The Meaning of Nahum 1:15 Explained

Nahum 1:15

KJV: 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.

YLT: 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!

Darby: Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth glad tidings, that publisheth peace! Celebrate thy feasts, Judah, perform thy vows: for the wicked one shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off.

ASV: 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.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does Nahum 1:15 Mean?

Verse Meaning

This is the first verse of chapter2in the Hebrew Bible. It is a janus, a transition that looks back to what precedes and forward to what follows.
Nahum called his audience to give attention. Someone was coming over the mountains with a message of peace. Consequently the people of Judah could celebrate their feasts; they had a future. They should pay their vows to the Lord because He had answered their prayers. The wicked Assyrians would never again pass through their land, as they had done in the past. The message was that they had been cut off, like a piece of a garment, and so would be no threat in the future. The prophet spoke as if Nineveh had already fallen and a messenger had just arrived with the news. The same statement appears in Isaiah 52:7, where the messenger announces the defeat of Babylon.
"So complete was its [1] destruction that when Xenophon passed by the site about200 years later, he thought the mounds were the ruins of some other city. And Alexander the Great, fighting in a battle nearby, did not realize that he was near the ruins of Nineveh." [2]
The Apostle Paul quoted the first part of this verse in Romans 10:15 in reference to those messengers who bring similar good news, namely, the gospel.
"The message is one of peace, a peace from external oppression and a new kind of peace with the God who is the giver of all life." [3]

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 1:15 mean?

Behold on the mountains the feet of him who brings good tidings who proclaims peace keep Judah your [appointed] feasts Perform your vows For no more more - shall pass through you the wicked one utterly He is cut off
הִנֵּ֨ה עַל־ הֶהָרִ֜ים רַגְלֵ֤י מְבַשֵּׂר֙ מַשְׁמִ֣יעַ ! שָׁל֔וֹם חָגִּ֧י יְהוּדָ֛ה חַגַּ֖יִךְ שַׁלְּמִ֣י נְדָרָ֑יִךְ כִּי֩ לֹ֨א יוֹסִ֥יף ע֛וֹד [לעבור־] (לַֽעֲבָר־) בָּ֥ךְ בְּלִיַּ֖עַל כֻּלֹּ֥ה נִכְרָֽת

הִנֵּ֨ה  Behold 
Parse: Interjection
Root: הִנֵּה  
Sense: behold, lo, see, if.
הֶהָרִ֜ים  the  mountains 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: הַר  
Sense: hill, mountain, hill country, mount.
רַגְלֵ֤י  the  feet 
Parse: Noun, fdc
Root: רֶגֶל  
Sense: foot.
מְבַשֵּׂר֙  of  him  who  brings  good  tidings 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Participle, masculine singular
Root: בָּשַׂר  
Sense: to bear news, bear tidings, publish, preach, show forth.
מַשְׁמִ֣יעַ  who  proclaims 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Participle, masculine singular
Root: שָׁמַע 
Sense: to hear, listen to, obey.
! שָׁל֔וֹם  peace 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: שָׁלֹום  
Sense: completeness, soundness, welfare, peace.
חָגִּ֧י  keep 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, feminine singular
Root: חָגַג  
Sense: to hold a feast, hold a festival, make pilgrimage, keep a pilgrim-feast, celebrate, dance, stagger.
יְהוּדָ֛ה  Judah 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יְהוּדָה  
Sense: the son of Jacob by Leah.
חַגַּ֖יִךְ  your  [appointed]  feasts 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, second person feminine singular
Root: חַג  
Sense: festival, feast, festival-gathering, pilgrim-feast.
שַׁלְּמִ֣י  Perform 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Imperative, feminine singular
Root: שָׁלֵם  
Sense: .
נְדָרָ֑יִךְ  your  vows 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, second person feminine singular
Root: נֵדֶר  
Sense: vow, votive offering.
לֹ֨א  no 
Parse: Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
יוֹסִ֥יף  more 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: יָסַף 
Sense: to add, increase, do again.
ע֛וֹד  more 
Parse: Adverb
Root: עֹוד  
Sense: a going round, continuance adv.
[לעבור־]  - 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
(לַֽעֲבָר־)  shall  pass  through 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: עָבַר 
Sense: to pass over or by or through, alienate, bring, carry, do away, take, take away, transgress.
בְּלִיַּ֖עַל  the  wicked  one 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: בְּלִיַּעַל  
Sense: worthlessness.
כֻּלֹּ֥ה  utterly 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: כֹּל  
Sense: all, the whole.
נִכְרָֽת  He  is  cut  off 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: כָּרַת  
Sense: to cut, cut off, cut down, cut off a body part, cut out, eliminate, kill, cut a covenant.