Nahum 1:4 (YLT)

Passage

He is pushing against a sea, and drieth it up, Yea, all the floods He hath made dry, Languishing <FI>are<Fi> Bashan and Carmel, Yea, the flower of Lebanon <FI>is<Fi> languishing.

Nearby Context

Nahum 1:2 A God zealous and avenging <FI>is<Fi> Jehovah, An avenger <FI>is<Fi> Jehovah, and possessing fury. An avenger <FI>is<Fi> Jehovah on His adversaries, And He is watching for His enemies.

Nahum 1:3 Jehovah <FI>is<Fi> slow to anger, and great in power, And Jehovah doth not entirely acquit, In a hurricane and in a tempest <FI>is<Fi> His way, And a cloud <FI>is<Fi> the dust of His feet.

Nahum 1:4 He is pushing against a sea, and drieth it up, Yea, all the floods He hath made dry, Languishing <FI>are<Fi> Bashan and Carmel, Yea, the flower of Lebanon <FI>is<Fi> languishing.

Nahum 1:5 Mountains have shaken because of Him, And the hills have been melted; And lifted up <FI>is<Fi> the earth at His presence, And the world and all dwelling in it.

Nahum 1:6 Before His indignation who doth stand? And who riseth up in the heat of His anger? His fury hath been poured out like fire, And the rocks have been broken by Him.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "pushing", "against", "drieth", "floods", "hath", "languishing", "bashan", and "carmel". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "pushing" and "against", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "Jehovah FI is Fi slow to anger..." into verse 5's "Mountains have shaken because of Him And...", so "pushing" 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 "pushing" and "against" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.