Nahum 1:15
“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.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →A messenger runs over the mountains with good news of peace; Judah is called to worship freely, for the oppressor is cut off forever.
What Does Nahum 1:15 Mean?
The chapter closes with a runner cresting the hills, his feet a welcome sight because he carries good tidings and proclaims peace. The fall of the oppressor is the news. Judah is summoned to resume its sacred feasts and pay the vows that fear had interrupted, free at last to worship without the shadow of invasion. The wicked one will pass through no more; he is utterly cut off. Dread gives way to celebration.
This image of beautiful feet bringing good news rises again in Isaiah and is taken up in the New Testament for the gospel of Christ, the message of peace announced to all who were under bondage. The pattern is the same: an enemy defeated, captives freed, glad tidings carried over the hills, worship restored. Here it is the fall of Nineveh; in its fullest meaning it is the victory of God over sin and death, the peace of Christ proclaimed to the ends of the earth. Every herald of that peace walks in the footsteps Nahum saw upon the mountains.
In the Original Language
shalom (שָׁלוֹם), "peace" — not mere absence of war but wholeness and well-being restored under God's favor.