Nimrod only gets three mentions in the Bible.

Genesis 10:8 “ Cush became the father of Nimrod; he was the first on earth to be a mighty man. 9 He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the LORD.” 10 The beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, and Accad, all of them in the land of Shinar. 11 From that land he went into Assyria, and built Nin′eveh, Reho′both-Ir, Calah, and 12 Resen between Nin′eveh and Calah; that is the great city.”

1 Chronicles 1:10 Cush was the father of Nimrod; he began to be a mighty one in the earth.

Micah 5:5 And this shall be peace, when the Assyrian comes into our land and treads upon our soil, that we will raise against him seven shepherds and eight princes of men; 6 they shall rule the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod with the drawn sword; and they shall deliver us from the Assyrian when he comes into our land and treads within our border.

So, what can we make of these?

Well, we can say that Nimrod must have been a person of great reputation and a great and athletic hunter. So great, that a proverb was constructed in his honour. He seems to have first lived in the lower Tigris Euphrates valley and founded some of the original cities of the Sumerian and Akkadian Empires, then moved north-east along the Tigris river to settle the earliest cities of the Assyrian Empire. Micah 5 seems to suggest that the ‘land of Nimrod’ was an alternative name for the Assyrian Empire.

So, apparently, Nimrod was the founder of what was later to become the Babylonian and Assyrian Empires.

Some have assumed, that since Babylon has a Bible history of representing those opposed to God (Genesis 11, Revelation 14, 16,17,18), Nimrod himself must have been the original opponent of God. They have suggested that ‘a mighty hunter before the Lord’ actually means ‘a mighty hunter in the face of or opposed to the Lord’.

Is this assumption justified?

Bible Hub has 27 translations and only two of the 27 suggest ‘against God’, neither of which are reputable translations. International Standard Version He became a fearless hunter in defiance of the LORD. That is why it is said, “Like Nimrod, a fearless hunter in defiance of the LORD.” A Faithful Version He was a mighty hunter against the LORD. Therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod–the mighty hunter against the LORD.”

The more reputable translations (e.g. RSV, NET etc) suggest no such thing.

Revised Standard Version

9 He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; therefore, it is said, “Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the LORD.”

New English Translation 9 He was a mighty hunter[ag] before the LORD.[ah] (That is why it is said, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the LORD.”)

Some translations go as far as to add an explanation to the phrase. New Living Translation Since he was the greatest hunter in the world, his name became proverbial. People would say, “This man is like Nimrod, the greatest hunter in the world.” Good News Translation By the LORD’s help he was a great hunter, and that is why people say, “May the LORD make you as great a hunter as Nimrod!” GOD’S WORD® Translation He was a mighty hunter whom the LORD blessed. That’s why people used to say, “[He’s] like Nimrod, a mighty hunter whom the LORD blessed.”

So, we are left with either accepting two versions and rejecting the other 25 or accepting the 25.

What does the Septuagint say? This was how the Hebrew Bible was translated into Greek in the years BC. Brenton Septuagint Translation He was a giant hunter before the Lord God; therefore they say, As Nebrod the giant hunter before the Lord.

Or the Jewish Tanakh, JPS Tanakh 1917 He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; wherefore it is said: ‘Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the LORD.’

So, it seems, the Jewish Tanakh, the Septuagint and the Christian Bible have no suggestion of ‘before the Lord’ meaning ‘against the Lord”.

So, what does ‘before the Lord’ mean in other passages? ‘Before the Lord’ is a very common saying, with some five or six hundred occurrences in the KJV Bible. And of the five or six hundred times it occurs, only one time it may (or may not) mean ‘against the Lord’.

Here are just a few typical examples: Gen 27:7 Bring me venison, and make me savoury meat, that I may eat, and bless thee before the LORD before my death Exo 6:12 And Moses spoke before the LORD, saying, Behold, the children of Israel have not hearkened unto me; how then shall Pharaoh hear me, who am of uncircumcised lips? Exo 16:9 And Moses spoke unto Aaron, say unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, Come near before the LORD: for he hath heard your murmurings. Exo 23:17 Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the LORD God. Exo 27:21 In the tabernacle of the congregation without the vail, which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall order it from evening to morning before the LORD: Exo 29:23 And one loaf of bread, and one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer out of the basket of the unleavened bread that is before the LORD:

…and 600 other examples.

Only one can possibly mean ‘against’ the Lord.

Gen 13:13 “13 Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners before/against the LORD.”

Why should we pick one doubtful example over 600 clear examples? Why, in face of all this evidence do we pick ‘against the Lord’ to apply to poor old Nimrod?

Because we associate Nimrod with Babel and the tower and Revelation. But Nimrod was dead and gone well before the tower was conceived. The last mention of Nimrod associated him with Assyria, not Babylon.

But Micah 5 “6 they shall rule the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod with the drawn sword;[e] and they[f] shall deliver us from the Assyrian when he comes into our land…”

So, Nimrod needs a rethink. We are given absolutely no information about Nimrod’s relationship with God; so let’s not try to make one up.