Nahum 1:11
There is one come out of thee, that imagineth evil against the LORD, a wicked counsellor.
There is one come out of thee,.... That is, out of Nineveh, as the Targum explains it; meaning Sennacherib, who had his royal seat and palace there; or Rabshakeh that was sent from hence by him with a railing and blaspheming letter to the king of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. This is said to be at the present time of writing this prophecy, though it was after it, because of the certainty of it, as is usual in prophetic language; unless it can be thought that this prophecy was delivered out exactly at the time when Sennacherib had entered Judea, and was before the walls of Jerusalem; but not yet discomfited, as after predicted:
that imagineth evil against the LORD; against the people of the Lord, as the Targum; formed a scheme to invade the land of Judea, take the fenced cities thereof, and seize upon Jerusalem the metropolis of the nation, and carry the king, princes, and all the people captive as Shalmaneser his father had carried away the ten tribes:
a wicked counsellor; or "a counsellor of Belial" {k}; who, by Rabshakeh, advised Israel not to regard their king, nor trust in their God but surrender themselves up to him, 2 Kings 18:29.
{k} leylb Uewy "consulens", Belijahai, Montanus; "consiliarius Belijaal", Burkius.