John Gill's Bible Commentary Ver. 3. The Lord [is] slow to anger , etc.] He is not in haste to execute it; he takes time for it, and gives men space for repentance. Nineveh had had a proof of this when it repented at the preaching of Jonah, upon which the Lord deferred the execution of his wrath; but lest they should presume upon this, and conclude the Lord would always bear with them, though they had returned to their former impieties; they are let to know, that this his forbearance was not owing to want of power or will in him to punish: since he is great in power, and will not at all acquit [the wicked] ; he is able to execute the wrath he threatens, and will by no means clear the guilty, or let them go free and unpunished; though he moves slowly, as he may seem in the execution of his judgments, yet they shall surely be brought on his enemies, and be fully accomplished: the Lord hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds [are] the dust of his feet ; he spoke to Job out of the whirlwind; he descended on Mount Sinai in a storm and tempest; and the clouds are his chariots; in which he rides swiftly; and which, for their appearance and number, are like the dust raised by a multitude of horsemen riding full speed, The wrath of God may be compared to a whirlwind, and a storm, which is sometimes hastily and suddenly executed upon men: respect seems to be had to the armies of the Medes and Chaldeans against the Assyrians; who, as the Babylonians against the Jews, came up as clouds, and their chariots as the whirlwind, ( Jeremiah 4:13); and the figures beautifully describe the numbers of them, the force with which they came; and in an elegant manner represent the vast quantity of dust raised by an army in full march; at the head of which was the Lord himself, ordering, directing, and succeeding, before whom none can stand.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 1-8 - About a hundred years before, at Jonah's preaching, the Ninevite repented, and were spared, yet, soon after, they became worse tha ever. Nineveh knows not that God who contends with her, but is tol what a God he is. It is good for all to mix faith with what is her said concerning Him, which speaks great terror to the wicked, an comfort to believers. Let each take his portion from it: let sinner read it and tremble; and let saints read it and triumph. The anger of the Lord is contrasted with his goodness to his people. Perhaps the are obscure and little regarded in the world, but the Lord knows them The Scripture character of Jehovah agrees not with the views of prou reasoners. The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is slow to wrat and ready to forgive, but he will by no means acquit the wicked; an there is tribulation and anguish for every soul that doeth evil: but who duly regards the power of his wrath?
Original Hebrew יהוה3068 ארך750 אפים639 וגדול1419 כח1419 ונקה5352 לא3808 ינקה5352 יהוה3068 בסופה5492 ובשׂערה8183 דרכו1870 וענן6051 אבק80 רגליו׃7272
