Nahum 1:8
New International Version
but with an overwhelming flood he will make an end of Nineveh; he will pursue his foes into the realm of darkness.

New Living Translation
But he will sweep away his enemies in an overwhelming flood. He will pursue his foes into the darkness of night.

English Standard Version
But with an overflowing flood he will make a complete end of the adversaries, and will pursue his enemies into darkness.

Berean Standard Bible
But with an overwhelming flood He will make an end of Nineveh and pursue His enemies into darkness.

King James Bible
But with an overrunning flood he will make an utter end of the place thereof, and darkness shall pursue his enemies.

New King James Version
But with an overflowing flood He will make an utter end of its place, And darkness will pursue His enemies.

New American Standard Bible
But with an overflowing flood He will make a complete end of its site, And will pursue His enemies into darkness.

NASB 1995
But with an overflowing flood He will make a complete end of its site, And will pursue His enemies into darkness.

NASB 1977
But with an overflowing flood He will make a complete end of its site, And will pursue His enemies into darkness.

Legacy Standard Bible
But with an overflowing flood He will make a complete destruction of its place And will pursue His enemies into darkness.

Amplified Bible
But with an overwhelming flood [of judgment through invading armies] He will make a complete destruction of its site And will pursue His enemies into darkness.

Christian Standard Bible
But he will completely destroy Nineveh with an overwhelming flood, and he will chase his enemies into darkness.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
But He will completely destroy Nineveh with an overwhelming flood, and He will chase His enemies into darkness.

American Standard Version
But with an over-running flood he will make a full end of her place, and will pursue his enemies into darkness.

Contemporary English Version
But like a roaring flood, the LORD chases his enemies into dark places and destroys them.

English Revised Version
But with an overrunning flood he will make a full end of the place thereof, and will pursue his enemies into darkness.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
He will put an end to Nineveh with a devastating flood. He will pursue his enemies with darkness.

Good News Translation
Like a great rushing flood he completely destroys his enemies; he sends to their death those who oppose him.

International Standard Version
But with an overwhelming deluge he will bring utter desolation to Nineveh, and his enemies he will pursue with darkness.

Majority Standard Bible
But with an overwhelming flood He will make an end of Nineveh and pursue His enemies into darkness.

NET Bible
But with an overwhelming flood he will make a complete end of Nineveh; he will drive his enemies into darkness.

New Heart English Bible
But with an overflowing flood, he will make a full end of her place, and will pursue his enemies into darkness.

Webster's Bible Translation
But with an over-running flood he will make an utter end of the place thereof, and darkness shall pursue his enemies.

World English Bible
But with an overflowing flood, he will make a full end of her place, and will pursue his enemies into darkness.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
And with a flood passing over, "" An end He makes of its place, "" And darkness pursues His enemies.

Young's Literal Translation
And with a flood passing over, An end He maketh of its place, And His enemies doth darkness pursue.

Smith's Literal Translation
With an inundation passing through he will make a completion of her place, and darkness shall pursue his enemies.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
But with a flood that passeth by, he will make an utter end of the place thereof: and darkness shall pursue his enemies.

Catholic Public Domain Version
And in the flood that passes over, he brings to consummation the end of his place. And darkness shall pursue his adversaries.

New American Bible
when the flood rages; He makes an end of his opponents, and pursues his enemies into darkness.

New Revised Standard Version
even in a rushing flood. He will make a full end of his adversaries, and will pursue his enemies into darkness.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
But with a rushing flood he will make an utter end of the place of his adversaries, and darkness shall pursue his enemies.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And in a flood he makes an end; he shall remove to his place and the darkness will chase his enemies
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
But with an overrunning flood He will make a full end of the place thereof, And darkness shall pursue His enemies.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
But with an overrunning flood he will make an utter end: darkness shall pursue those that rise up against him and his enemies.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Oracle of Nineveh
7The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of distress; He cares for those who trust in Him. 8But with an overwhelming flood He will make an end of Nineveh and pursue His enemies into darkness. 9Whatever you plot against the LORD, He will bring to an end. Affliction will not rise up a second time.…

Cross References
Isaiah 8:7-8
the Lord will surely bring against them the mighty floodwaters of the Euphrates—the king of Assyria and all his pomp. It will overflow its channels and overrun its banks. / It will pour into Judah, swirling and sweeping over it, reaching up to the neck; its spreading streams will cover your entire land, O Immanuel!

Isaiah 28:17
I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the level. Hail will sweep away your refuge of lies, and water will flood your hiding place.

Isaiah 30:28
His breath is like a rushing torrent that rises to the neck. He comes to sift the nations in a sieve of destruction; He bridles the jaws of the peoples to lead them astray.

Isaiah 59:19
So shall they fear the name of the LORD where the sun sets, and His glory where it rises. For He will come like a raging flood, driven by the breath of the LORD.

Jeremiah 46:7-8
Who is this, rising like the Nile, like rivers whose waters churn? / Egypt rises like the Nile, and its waters churn like rivers, boasting, ‘I will rise and cover the earth; I will destroy the cities and their people.’

Jeremiah 51:42
The sea has come up over Babylon; she is covered in turbulent waves.

Ezekiel 13:11-13
tell those whitewashing the wall that it will fall. Rain will come in torrents, I will send hailstones plunging down, and a windstorm will burst forth. / Surely when the wall has fallen, you will not be asked, ‘Where is the whitewash with which you covered it?’ / Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: In My wrath I will release a windstorm, and in My anger torrents of rain and hail will fall with destructive fury.

Ezekiel 38:22
I will execute judgment upon him with plague and bloodshed. I will pour out torrents of rain, hailstones, fire, and sulfur on him and on his troops and on the many nations with him.

Daniel 9:26
Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and will have nothing. Then the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood, and until the end there will be war; desolations have been decreed.

Amos 9:5-6
The Lord GOD of Hosts, He who touches the earth and it melts, and all its dwellers mourn—all the land rises like the Nile, then sinks like the river of Egypt— / He builds His upper rooms in the heavens and founds His vault upon the earth. He summons the waters of the sea and pours them over the face of the earth. The LORD is His name.

Zephaniah 1:15-18
That day will be a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of destruction and desolation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness, / a day of horn blast and battle cry against the fortified cities, and against the high corner towers. / I will bring such distress on mankind that they will walk like the blind, because they have sinned against the LORD. Their blood will be poured out like dust and their flesh like dung. ...

Matthew 7:26-27
But everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. / The rain fell, the torrents raged, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its collapse!”

Matthew 24:37-39
As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be at the coming of the Son of Man. / For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark. / And they were oblivious until the flood came and swept them all away. So will it be at the coming of the Son of Man.

Luke 6:48-49
He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid his foundation on the rock. When the flood came, the torrent crashed against that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. / But the one who hears My words and does not act on them is like a man who built his house on ground without a foundation. The torrent crashed against that house, and immediately it fell—and great was its destruction!”

Luke 17:26-27
Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man: / People were eating and drinking, marrying and being given in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.


Treasury of Scripture

But with an overrunning flood he will make an utter end of the place thereof, and darkness shall pursue his enemies.

with.

Isaiah 8:7,8
Now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the river, strong and many, even the king of Assyria, and all his glory: and he shall come up over all his channels, and go over all his banks: …

Isaiah 28:17
Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.

Ezekiel 13:13
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even rend it with a stormy wind in my fury; and there shall be an overflowing shower in mine anger, and great hailstones in my fury to consume it.

the place.

Nahum 1:1
The burden of Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.

Nahum 2:8
But Nineveh is of old like a pool of water: yet they shall flee away. Stand, stand, shall they cry; but none shall look back.

Zephaniah 2:13
And he will stretch out his hand against the north, and destroy Assyria; and will make Nineveh a desolation, and dry like a wilderness.

darkness.

Job 30:15
Terrors are turned upon me: they pursue my soul as the wind: and my welfare passeth away as a cloud.

Proverbs 4:19
The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.

Isaiah 8:22
And they shall look unto the earth; and behold trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish; and they shall be driven to darkness.

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Nahum 1
1. The majesty of God in goodness to his people, and severity against his enemies.














But with an overwhelming flood
The phrase "overwhelming flood" in Hebrew is "שֶׁטֶף עֹבֵר" (sheteph ober). The imagery of a flood is often used in the Bible to symbolize God's judgment and cleansing power. Historically, floods were seen as unstoppable forces of nature, representing the might and inevitability of divine intervention. In the context of Nahum, this flood signifies the total and inescapable destruction that God will bring upon Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, which was known for its cruelty and idolatry. The flood metaphor underscores the completeness and suddenness of God's judgment.

He will make an end of Nineveh
"Make an end" translates from the Hebrew "יָשִׂים קֵץ" (yasim qets), meaning to bring to a complete finish or cessation. Nineveh, at the time of Nahum's prophecy, was a powerful and seemingly invincible city. However, God's sovereignty is highlighted here, as He alone has the authority and power to bring an end to even the mightiest of cities. This serves as a reminder of the ultimate futility of human pride and power when set against the divine will. Historically, Nineveh did fall in 612 BC, fulfilling this prophecy, which serves as a testament to the accuracy and reliability of God's word.

He will pursue His foes into darkness
The word "pursue" comes from the Hebrew "יִרְדֹּף" (yirdof), which conveys the idea of relentless pursuit. God's enemies, those who oppose His will and oppress His people, cannot escape His judgment. The "darkness" here symbolizes chaos, judgment, and the absence of God's presence. In biblical literature, darkness often represents the ultimate fate of the wicked, a place of separation from God's light and life. This phrase assures believers of God's justice and the certainty that evil will not prevail. It is a call to trust in God's righteous judgment and His ability to bring about justice in His perfect timing.

(8) But.--Better, and. Jehovah protects His afflicted servants, and therefore He exterminates their oppressor.

Overrunning flood.--On the propriety of this figure see Nahum 2:6, Note.

The place thereof--i.e., that of Nineveh. The verse ends, "and he shall drive his enemies into darkness."

Verse 8. - With an overrunning flood. This may be merely a metaphor to express the utter devastation which should overwhelm Nineveh, as the invasion of a hostile army is often thus depicted (comp. Isaiah 8:7; Daniel 11:26, 40); or it may be an allusion to the inundation which aided the capture of the city (see note on Nahum 2:6). Of the place thereof; i.e. of Nineveh, not named, but present to the prophet's mind, and understood from the heading (ver. 1). (For the utter destruction of Nineveh, comp. Zephaniah 2:13, etc.) The LXX. has, τοὺς ἐπένειρομένους ("those that rise up"). The Chaldee has a similar reading, with the meaning that God would exterminate those who rise up against him. Darkness shall pursue his enemies. So the Septuagint and Vulgate. But it is better rendered, He shall pursue his enemies into darkness, so that they disappear from the earth. If this is the meaning of the clause, it resembles the termination of many Assyrian inscriptions which record the defeat of a hostile chieftain: "and no one has seen any trace of him since."

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
But with an overflowing
עֹבֵ֔ר (‘ō·ḇêr)
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 5674: To pass over, through, or by, pass on

flood,
וּבְשֶׁ֣טֶף (ū·ḇə·še·ṭep̄)
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 7858: Flood -- a deluge

He will make
יַעֲשֶׂ֣ה (ya·‘ă·śeh)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 6213: To do, make

an end
כָּלָ֖ה (kā·lāh)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 3617: Completion, complete destruction, consumption, annihilation

[of Nineveh]
מְקוֹמָ֑הּ (mə·qō·w·māh)
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person feminine singular
Strong's 4725: A standing, a spot, a condition

and pursue
יְרַדֶּף־ (yə·rad·dep̄-)
Verb - Piel - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 7291: To pursue, chase, persecute

His enemies
וְאֹיְבָ֖יו (wə·’ō·yə·ḇāw)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine plural construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 341: Hating, an adversary

into darkness.
חֹֽשֶׁךְ׃ (ḥō·šeḵ)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 2822: The dark, darkness, misery, destruction, death, ignorance, sorrow, wickedness


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OT Prophets: Nahum 1:8 But with an overflowing flood he will (Nah. Na)
Nahum 1:7
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