Bede

From him came the proverb: Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord. It turned into a proverb because his deeds were unprecedented in his time; and the phrase before the Lord was added to magnify the crime, since it was evidently quite reckless and arrogant for a man on earth to dare live in such a way before the Lord, who looks down from heaven upon the children of men; whence it is clear that many at that time avoided doing such things due to fear of divine oversight, although another version has it that Nimrod was a giant …

Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron) ↗