Nahum 1 · Verse 8

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 1:8, King James Version

Nahum 1:8 in other translations

BSBBut with an overwhelming flood He will make an end of Nineveh and pursue His enemies into darkness.
WEBBut with an overflowing flood, he will make a full end of her place, and will pursue his enemies into darkness.
ASVBut with an over-running flood he will make a full end of her place, and will pursue his enemies into darkness.
YLTAnd with a flood passing over, An end He maketh of its place, And His enemies doth darkness pursue.
DARBYBut with an overrunning flood he will make a full end of the place thereof, and darkness shall pursue his enemies.
BBEBut like water overflowing he will take them away; he will put an end to those who come up against him, driving his haters into the dark.
WebsterBut with an over-running flood he will make an utter end of the place thereof, and darkness shall pursue his enemies.

What does Nahum 1:8 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
8. with an overrunning flood--that is, with irresistible might which overruns every barrier like a flood. This image is often applied to overwhelming armies of invaders. Also of calamity in general (Psa 32:6; 42:7; 90:5). There is, perhaps, a special allusion to the mode of Nineveh's capture by the Medo-Babylonian army; namely, through a flood in the river which broke down the wall twenty furlongs (see on Na 2:6; Is 8:8; Da 9:26; 11:10, 22, 40). end of the place thereof--Nineveh is personified as a queen; and "her place" of residence (the Hebrew for "thereof" is feminine) is the city itself (Na 2:8), [Maurer]. Or, He shall so utterly destroy Nineveh that its place cannot be found; Na 3:17 confirms this (compare Psa 37:36; Da 2:35; Re 12:8; 20:11). darkness--the severest calamities.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 8 But with an overrunning flood - Bishop Newcome thinks this may refer to the manner in which Nineveh was taken. The Euphrates overflowed its banks, deluged a part of the city, and overturned twenty stadia of the wall; in consequence of which the desponding king burnt himself, and his palace, with his treasures. - Diodor. Sic., Edit. Wessel., p. 140, lib. ii., s. 27. Darkness shall pursue - Calamity. All kinds of calamity shall pursue them till they are destroyed.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Nahum 1:1-8

About a hundred years before, at Jonah's preaching, the Ninevites repented, and were spared, yet, soon after, they became worse than ever. Nineveh knows not that God who contends with her, but is told what a God he is. It is good for all to mix faith with what is here said concerning Him, which speaks great terror to the wicked, and comfort to believers. Let each take his portion from it: let sinners read it and…

Read the full comment on Nahum 1:1-8 →

Nahum 1:8 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וּבְשֶׁ֣טֶףu.ve.She.tefand with a floodH7858
עֹבֵ֔ר'o.Ver[which] passes overH5674
כָּלָ֖הka.Lahcomplete destructionH3617
יַעֲשֶׂ֣הya.'a.Sehhe will makeH6213
מְקוֹמָ֑הּme.ko.Mahplace itsH4725
וְאֹיְבָ֖יוve.'o.ye.Vavand enemies hisH341
יְרַדֶּף\־ye.ra.def-he will pursueH7291
חֹֽשֶׁךְ\׃Cho.shekhdarknessH2822

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Nahum 1:8

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • Amos 8:8

    Shall not the land tremble for this, and every one mourn that dwelleth therein? and it shall rise up wholly as a flood; and it shall be cast out and drowned, as by the flood of Egypt.

  • Job 30:15

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

  • Amos 9:5-6

    And the Lord God of hosts is he that toucheth the land, and it shall melt, and all that dwell therein shall mourn: and it shall rise up wholly like a flood; and shall be drowned, as by the flood of Egypt. It is he that buildeth his stories in the heaven, and hath founded his troop in the earth; he that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The Lord is his name.

  • Proverbs 4:19

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

  • Nahum 1:1

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

  • Daniel 11:40

    And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.

  • Daniel 9:26

    And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.

  • Jeremiah 13:16

    Give glory to the Lord your God, before he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and, while ye look for light, he turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
with.
Isa 8:7,8; 28:17; Eze 13:13; Da 9:26; 11:10,22,40; Am 8:8; 9:5,6
Mt 7:27; 2Pe 3:6,7
the place.
1; 2:8; Zep 2:13
darkness.
Job 30:15; Pr 4:19; Isa 8:22; Jer 13:16; Mt 8:12

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

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.

Read all of Nahum 1

Nahum 1:8 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Mas con inundación impetuosa hará consumación de su lugar, y tinieblas perseguirán á sus enemigos.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		mais, par une inondation débordante, il détruira entièrement son lieu, et les ténèbres poursuivront ses ennemis.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und mit einer überschwemmenden Flut wird er ihre Stätte gänzlich zerstören, und Finsternis wird seine Feinde verfolgen.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Et in diluvio prætereunte consummationem faciet loci ejus, et inimicos ejus persequentur tenebræ.