Scholarly comments are given in brackets after each verse.
Chapter 1
1 Prophecy about Nineveh; the book of visions of Nahum Elkoseyanin. (The birthplace of Nahum was a small Jewish town Elkosh, Nahum prophesied at the same time as Zephaniah).
2 The Lord is a jealous and avenging God; the Lord is avenging and terrible in anger: the Lord takes vengeance on His enemies and will not spare His adversaries. (A zealot and an avenger is an exact description of the vindictive priests of Judaism, who in every possible way took revenge on all their enemies).
3 The Lord is long-suffering and great in power, and does not leave without punishment; in the whirlwind and in the tempest is the procession of the Lord; the cloud is the dust from his feet. (All kinds of natural phenomena were attributed by ancient people to God, who allegedly creates all this).
4 He rebuke the sea, and it dries up, and all the rivers dry up; Bashan and Carmel wither, and the color fades in Lebanon. (Everything, they say, is done in the world only by order of God).
5 The mountains tremble before Him, and the hills melt, and the earth trembles before Him, and the world and all who live in it. (Everything, they say, is done in the world only by order of God).
6 Who can stand before His indignation? And who can endure the fire of His wrath? His wrath spills like fire; the rocks crumble before Him. (Everything, they say, is done in the world only by order of God).
7 The Lord is good, a refuge in the day of trouble, and he knows those who trust in him. (The concept of "the Almighty" bizarrely mixed the features of the ancient god of nomads, the god of the storm and the desert, with the image of the god of the whole world).
8 But with an overwhelming flood he will destroy [Nineveh] to its foundations, and darkness will overtake His enemies. (Yahweh, that is, the priests of Judaism, directed his wrath against Nineveh, the capital of Assyria).
9 What do you think against the Lord? He will make an extermination, and the disaster will not be repeated, (Nineveh (the dwelling or city of Nina), the history of Nineveh dates back to the 5th millennium BC; in biblical times it was the capital city of the Assyrian kingdom (VIII-VII centuries BC Nineveh was located on the banks of the Tigris River (now the hills of Kuyundzhik and Tel-Nebi-Yunus, Iraq) In 612 BC it was taken by the troops of the Babylonians and Medes).
10 For those who are intertwined like thorns and drunk like drunkards, they will be utterly devoured like dry stubble. (An analogy with plants, straw and drunkards).
11 Out of you came one who plotted evil against the Lord, who formed a wicked council. (The guilt of Nineveh is that from it "has come one who plotted evil against Yahweh").
12 Thus says the Lord: Though they are safe and numerous, yet they will be cut down and perish; but though I have weighed you down, I will no longer weigh you down. (Jewish priests threaten through the prophet).
13 And now I will break his yoke that is upon you, and I will break your bands. (Jewish priests threaten through the prophet).
14 And concerning you, [Assur], the Lord has decreed: there will be no more seed with your name; from the house of your god I will destroy idols and idols; I will prepare a grave for you in it, because you will be despised. (Assyria, Assur (Ashur) – in Assyrian cuneiform writings the word "Assur" is the designation of the city, and the country, and the god Assur. Initially, the state of Assur, with the capital Ashur, was located in the upper reaches of the Tigris River, along the eastern bank (2000 -1450 BC – Old Assyrian period).It is assumed that at first the Assyrian cities of Ashur and Nineveh (which later became the new capital) were Babylonian colonies. The state of Assur reached its highest prosperity in 800-700 BC, having turned into a huge empire – the largest power of its time (the Neo-Assyrian era, the era of active wars).In the Bible, the name Assyria (Assyrian) refers to various areas of Assur: in Jer 2:18 and 2 Kings 23:29 Babylon (Babylonian) is understood, in Ezra 6:22 – Persia (Persian) Prophets in the Bible speak of the arrogance of Assyria and the devastation that will eventually befall Assyria (Is 10:8-12; Eze 31:3; Zeph 2:13-15; Zech 10 :eleven).).