John Calvin Commentary Nahum 1:13

"And now will I break his yoke from off thee, and will burst thy bonds in sunder." — Nahum 1:13 (ASV)

He confirms what the former verse contains: that God would now cease from His severity. For He says that the deliverance of this chosen people was near, when God would break down and reduce to nothing the tyranny of that empire. This verse clearly shows that a clause in the preceding verse should not be restricted in the way some interpreters do, who view it as referring to the slaughter of Sennacherib's army.

But the Prophet here addresses both the Israelites and the Jews, as is evident from the context; and this verse also sufficiently proves that the Prophet does not speak of the Jews only, for they had not been subdued by the Assyrians to the same extent as the Israelites had been.

I do indeed allow that they became tributaries. For when they had broken their covenant, the Assyrian, after conquering the kingdom of Israel and the kingdom of Syria, eventually extended his arms to Judea. It is therefore certain that they had been to some extent under the yoke. But their servitude was not so hard that the Prophet's words could be applied to it.

I therefore interpret the expression generally: that God would free His own people, both the Israelites and the Jews, from the tyranny of Nineveh. If anyone objects that the Israelites were never delivered, this is indeed true. But concerning Nineveh, they were delivered when the empire was transferred to the Chaldeans and Babylon became the seat of the empire.

We now see then that our Prophet's meaning is simply this: though God chastised His people by the Assyrians, He still did not forget His covenant, for the Assyrians were punished.

It was then sufficient for his purpose to say that the Jews, as well as the Israelites, were no longer under the yoke of Nineveh, however much they might have afterward suffered under other tyrants.

And what is said about the yoke being broken also applies to some extent to the Jews. For when we extend this to both the Israelites and the Jews, it would not be unsuitable to say that they were both under the yoke and bound with chains.

For though Israel's servitude was hard, the Jews had also been deprived of their liberty.

It is therefore right that what is said should be understood generally: I will now break his yoke from thee, and thy bonds will I burst.

Now this verse teaches us that, although the people were subdued by the tyranny of their enemies, their deliverance always remained in the hand and power of God.

For how did it happen that the Assyrians prevailed against the Israelites and then subjugated the Jews, if not because they were like a rod in God's hand? So Isaiah teaches us in Isaiah 10.

Though they armed themselves, they were still only like God's weapons and arms, for they could not have made any movement unless the Lord had directed their course wherever He pleased, just as when one throws a javelin or a dart with his hand.