Passage

Nahum 1.15

Book: Nahum · ASV

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"13. And now will I break his yoke from off thee, and will burst thy bonds in sunder. 14. And Jehovah hath given commandment concerning thee, that no more of thy name be sown: out of the house of thy gods will I cut off the graven image and the molten image; I will make thy grave; for thou art vile."

"15. Behold, upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace! Keep thy feasts, O Judah, perform thy vows; for the wicked one shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off." (Nahum 1:13-15, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"13. Now will I break his yoke from off you, and will burst your bonds apart.” 14. Yahweh has commanded concerning you: “No more descendants will bear your name. Out of the house of your gods, will I cut off the engraved image and the molten image. I will make your grave, for you are vile.”"

"15. Behold, on the mountains the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace! Keep your feasts, Judah! Perform your vows, for the wicked one will no more pass through you. He is utterly cut off." (Nahum 1:13-15, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"13. For now will I break his yoke from off thee, and will burst thy bonds in sunder. 14. And the LORD hath given a commandment concerning thee, that no more of thy name be sown: out of the house of thy gods will I cut off the graven image and the molten image: I will make thy grave; for thou art vile."

"15. Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace! O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows: for the wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off. ^{keep: Heb. feast} ^{the wicked: Heb. Belial}" (Nahum 1:13-15, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"13. And now I break his rod from off thee, And thy bands I do draw away. 14. And commanded concerning thee hath Jehovah, 'No more of thy name doth spread abroad, From the house of thy gods I cut off graven and molten image, I appoint thy grave, for thou hast been vile."

"15. Lo, on the mountains the feet of one proclaiming tidings, sounding peace! Celebrate, O Judah, thy festivals, complete thy vows, For add no more to pass over into thee doth the worthless, He hath been completely cut off!" (Nahum 1:13-15, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: YHWH through the prophet Nahum
Audience: Judah, threatened by Assyria
Location: Judah, with the oracle addressed against Nineveh
Time period: c. 663-612 BC (between the fall of Thebes and the fall of Nineveh)

Theological reading

Nahum 1:15 contains the OT's secondary beautiful feet verse, paralleling Isaiah 52.7 almost word-for-word in its herald-imagery: beautiful upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings. In Nahum's setting, the basar-announcement is the news of Nineveh's coming destruction, good news for Judah because the Assyrian oppressor will fall. The verse pairs the herald imagery with covenantal-cultic restoration: "Keep thy feasts, O Judah, perform thy vows", the announcement of the oppressor's defeat enables the renewed practice of Israel's covenant worship. The structural overlap with Isa 52:7 is striking and likely deliberate; Nahum's prophetic deployment of the mevasser image draws on the same OT tradition that culminates in the Servant Songs. Paul's deployment at Rom 10:15 quotes Isa 52:7 directly but the Nahum parallel reinforces the OT pattern of basar-as-deliverance-announcement.

Key words

H1319 - basar, basar, the verb to bring good news; here the mevasser participle
H7965 - shalom, shalom, publisheth peace

Quoted in

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.