Bible Strands
Nahum 1:11
From you, O Nineveh, comes forth a plotter of evil against the LORD, a counselor of wickedness.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The prophet delivers a divine oracle against Nineveh, pronouncing judgment immediately after describing the entanglement and consumption of its allies in Nahum 1:10 and before God’s promise to cease afflicting Judah in Nahum 1:12.
The words — חֹשֵׁב (cho.Shev) literally means “one who plots,” and בְּלִיַּעַל (be.li.Ya.al) denotes “worthlessness,” both describing the origin and nature of the counsel against Yahweh.
The thread — This theme of human counsel opposing God appears in Nahum 1:9, where Yahweh declares He will bring every such plot to an end, while 2 Chronicles 13:7 and 1 Samuel 2:12 record wicked individuals acting without regard for divine authority.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that schemes originating from Nineveh are ultimately futile against Yahweh, requiring readers to reject self-reliant plotting and trust God’s sovereign judgment.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
There is one come out of thee, that imagineth evil against the Lord, a wicked counsellor.
Cross-references
- Nahum 1:9 Whatever you plot against the LORD, He will bring to an end. Affliction will not rise up a second time.
- 2 Chronicles 13:7 Then worthless and wicked men gathered around him to resist Rehoboam son of Solomon when he was young, inexperienced, and unable to resist them.
- 1 Samuel 2:12 Now the sons of Eli were wicked men; they had no regard for the LORD
- 2 Samuel 20:1 Now a worthless man named Sheba son of Bichri, a Benjamite, happened to be there, and he blew the ram’s horn and shouted: “We have no share in David, no inheritance in Jesse’s son. Every man to his tent, O Israel!”
- 2 Kings 18:13 In the fourteenth year of Hezekiah’s reign, Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked and captured all the fortified cities of Judah.
- 2 Kings 18:30 Do not let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the LORD when he says, ‘The LORD will surely deliver us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.’
- 2 Kings 19:22 Whom have you taunted and blasphemed? Against whom have you raised your voice and lifted your eyes in pride? Against the Holy One of Israel!
- 2 Chronicles 32:15 So now, do not let Hezekiah deceive you, and do not let him mislead you like this. Do not believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom has been able to deliver his people from my hand or from the hand of my fathers. How much less will your God deliver you from my hand!”
- Isaiah 10:7 But this is not his intention; this is not his plan. For it is in his heart to destroy and cut off many nations.