The Book of Nahum — Audio Bible
Nahum prophesies the fall of Nineveh — the same city Jonah saw repent a century earlier and which has now returned to violence and idolatry.
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About the book of Nahum
Theme. God is slow to anger, but he will by no means clear the guilty.
Why it matters. Nahum balances Jonah by showing that God\u2019s patience is not infinite.
Comfort, written as battle poetry
Nahum's name means comfort, and the title seems absurd until you notice who the poem is for. Judah had spent a century as a vassal of Assyria, an empire that deported whole nations and carved its cruelties into palace walls as decoration. Nahum never tells Judah to raise a sword. He tells them the ledger is still open — that the LORD's patience is long, but long is not the same as indifferent. What follows is some of the fastest verse in the Hebrew Bible: cracking whip, rumbling wheel, galloping horse, flashing blade, lines so clipped they read like dispatches from the front. It is a war poem composed as consolation for people who had no army worth the name.
From hymn to newsreel to applause
The book does not open with Nineveh at all. It opens with God: a hymn that traces part of the Hebrew alphabet while describing the LORD whose way is in whirlwind and storm, before whom the mountains quake. Only after settling who God is does the poem turn to the city. Chapter 2 then switches to something like live report — the red shields of the attackers, officers stumbling as they are summoned, river gates bursting open, the palace melting, and finally a taunt over the lions' den that will never again be filled with prey. Chapter 3 pronounces the verdict on the city of blood and asks whether Nineveh imagined itself stronger than Thebes, the Egyptian capital Assyria itself had gutted. The last sound in the book is applause: everyone who hears the news claps, because everyone had felt the empire's hand.
The other half of the Jonah question
Jonah and Nahum each close on a question, and both questions hang over Nineveh — one probing God's pity for the city, the other its pitiless record. Read together they hold the full weight of the ancient confession from Sinai, which Nahum deliberately echoes: a God who forgives, yet does not simply wave guilt away. History underwrote the poem. Nineveh fell to the Babylonians and Medes in 612 BC, so completely that within two centuries Greek soldiers marched past its buried mound without learning what lay beneath their feet.
Feet on the mountains, heard again in Romans
One bright verse stands in the middle of the storm: a herald on the mountains announcing peace to Judah, telling her to keep her feasts because the invader is finished. Isaiah uses the same image, and when Paul wants a picture of gospel preaching in Romans he reaches for it — beautiful feet bringing good news. The announcement of a tyrant's end became the church's word for evangelism itself. The pattern carries to the far end of the canon: Revelation's dirge over Babylon works in the same grammar as Nahum's taunt over Nineveh, and in both, God's people are never handed a sword — only the news that the city falls.
Reading guide: Nahum chapter by chapter
How to listen to Nahum on The Historic Faith
This guide is built for listening through the whole book of Nahum, not just opening a single chapter. The chapter links below open the Bible reader with synchronized text, verse-by-verse audio highlighting, playback speed controls, and the same study tools available across the Audio Bible. You can begin with chapter 1, continue through all 3 chapters, or return later and pick up any chapter directly from this page.
Nahum is available in multiple English editions and the Septuagint, with a Septuagint option for Greek Old Testament study. The reader keeps the text visible while the audio plays, so you can follow the wording, slow down difficult passages, and compare translations without losing your place. No account is required to listen, read, or use the chapter links.
For study, use the interlinear and Strong's tools from the reader page. Old Testament chapters connect to Hebrew word study, and the Septuagint links let you compare the Greek tradition alongside the English text. Each chapter also connects naturally with the church fathers commentary and the broader library, so the book can be read devotionally, studied historically, or used as a reference while listening.
Before listening, it can help to read the theme and background above, then scan the notable chapters and frequently asked questions below. Those notes summarize why Nahum matters, how it fits into the larger biblical story, and where readers often begin when they want to understand the book as a whole.
Nahum chapter listening guide
Use these chapter links as a quick listening plan. Each link opens a dedicated chapter page with the same translation controls, synchronized text, and study tools, so the book can be read or heard one chapter at a time.
- Nahum 1 Listen to Nahum chapter 1 with verse highlighting, readable chapter text, translation controls, and integrated study links.
- Nahum 2 Listen to Nahum chapter 2 with verse highlighting, readable chapter text, translation controls, and integrated study links.
- Nahum 3 Listen to Nahum chapter 3 with verse highlighting, readable chapter text, translation controls, and integrated study links.
Ways to use this Nahum audio Bible page
Treat this page as the book hub for Nahum. The summary, chapter guide, full chapter grid, study links, and questions are gathered here so you can decide where to begin before opening the reader. That keeps the listening page focused on the chapter itself while this page gives the book-level context that helps the chapter make sense.
- Listen Start with chapter 1 when you want to hear Nahum straight through, or choose a later chapter when a reading plan, sermon, class, or personal study has already pointed you to a specific passage.
- Read Keep the text open while the audio plays. The reader is designed for slow, attentive reading, quick review, and comparison across available English translations without leaving the chapter.
- Study Use the interlinear, Strong's concordance, and church fathers links when a verse in Nahum needs closer attention. Those tools are connected from the reader and from the study section below.
- Continue Return to this page as your table of contents for Nahum. Each chapter link stays stable, so it can be bookmarked, shared, or reopened when you want to continue listening later.
For family worship, classroom use, or personal reading, the stable chapter links make it easy to assign a passage and return to the same place later. A teacher can send students directly to a chapter of Nahum, a small group can listen before discussing the text, and an individual reader can keep the book page open as a simple table of contents.
On mobile, the book hub is meant to stay simple: choose a chapter, open the reader, listen with the text in view, and come back here when you are ready for the next chapter. On desktop, the same links work well beside notes, sermon prep, church fathers references, or the interlinear tools used for closer word study.
What each Nahum chapter page includes
The chapter pages linked from this hub are built for more than passive playback. Each chapter keeps the biblical text, audio controls, study links, and navigation together so you can listen, read, compare, and continue through Nahum without hunting through separate tools.
- Audio Playback controls stay with the chapter, including speed options and verse-level progress, so a short chapter can be reviewed quickly and a longer chapter can be paused and resumed without losing the passage.
- Text The chapter text remains visible beside the audio experience. This makes Nahum useful for reading aloud, quiet listening, pronunciation practice, sermon preparation, and verse-by-verse review.
- Compare Translation controls let you compare the available English editions and the Septuagint where available while staying inside the same book and chapter flow.
- Words Word-study links connect the passage to Strong's and interlinear helps, so repeated names, theological terms, commands, promises, and historical details in Nahum can be checked more closely.
- Context Related library and church fathers links help connect a chapter of Nahum with historic Christian interpretation, making the page useful for devotional reading and deeper research.
Notable chapters in Nahum
- Nahum 1 God\u2019s character
All 3 chapters of Nahum
Tap any chapter number to listen with verse-by-verse highlighting. Defaults to KJV; you can switch translations on the player page.
Study Nahum deeper
Frequently asked questions about Nahum
How long does it take to listen to the audio Bible book of Nahum?
The audio recording of Nahum runs approximately 13 minutes at normal speed. With THF's variable-speed playback (0.5x to 2x), you can complete it in roughly half the time at 2x speed.
Who wrote the book of Nahum?
Traditionally attributed to Nahum the Elkoshite.
When was Nahum written?
Most scholars date Nahum to c. 663 – 612 BC.
What is the book of Nahum about?
God is slow to anger, but he will by no means clear the guilty.
Is the Nahum audio Bible free on The Historic Faith?
Yes. All 3 chapters of Nahum are 100% free in multiple English editions and the Septuagint, with verse-by-verse highlighting, no signup required.
Can I follow along with the text while listening to Nahum?
Yes. The audio player highlights each verse in real time as it is read, and you can tap any Greek or Hebrew word for the Strong's definition.