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Nahum 3
New International Version
Nahum 3
New International Version
Woe to Nineveh
3 Woe to the city of blood,(A)
full of lies,(B)
full of plunder,
never without victims!
2 The crack of whips,
the clatter of wheels,
galloping horses
and jolting chariots!
3 Charging cavalry,
flashing swords
and glittering spears!
Many casualties,
piles of dead,
bodies without number,
people stumbling over the corpses(C)—
4 all because of the wanton lust of a prostitute,
alluring, the mistress of sorceries,(D)
who enslaved nations by her prostitution(E)
and peoples by her witchcraft.
5 “I am against(F) you,” declares the Lord Almighty.
“I will lift your skirts(G) over your face.
I will show the nations your nakedness(H)
and the kingdoms your shame.
6 I will pelt you with filth,(I)
I will treat you with contempt(J)
and make you a spectacle.(K)
7 All who see you will flee(L) from you and say,
‘Nineveh(M) is in ruins(N)—who will mourn for her?’(O)
Where can I find anyone to comfort(P) you?”
8 Are you better than(Q) Thebes,(R)
situated on the Nile,(S)
with water around her?
The river was her defense,
the waters her wall.
9 Cush[a](T) and Egypt were her boundless strength;
Put(U) and Libya(V) were among her allies.
10 Yet she was taken captive(W)
and went into exile.
Her infants were dashed(X) to pieces
at every street corner.
Lots(Y) were cast for her nobles,
and all her great men were put in chains.(Z)
11 You too will become drunk;(AA)
you will go into hiding(AB)
and seek refuge from the enemy.
12 All your fortresses are like fig trees
with their first ripe fruit;(AC)
when they are shaken,
the figs(AD) fall into the mouth of the eater.
13 Look at your troops—
they are all weaklings.(AE)
The gates(AF) of your land
are wide open to your enemies;
fire has consumed the bars of your gates.(AG)
14 Draw water for the siege,(AH)
strengthen your defenses!(AI)
Work the clay,
tread the mortar,
repair the brickwork!
15 There the fire(AJ) will consume you;
the sword(AK) will cut you down—
they will devour you like a swarm of locusts.
Multiply like grasshoppers,
multiply like locusts!(AL)
16 You have increased the number of your merchants
till they are more numerous than the stars in the sky,
but like locusts(AM) they strip the land
and then fly away.
17 Your guards are like locusts,(AN)
your officials like swarms of locusts
that settle in the walls on a cold day—
but when the sun appears they fly away,
and no one knows where.
18 King of Assyria, your shepherds[b] slumber;(AO)
your nobles lie down to rest.(AP)
Your people are scattered(AQ) on the mountains
with no one to gather them.
19 Nothing can heal you;(AR)
your wound is fatal.
All who hear the news about you
clap their hands(AS) at your fall,
for who has not felt
your endless cruelty?(AT)
Footnotes
- Nahum 3:9 That is, the upper Nile region
- Nahum 3:18 That is, rulers
Nahum 3
The Message
Nahum 3
The Message
Let the Nations Get Their Fill of the Ugly Truth
3 1-4 Doom to Murder City—
full of lies, bursting with loot, addicted to violence!
Horns blaring, wheels clattering,
horses rearing, chariots lurching,
Horsemen galloping,
brandishing swords and spears,
Dead bodies rotting in the street,
corpses stacked like cordwood,
Bodies in every gutter and alley,
clogging every intersection!
And whores! Whores without end!
Whore City,
Fatally seductive, you’re the Witch of Seduction,
luring nations to their ruin with your evil spells.
* * *
5-7 “I’m your enemy, Whore Nineveh—
I, God-of-the-Angel-Armies!
I’ll strip you of your seductive silk robes
and expose you on the world stage.
I’ll let the nations get their fill of the ugly truth
of who you really are and have been all along.
I’ll pelt you with dog dung
and place you on a pedestal: ‘Slut on Exhibit.’
Everyone who sees you will gag and say,
‘Nineveh’s a pigsty:
What on earth did we ever see in her?
Who would give her a second look? Ugh!’”
Past the Point of No Return
8-13 Do you think you’re superior to Egyptian Thebes,
proudly invincible on the River Nile,
Protected by the great River,
walled in by the River, secure?
Ethiopia stood guard to the south,
Egypt to the north.
Put and Libya, strong friends,
were ready to step in and help.
But you know what happened to her:
The whole city was marched off to a refugee camp,
Her babies smashed to death
in public view on the streets,
Her prize leaders auctioned off,
her celebrities put in chain gangs.
Expect the same treatment, Nineveh.
You’ll soon be staggering like a bunch of drunks,
Wondering what hit you,
looking for a place to sleep it off.
All your forts are like peach trees,
the lush peaches ripe, ready for the picking.
One shake of the tree and they fall
straight into hungry mouths.
Face it: Your warriors are wimps.
You’re sitting ducks.
Your borders are gaping doors, inviting
your enemies in. And who’s to stop them?
* * *
14-15 Store up water for the siege.
Shore up your defenses.
Get down to basics: Work the clay
and make bricks.
Sorry. Too late.
Enemy fire will burn you up.
Swords will cut you to pieces.
You’ll be chewed up as if by locusts.
* * *
15-17 Yes, as if by locusts—a fitting fate,
for you yourselves are a locust plague.
You’ve multiplied shops and shopkeepers—
more buyers and sellers than stars in the sky!
A plague of locusts, cleaning out the neighborhood
and then flying off.
Your bureaucrats are locusts,
your brokers and bankers are locusts.
Early on, they’re all at your service,
full of smiles and promises,
But later when you return with questions or complaints,
you’ll find they’ve flown off and are nowhere to be found.
18-19 King of Assyria! Your shepherd-leaders,
in charge of caring for your people,
Are busy doing everything else but.
They’re not doing their job,
And your people are scattered and lost.
There’s no one to look after them.
You’re past the point of no return.
Your wound is fatal.
When the story of your fate gets out,
the whole world will applaud and cry “Encore!”
Your cruel evil has seeped
into every nook and cranny of the world.
Everyone has felt it and suffered.
Nahum 3
New Living Translation
Nahum 3
New Living Translation
The Lord’s Judgment against Nineveh
3 What sorrow awaits Nineveh,
the city of murder and lies!
She is crammed with wealth
and is never without victims.
2 Hear the crack of whips,
the rumble of wheels!
Horses’ hooves pound,
and chariots clatter wildly.
3 See the flashing swords and glittering spears
as the charioteers charge past!
There are countless casualties,
heaps of bodies—
so many bodies that
people stumble over them.
4 All this because Nineveh,
the beautiful and faithless city,
mistress of deadly charms,
enticed the nations with her beauty.
She taught them all her magic,
enchanting people everywhere.
5 “I am your enemy!”
says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
“And now I will lift your skirts
and show all the earth your nakedness and shame.
6 I will cover you with filth
and show the world how vile you really are.
7 All who see you will shrink back and say,
‘Nineveh lies in ruins.
Where are the mourners?’
Does anyone regret your destruction?”
8 Are you any better than the city of Thebes,[a]
situated on the Nile River, surrounded by water?
She was protected by the river on all sides,
walled in by water.
9 Ethiopia[b] and the land of Egypt
gave unlimited assistance.
The nations of Put and Libya
were among her allies.
10 Yet Thebes fell,
and her people were led away as captives.
Her babies were dashed to death
against the stones of the streets.
Soldiers threw dice[c] to get Egyptian officers as servants.
All their leaders were bound in chains.
11 And you, Nineveh, will also stagger like a drunkard.
You will hide for fear of the attacking enemy.
12 All your fortresses will fall.
They will be devoured like the ripe figs
that fall into the mouths
of those who shake the trees.
13 Your troops will be as weak
and helpless as women.
The gates of your land will be opened wide to the enemy
and set on fire and burned.
14 Get ready for the siege!
Store up water!
Strengthen the defenses!
Go into the pits to trample clay,
and pack it into molds,
making bricks to repair the walls.
15 But the fire will devour you;
the sword will cut you down.
The enemy will consume you like locusts,
devouring everything they see.
There will be no escape,
even if you multiply like swarming locusts.
16 Your merchants have multiplied
until they outnumber the stars.
But like a swarm of locusts,
they strip the land and fly away.
17 Your guards[d] and officials are also like swarming locusts
that crowd together in the hedges on a cold day.
But like locusts that fly away when the sun comes up,
all of them will fly away and disappear.
18 Your shepherds are asleep, O Assyrian king;
your princes lie dead in the dust.
Your people are scattered across the mountains
with no one to gather them together.
19 There is no healing for your wound;
your injury is fatal.
All who hear of your destruction
will clap their hands for joy.
Where can anyone be found
who has not suffered from your continual cruelty?
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.