The Meaning of Nahum 1:13 Explained

Nahum 1:13

KJV: For now will I break his yoke from off thee, and will burst thy bonds in sunder.

YLT: And now I break his rod from off thee, And thy bands I do draw away.

Darby: And now will I break his yoke from off thee, and will burst thy bonds asunder.

ASV: And now will I break his yoke from off thee, and will burst thy bonds in sunder.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

For now will I break  his yoke  from off thee, and will burst  thy bonds  in sunder. 

What does Nahum 1:13 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The Lord promised to break Assyria"s oppression of the Israelites as when someone removed a yoke from the neck of an ox or the chains that bound a prisoner. For years the Israelites had to endure Assyrian oppression including invasion, occupation, and taxation (cf. 2 Kings 19:20-37; 2 Chronicles 32:1-23; Isaiah 37:27-38).

Context Summary

Nahum 1:1-15 - God's Goodness And Righteous Anger
The native city of Nahum was Elkosh, near the Lake of Galilee. The name Capernaum means literally "the village of Nahum." He lived about 150 years after Jonah, who also had been especially concerned with the sins and doom of Nineveh. Though as a Jew he must have dreaded Nineveh, which had already carried Samaria into captivity and was now menacing Jerusalem, he accounted its fate a grievous burden-"the burden of Nineveh." We must never speak of the doom of the ungodly, save from a broken heart.
Nahum 1:1-8 forms a magnificent preamble combining the goodness and severity of God. His dealings with mankind are wrapped in mystery, but He is good and the stronghold of His saints. In Nahum 1:9-15 we see how mad Assyria was to enter into conflict with Jehovah. The fate of thorns in fiercely burning flame is the emblem of their doom. Compare Nahum 1:14 with Isaiah 37:38. When the hour of anguish is past, let us not forget to pay our vows. [source]

Chapter Summary: Nahum 1

1  The majesty of God in goodness to his people, and severity against his enemies

What do the individual words in Nahum 1:13 mean?

For now I will break off his yoke from you and your bonds burst apart
וְעַתָּ֕ה אֶשְׁבֹּ֥ר מֹטֵ֖הוּ מֵֽעָלָ֑יִךְ וּמוֹסְרֹתַ֖יִךְ אֲנַתֵּֽק

וְעַתָּ֕ה  For  now 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb
Root: עַתָּה  
Sense: now.
אֶשְׁבֹּ֥ר  I  will  break  off 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, first person common singular
Root: שָׁבוּר 
Sense: to break, break in pieces.
מֹטֵ֖הוּ  his  yoke 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: מֹוט  
Sense: a shaking, wavering, pole, bar of yoke.
מֵֽעָלָ֑יִךְ  from  you 
Parse: Preposition-m, second person feminine singular
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
וּמוֹסְרֹתַ֖יִךְ  and  your  bonds 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine plural construct, second person feminine singular
Root: מֹוסֵר 
Sense: band, bond.
אֲנַתֵּֽק  burst  apart 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Imperfect, first person common singular
Root: נָתַק  
Sense: to pull or tear or draw off or away or apart, draw out, pluck up, break, li ft, root out.