He rebuketh the sea, and maketh it dry, and drieth up all the rivers: Bashan languisheth, and Carmel, and the flower of Lebanon languisheth.

NAHUM 1:4KJV
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Nahum 1:4 (KJV)

What does Nahum 1:4 mean?

Nahum 1:4 says that God has power over nature: He commands the sea to dry up, dries out all the rivers, and causes fertile places like Bashan, Carmel, and Lebanon to wither. This verse shows God’s authority to bring drought and withering even to the most fruitful regions.

Nahum, a prophet, is speaking to the people of Judah about God’s coming judgment on Nineveh, the capital of Assyria. The verse uses well-known, lush places—Bashan, Carmel, and Lebanon—as examples of areas that would normally thrive, but even these can be made to “languish” or wither at God’s command. The message is that nothing in creation is beyond God’s control, and even the most dependable sources of life can fail if He wills it.

The Hebrew behind Nahum 1:4

  • "rebuketh" (גָּעַר, gaʿar): This word often means to scold or command sharply. Here, it shows that God’s word alone is enough to change the sea and rivers, not by effort but by authority.
  • "languisheth" (אֻמְלַל, umlal): Used twice in this verse, this word means to become weak, wither, or dry up. It emphasizes the total loss of vitality in places known for their richness, highlighting the completeness of God’s power.
  • "sea" (יָם, yam) and "rivers" (נָהָר, nahar): These are symbols of abundance and life in the ancient world. That God can dry them up shows His power over the very sources of life.

Why Nahum 1:4 matters

  • This verse clears up any idea that God’s power is limited to people or nations; it extends to all creation, including the forces of nature.
  • By naming Bashan, Carmel, and Lebanon—places famous for their fertility—the verse stresses that no earthly strength or resource is secure apart from God.
  • In the wider passage, Nahum is building a picture of God’s overwhelming might as a warning to Nineveh and reassurance to Judah that God can act decisively in history.

Where else these words appear

“rebuketh” Hebrew H1605 · used in 13 verses

  • Genesis 37:10 And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?
  • Psalms 106:9 He rebuked the Red sea also, and it was dried up: so he led them through the depths, as through the wilderness.
  • Jeremiah 29:27 Now therefore why hast thou not reproved Jeremiah of Anathoth, which maketh himself a prophet to you?

“languisheth” Hebrew H535 · used in 14 verses

  • 1 Samuel 2:5 They that were full have hired out themselves for bread; and they that were hungry ceased: so that the barren hath born seven; and she that hath many children is waxed feeble.
  • Isaiah 24:7 The new wine mourneth, the vine languisheth, all the merryhearted do sigh.
  • Lamentations 2:8 The LORD hath purposed to destroy the wall of the daughter of Zion: he hath stretched out a line, he hath not withdrawn his hand from destroying: therefore he made the rampart and the wall to lament; they languished together.

“flower” Hebrew H6525 · used in 15 verses

  • Exodus 25:31 And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work shall the candlestick be made: his shaft, and his branches, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers, shall be of the same.
  • Exodus 37:19 Three bowls made after the fashion of almonds in one branch, a knop and a flower; and three bowls made like almonds in another branch, a knop and a flower: so throughout the six branches going out of the candlestick.
  • 1 Kings 7:49 And the candlesticks of pure gold, five on the right side, and five on the left, before the oracle, with the flowers, and the lamps, and the tongs of gold,

“Carmel” Hebrew H3760 · used in 25 verses

  • Joshua 12:22 The king of Kedesh, one; the king of Jokneam of Carmel, one;
  • 1 Kings 18:19 Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel's table.
  • Isaiah 33:9 The earth mourneth and languisheth: Lebanon is ashamed and hewn down: Sharon is like a wilderness; and Bashan and Carmel shake off their fruits.