Nahum 1:2
“God is jealous, and the LORD revengeth; the LORD revengeth, and is furious; the LORD will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →God is jealous for what is right and will repay the wrong; His judgment against persistent evil is sure, not careless.
What Does Nahum 1:2 Mean?
The opening hymn describes the God who stands behind the oracle. Jealous here does not mean petty envy; it is the fierce, covenant love of One who will not share His people with cruelty or hand them over to be devoured. Three times the verse presses the word avenge, like a drumbeat, declaring that wrongs against the helpless do not vanish unanswered. The repetition is deliberate, fixing the certainty of justice in the reader's mind.
To reserve wrath means God keeps account; nothing is forgotten and nothing slips past Him. This is sobering, yet it is also deeply reassuring to anyone who has suffered injustice and wondered whether heaven noticed. The cruelty of Nineveh had a witness, and so does every cruelty since. Such justice finds its fullest answer in Christ, who bore wrath at the cross for those who turn to Him and will one day set every account right. A God who never repaid evil could not be called good.
In the Original Language
qanno' (קַנּוֹא), "jealous" — names the burning, exclusive devotion of God toward His own, not selfish envy.