Nahum 1:5 - Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible

The mountains; the more known mountains of that country were mentioned Nahum 1:4, now the prophet doth extend his speech to all mountains, how great soever, and how fast soever their foundations are laid. Quake; tremble at his rebuke; not only are shaken by earthquakes from natural causes, disposed by God's power and wisdom, but are shaken and tremble under the effects of his extraordinary presence, Judges 5:4 Job 9:5 Psalms 29:6 Jeremiah 10:10. At him; by his power, or at his displeasure, or indeed at his presence, Psalms 68:8, and so the Chaldee paraphrast. The hills; the lesser hills, distinguished from mountains, or else it is a confirming ingemination of what he had said. Melt: God's rebuke is as fire; mountains and hills, like wax, melt down before it, Psalms 114:6-8. The earth, which seems to be secure against the fury of the fire, yet proves combustible under the fire of God's wrath. Is burnt; or else, is taken away, withdraws itself, lifts up itself, as sometimes in earthquakes; or, as the Gallic version, mounteth up in fire; the Hebrew imports all these. The world; the habitable world. All that dwell therein; whether they be far off or near to Israel; both men, and all the rest of the creatures, whose abode is on earth, are wonderfully shaken, affrighted, and overwhelmed at the tokens of God's rebuke.