery. Include what the surrounding verses add, the stated uncertainty, and what this verse does not authorize.
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Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Nahum 1:2-8 — The LORD Judges Evil and Knows Those Who Seek RefugeSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
Nahum adapts a familiar confession formula, and the relationship between its wording and Jonah 4:2 is literary-theological rather than a dated quotation proof.
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 1:2-8, 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, 1:2-8
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. 1751-1754, translation and notes on 1:2-8
Open source ↗