Nahum 1:3 (DRB)

Passage

The Lord is patient, and great in power, and will not cleanse and acquit the guilty. The Lord's ways are in a tempest, and a whirlwind, and clouds are the dust of his feet.

Nearby Context

Nahum 1:1 The burden of Ninive. The book of the vision of Nahum, the Elcesite.

Nahum 1:2 The Lord is a jealous God, and a revenger: the Lord is a revenger, and hath wrath: the Lord taketh vengeance on his adversaries, and he is angry with his enemies.

Nahum 1:3 The Lord is patient, and great in power, and will not cleanse and acquit the guilty. The Lord's ways are in a tempest, and a whirlwind, and clouds are the dust of his feet.

Nahum 1:4 He rebuketh the sea and drieth it up: and bringeth all the rivers to be a desert. Basan languisheth and Carmel: and the flower of Libanus fadeth away.

Nahum 1:5 The mountains tremble at him, and the hills are made desolate: and the earth hath quaked at his presence, and the world, and all that dwell therein.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "lord", "patient", "great", "power", "cleanse", "acquit", "guilty", and "lord's". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "lord" and "patient", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 2's "The Lord is a jealous God and..." into verse 4's "He rebuketh the sea and drieth it...", so "lord" and "patient" belong inside that flow. In Nahum context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "lord" and "patient" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.