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    Consider Assyria, a cedar of Lebanon,
with fair branches and forest shade,
    and of great height,
    its top among the clouds.(A)

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Consider Assyria,(A) once a cedar in Lebanon,(B)
    with beautiful branches overshadowing the forest;
it towered on high,
    its top above the thick foliage.(C)

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33 Look, the Sovereign, the Lord of hosts,
    will lop the boughs with terrifying power;
the tallest trees will be cut down,
    and the lofty will be brought low.(A)
34 He will hack down the thickets of the forest with an ax,
    and Lebanon with its majestic trees[a] will fall.

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Footnotes

  1. 10.34 Cn Compare Gk Vg: Heb with a majestic one

33 See, the Lord, the Lord Almighty,
    will lop off(A) the boughs with great power.
The lofty trees will be felled,(B)
    the tall(C) ones will be brought low.(D)
34 He will cut down(E) the forest thickets with an ax;
    Lebanon(F) will fall before the Mighty One.(G)

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20 The tree that you saw, which grew great and strong so that its top reached to heaven and was visible to the whole earth,(A) 21 whose foliage was beautiful and its fruit abundant, and which provided food for all, under which animals of the field lived and in whose branches the birds of the air had nests— 22 it is you, O king! You have grown great and strong. Your greatness has increased and reaches to heaven, and your sovereignty to the ends of the earth.(B) 23 And whereas the king saw a holy watcher coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Cut down the tree and destroy it, but leave its stump and roots in the ground, with a band of iron and bronze, in the grass of the field, and let him be bathed with the dew of heaven, and let his lot be with the animals of the field, until seven times pass over him’(C)

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20 The tree you saw, which grew large and strong, with its top touching the sky, visible to the whole earth, 21 with beautiful leaves and abundant fruit, providing food for all, giving shelter to the wild animals, and having nesting places in its branches for the birds(A) 22 Your Majesty, you are that tree!(B) You have become great and strong; your greatness has grown until it reaches the sky, and your dominion extends to distant parts of the earth.(C)

23 “Your Majesty saw a holy one,(D) a messenger, coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Cut down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump, bound with iron and bronze, in the grass of the field, while its roots remain in the ground. Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven; let him live with the wild animals, until seven times pass by for him.’(E)

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10 [a]Upon my bed this is what I saw:
    there was a tree at the center of the earth,
    and its height was great.(A)

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Footnotes

  1. 4.10 Theodotion Syr Compare Gk: Aram adds The visions of my head

10 These are the visions I saw while lying in bed:(A) I looked, and there before me stood a tree in the middle of the land. Its height was enormous.(B)

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Israel Exalted at Last

22 Thus says the Lord God:

I myself will take a sprig
    from the lofty top of the cedar;
    I will set it out.
I will break off a tender shoot
    from the topmost of its young twigs;
I myself will transplant it
    on a high and lofty mountain.(A)

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22 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will take a shoot(A) from the very top of a cedar and plant it; I will break off a tender sprig from its topmost shoots and plant it on a high and lofty mountain.(B)

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Say: Thus says the Lord God:

A great eagle with great wings and long pinions,
    rich in plumage of many colors,
    came to the Lebanon.
He took the top of the cedar,(A)
    broke off its topmost shoot;
he carried it to a land of trade,
    set it in a city of merchants.

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Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: A great eagle(A) with powerful wings, long feathers and full plumage of varied colors came to Lebanon.(B) Taking hold of the top of a cedar, he broke off(C) its topmost shoot and carried it away to a land of merchants, where he planted it in a city of traders.

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15 And the bramble said to the trees,
    ‘If in good faith you are anointing me king over you,
        then come and take refuge in my shade,
    but if not, let fire come out of the bramble
        and devour the cedars of Lebanon.’(A)

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15 “The thornbush said to the trees, ‘If you really want to anoint me king over you, come and take refuge in my shade;(A) but if not, then let fire come out(B) of the thornbush and consume the cedars of Lebanon!’(C)

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Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen,
    for the glorious trees are ruined!
Wail, oaks of Bashan,
    for the thick forest has been felled!(A)

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Wail, you juniper, for the cedar has fallen;
    the stately trees are ruined!
Wail, oaks(A) of Bashan;
    the dense forest(B) has been cut down!(C)

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13 And he will stretch out his hand against the north
    and destroy Assyria,
and he will make Nineveh a desolation,
    a dry waste like the desert.(A)

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Assyria

13 He will stretch out his hand against the north
    and destroy Assyria,(A)
leaving Nineveh(B) utterly desolate
    and dry as the desert.(C)

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Ruin Imminent and Inevitable

Woe, city of bloodshed,
    utterly deceitful, full of plunder—
    no end to the prey!(A)
The crack of whip and rumble of wheel,
    galloping horse and bounding chariot!(B)
Horsemen charging,
    flashing sword and glittering spear,
piles of dead,
    heaps of corpses,
dead bodies without end—
    they stumble over the bodies!(C)
Because of the countless debaucheries of the prostitute,
    gracefully alluring, mistress of sorcery,
who enslaves[a] nations through her debaucheries
    and peoples through her sorcery,(D)
I am against you,
    says the Lord of hosts,
    and will lift up your skirts over your face,
and I will let nations look on your nakedness
    and kingdoms on your shame.(E)
I will throw filth at you
    and treat you with contempt
    and make you a spectacle.(F)
Then all who see you will shrink from you and say,
“Nineveh is devastated; who will bemoan her?”
    Where shall I seek comforters for you?(G)

Are you better than Thebes[b]
    that sat by the Nile,
with water around her,
    her rampart a sea,
    water her wall?(H)
Cush was her strength,
    Egypt, too, and that without limit;
    Put and the Libyans were her[c] helpers.(I)

10 Yet she became an exile;
    she went into captivity;
even her infants were dashed in pieces
    at the head of every street;
lots were cast for her nobles;
    all her dignitaries were bound in fetters.(J)
11 You also will be drunken;
    you will go into hiding;[d]
you will seek
    a refuge from the enemy.(K)
12 All your fortresses are like fig trees
    with first-ripe figs—
if shaken they fall
    into the mouth of the eater.(L)
13 Look at your troops:
    they are women in your midst.
The gates of your land
    are wide open to your foes;
    fire has devoured the bars of your gates.(M)

14 Draw water for the siege;
    strengthen your forts;
trample the clay;
    tread the mortar;
    take hold of the brick mold!
15 There the fire will devour you;
    the sword will cut you off.
    It will devour you like the locust.

Multiply yourselves like the locust;
    multiply like the grasshopper!(N)
16 You increased your merchants
    more than the stars of the heavens.
    The locust sheds its skin and flies away.
17 Your guards are like grasshoppers,
    your scribes like swarms[e] of locusts
settling on the fences
    on a cold day—
when the sun rises, they fly away;
    no one knows where they have gone.

18 Your shepherds are asleep,
    O king of Assyria;
    your nobles slumber.
Your people are scattered on the mountains
    with no one to gather them.(O)
19 There is no assuaging your hurt;
    your wound is mortal.
All who hear the news about you
    clap their hands over you.
For who has ever escaped
    your endless cruelty?(P)

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Footnotes

  1. 3.4 Heb sells
  2. 3.8 Or No-amon
  3. 3.9 Gk Syr: Heb your
  4. 3.11 Meaning of Heb uncertain
  5. 3.17 Meaning of Heb uncertain

Woe to Nineveh

Woe to the city of blood,(A)
    full of lies,(B)
full of plunder,
    never without victims!
The crack of whips,
    the clatter of wheels,
galloping horses
    and jolting chariots!
Charging cavalry,
    flashing swords
    and glittering spears!
Many casualties,
    piles of dead,
bodies without number,
    people stumbling over the corpses(C)
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.

“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.
I will pelt you with filth,(I)
    I will treat you with contempt(J)
    and make you a spectacle.(K)
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?”

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.
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)

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Footnotes

  1. Nahum 3:9 That is, the upper Nile region
  2. Nahum 3:18 That is, rulers

12 Its foliage was beautiful,
    its fruit abundant,
    and it provided food for all.
The animals of the field found shade under it,
    the birds of the air nested in its branches,
    and from it all living beings were fed.(A)

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12 Its leaves were beautiful, its fruit abundant, and on it was food for all. Under it the wild animals found shelter, and the birds lived in its branches;(A) from it every creature was fed.

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16 I made the nations quake at the sound of its fall, when I cast it down to Sheol with those who go down to the Pit, and all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that were well watered, were consoled in the world below.(A)

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16 I made the nations tremble(A) at the sound of its fall when I brought it down to the realm of the dead to be with those who go down to the pit. Then all the trees(B) of Eden,(C) the choicest and best of Lebanon, the well-watered trees, were consoled(D) in the earth below.(E)

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All the birds of the air
    made their nests in its boughs;
under its branches all the animals of the field
    gave birth to their young,
and in its shade
    all great nations lived.(A)

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All the birds of the sky
    nested in its boughs,
all the animals of the wild
    gave birth(A) under its branches;
all the great nations
    lived in its shade.(B)

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