Nahum 3
Christian Standard Bible
Nineveh’s Downfall
3 Woe to the city of blood,(A)
totally deceitful,
full of plunder,
never without prey.(B)
2 The crack of the whip
and rumble of the wheel,
galloping horse
and jolting chariot!(C)
3 Charging horseman,
flashing sword,
shining spear;
heaps of slain,
mounds of corpses,(D)
dead bodies without end(E)—
they stumble over their dead.
4 Because of the continual prostitution of the prostitute,
the attractive mistress of sorcery,
who treats nations and clans like merchandise
by her prostitution and sorcery,(F)
5 I am against you.(G)
This is the declaration of the Lord of Armies.
I will lift your skirts over your face
and display your nakedness to nations,
your shame to kingdoms.(H)
6 I will throw filth on you
and treat you with contempt;(I)
I will make a spectacle of you.
7 Then all who see you will recoil from you, saying,(J)
“Nineveh is devastated;
who will show sympathy to her?”
Where can I find anyone to comfort you?
8 Are you better than Thebes[a](K)
that sat along the Nile
with water surrounding her,
whose rampart was the sea,
the river[b][c] her wall?
9 Cush and Egypt were her endless source of strength;
Put and Libya were among her[d] allies.
10 Yet she became an exile;
she went into captivity.
Her children were also dashed to pieces(L)
at the head of every street.
They cast lots for her dignitaries,(M)
and all her nobles were bound in chains.
11 You[e] also will become drunk;
you will hide.[f]
You also will seek refuge from the enemy.
12 All your fortresses are fig trees
with figs that ripened first;
when shaken, they fall—
right into the mouth of the eater!
13 Look, your troops are like women among you;
your land’s city gates
are wide open to your enemies.
Fire will devour the bars of your gates.
14 Draw water for the siege;
strengthen your fortresses.
Step into the clay and tread the mortar;
take hold of the brick-mold!
15 The fire will devour you there;
the sword will cut you down.
It will devour you like the young locust.(N)
Multiply yourselves like the young locust;
multiply like the swarming locust!
16 You have made your merchants(O)
more numerous than the stars of the sky.
The young locust strips[g] the land
and flies away.
17 Your court officials are like the swarming locust,
and your scribes like clouds of locusts,
which settle on the walls on a cold day;
when the sun rises, they take off,
and no one knows where they are.
18 King of Assyria, your shepherds slumber;(P)
your officers sleep.
Your people are scattered across the mountains(Q)
with no one to gather them together.(R)
19 There is no remedy for your injury;
your wound is severe.(S)
All who hear the news about you
will clap their hands because of you,(T)
for who has not experienced
your constant cruelty?
Nahum 3
New American Standard Bible
Nineveh’s Complete Ruin
3 (A)Woe to the bloody city, completely full of lies and pillage;
Her prey does not leave.
2 The (B)sound of the whip,
The sound of the roar of the wheel,
Galloping horses
And [a]bounding chariots!
3 Horsemen charging,
Swords flashing, (C)spears gleaming,
(D)Many killed, a mass of corpses,
And there is (E)no end to the dead bodies—
They stumble over [b]the dead bodies!
4 All because of the (F)many sexual acts of the prostitute,
The charming one, the (G)mistress of sorceries,
Who (H)sells nations by her sexual acts,
And families by her sorceries.
5 “Behold, (I)I am against you,” declares the Lord of armies;
“And I will [c](J)lift up your skirts over your face,
And (K)show the nations your nakedness,
And the kingdoms your shame.
6 I will (L)throw filth on you
And (M)declare you worthless,
And set you up as a (N)spectacle.
7 And it will come about that all who see you
Will [d]shrink from you and say,
‘Nineveh is devastated!
(O)Who will have sympathy for her?’
Where shall I seek comforters for you?”
8 Are you better than [e](P)No-amon,
Which was situated by the (Q)canals of the Nile,
With water surrounding her,
Whose rampart was [f]the sea,
Whose wall consisted of [g]the sea?
9 (R)Ethiopia was her might,
Egypt too, without limits.
(S)Put and (T)Lubim were among [h]her helpers.
10 Yet she (U)became an exile,
She went into captivity;
Also her (V)small children were smashed to pieces
(W)At the head of every street;
They (X)cast lots for her honorable men,
And all her great men were bound with shackles.
11 You too will become (Y)drunk,
You will be (Z)hidden.
You too will search for a refuge from the enemy.
12 All your fortifications are (AA)fig trees with [i](AB)ripe fruit—
When shaken, they fall into the eater’s mouth.
13 Behold, your people are (AC)women in your midst!
The gates of your land are (AD)opened wide to your enemies;
Fire consumes your gate bars.
14 (AE)Draw for yourself water for a siege!
(AF)Strengthen your fortifications!
Go into the clay and tread the mortar!
Take hold of the brick mold!
15 There (AG)fire will consume you,
The sword will cut you down;
It will (AH)consume you as the creeping locust consumes a crop.
Multiply yourself like the creeping locust,
Multiply yourself like the migratory locust.
16 You have made your (AI)traders more numerous than the stars of heaven—
The creeping locust sheds its skin and flies away.
17 Your (AJ)courtiers are like the migratory locust.
Your (AK)officials are like a swarm of locusts
Settling in the stone shelters on a cold day.
The sun rises and they flee,
And the place where they are is not known.
18 Your shepherds are (AL)sleeping, O (AM)king of Assyria;
Your (AN)officers are lying down.
Your people are (AO)scattered on the mountains
And there is no one to gather them.
19 There is (AP)no relief for your collapse,
Your (AQ)wound is incurable.
All who hear [j]about you
Will (AR)clap their hands over you,
For upon whom has your evil not come continually?
Footnotes
- Nahum 3:2 Lit leaping
- Nahum 3:3 Lit their
- Nahum 3:5 Lit uncover your private parts
- Nahum 3:7 Lit flee
- Nahum 3:8 I.e., the city of Amon: Thebes
- Nahum 3:8 I.e., the Nile
- Nahum 3:8 I.e., the Nile
- Nahum 3:9 Lit your
- Nahum 3:12 Lit first fruits
- Nahum 3:19 Lit your report
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