Passage
What do ye imagine against the LORD? he will make an utter end: affliction shall not rise up the second time.
Nahum 1:9 (KJV)
Nearby Context
Nahum 1:7 The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.
Nahum 1:8 But with an overrunning flood he will make an utter end of the place thereof, and darkness shall pursue his enemies.
Nahum 1:9 What do ye imagine against the LORD? he will make an utter end: affliction shall not rise up the second time.
Nahum 1:10 For while they be folden together as thorns, and while they are drunken as drunkards, they shall be devoured as stubble fully dry.
Nahum 1:11 There is one come out of thee, that imagineth evil against the LORD, a wicked counsellor.
Study Lenses
The verse centers on "imagine", "against", "lord", "make", "utter", "affliction", "shall", and "rise". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "imagine" and "against", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 8's "But with an overrunning flood he will..." into verse 10's "For while they be folden together as...", so "imagine" and "against" 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 "imagine" and "against" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.