The Meaning of Nahum 1:3 Explained

Nahum 1:3

KJV: The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the LORD hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.

YLT: Jehovah is slow to anger, and great in power, And Jehovah doth not entirely acquit, In a hurricane and in a tempest is His way, And a cloud is the dust of His feet.

Darby: Jehovah is slow to anger, and great in power, and doth not at all clear the guilty: Jehovah, his way is in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.

ASV: Jehovah is slow to anger, and great in power, and will by no means clear the guilty : Jehovah hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

The LORD  [is] slow  to anger,  and great  in power,  and will not at all  acquit  [the wicked]: the LORD  hath his way  in the whirlwind  and in the storm,  and the clouds  [are] the dust  of his feet. 

What does Nahum 1:3 Mean?

Verse Meaning

However, Yahweh was not out of control in His anger. His anger was slow in coming to the boiling point (cf. Exodus 34:6; Numbers 14:18). He waited as long as possible to pour out His judgment (cf. 2 Peter 3:9). About a century before Nahum prophesied, God sent Jonah to warn the Ninevites. This is an evidence of His being slow to anger. God"s patience accounts for His allowing the Assyrians to abuse the Israelites for so long. Patience is sometimes a sign of weakness, but not so with the Lord. He is also great in power, which makes the prospect of His releasing His anger terrifying (cf. Deuteronomy 8:17-18). He will not pass over any guilty person and leave him or her unpunished but will bring them to judgment eventually. Whirlwinds and storms manifest this angry aspect of God"s character and His power (cf. Job 9:17). He is so great that the clouds are for Him what the dust on the ground is for humans (cf. 2 Samuel 22:10; Psalm 18:9). The great clouds overhead are like dust to the great God who resides in the heavens.
Nahum 1:2-3 repeat "Yahweh" five times. This literary device has the effect of underlining the identity of Israel"s covenant God. There should be no mistake whom Nahum was describing even though he drew attention to characteristics of the Lord that were not the ones that His people liked to think about. Nahum frequently used Yahweh"s name throughout the book.

Context Summary

Nahum 1:1-15 - God's Goodness And Righteous Anger
The native city of Nahum was Elkosh, near the Lake of Galilee. The name Capernaum means literally "the village of Nahum." He lived about 150 years after Jonah, who also had been especially concerned with the sins and doom of Nineveh. Though as a Jew he must have dreaded Nineveh, which had already carried Samaria into captivity and was now menacing Jerusalem, he accounted its fate a grievous burden-"the burden of Nineveh." We must never speak of the doom of the ungodly, save from a broken heart.
Nahum 1:1-8 forms a magnificent preamble combining the goodness and severity of God. His dealings with mankind are wrapped in mystery, but He is good and the stronghold of His saints. In Nahum 1:9-15 we see how mad Assyria was to enter into conflict with Jehovah. The fate of thorns in fiercely burning flame is the emblem of their doom. Compare Nahum 1:14 with Isaiah 37:38. When the hour of anguish is past, let us not forget to pay our vows. [source]

Chapter Summary: Nahum 1

1  The majesty of God in goodness to his people, and severity against his enemies

What do the individual words in Nahum 1:3 mean?

Yahweh [is] slow to anger - and great in power and at all not will acquit [the wicked] Yahweh has in the whirlwind and in the storm His way and the clouds [are] the dust of His feet
יְהֹוָ֗ה אֶ֤רֶךְ אַפַּ֙יִם֙ [וגדול־] (וּגְדָל־) כֹּ֔חַ וְנַקֵּ֖ה לֹ֣א יְנַקֶּ֑ה יְהוָ֗ה בְּסוּפָ֤ה וּבִשְׂעָרָה֙ דַּרְכּ֔וֹ וְעָנָ֖ן אֲבַ֥ק רַגְלָֽיו

יְהֹוָ֗ה  Yahweh  [is] 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
אֶ֤רֶךְ  slow 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular construct
Root: אָרֵךְ 
Sense: long (pinions).
אַפַּ֙יִם֙  to  anger 
Parse: Noun, md
Root: אַף 
Sense: nostril, nose, face.
[וגדול־]  - 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adjective, masculine singular construct
(וּגְדָל־)  and  great  in 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adjective, masculine singular construct
Root: גָּבֹול 
Sense: great.
כֹּ֔חַ  power 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: גָּבֹול 
Sense: great.
וְנַקֵּ֖ה  and  at  all 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Piel, Infinitive absolute
Root: נָקָה  
Sense: to be empty, be clear, be pure, be free, be innocent, be desolate, be cut off.
יְנַקֶּ֑ה  will  acquit  [the  wicked] 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: נָקָה  
Sense: to be empty, be clear, be pure, be free, be innocent, be desolate, be cut off.
יְהוָ֗ה  Yahweh  has 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
בְּסוּפָ֤ה  in  the  whirlwind 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, feminine singular
Root: סוּפָה 
Sense: storm-wind.
וּבִשְׂעָרָה֙  and  in  the  storm 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b, Noun, feminine singular
Root: שְׂעָרָה  
Sense: storm.
דַּרְכּ֔וֹ  His  way 
Parse: Noun, common singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: דֶּרֶךְ  
Sense: way, road, distance, journey, manner.
וְעָנָ֖ן  and  the  clouds  [are] 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular
Root: עָנָן  
Sense: cloud, cloudy, cloud-mass.
אֲבַ֥ק  the  dust 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: אָבָק  
Sense: dust.
רַגְלָֽיו  of  His  feet 
Parse: Noun, fdc, third person masculine singular
Root: רֶגֶל  
Sense: foot.