Nahum 3
English Standard Version
Woe to Nineveh
3 Woe to (A)the bloody city,
all full of lies and plunder—
(B)no end to the prey!
2 The crack of the whip, and (C)rumble of the wheel,
(D)galloping horse and (E)bounding chariot!
3 Horsemen charging,
flashing sword and (F)glittering spear,
(G)hosts of slain,
heaps of corpses,
dead bodies without end—
they stumble over the bodies!
4 And all for the countless whorings of the (H)prostitute,
(I)graceful and of deadly charms,
who betrays nations with her whorings,
and peoples with her charms.
5 (J)Behold, I am against you,
declares the Lord of hosts,
and (K)will lift up your skirts over your face;
and I will make nations look at (L)your nakedness
and kingdoms at your shame.
6 I will throw filth at you
and (M)treat you with contempt
and make you (N)a spectacle.
7 And all who look at you (O)will shrink from you and say,
“Wasted is (P)Nineveh; (Q)who will grieve for her?”
(R)Where shall I seek comforters for you?
8 (S)Are you better than (T)Thebes[a]
that sat (U)by the Nile,
with water around her,
her rampart a sea,
and water her wall?
9 (V)Cush was her strength;
Egypt too, and that without limit;
(W)Put and the (X)Libyans were her[b] helpers.
10 (Y)Yet she became an exile;
she went into captivity;
(Z)her infants were dashed in pieces
at the head of every street;
for her honored men (AA)lots were cast,
(AB)and all her great men were bound in chains.
11 (AC)You also will be drunken;
you will go into hiding;
(AD)you will seek a refuge from the enemy.
12 All your fortresses are (AE)like fig trees
with first-ripe figs—
if shaken they fall
into the mouth of the eater.
13 Behold, your troops
(AF)are women in your midst.
The gates of your land
are wide open to your enemies;
fire has devoured your bars.
14 (AG)Draw water for the siege;
(AH)strengthen your forts;
go into the clay;
tread the mortar;
take hold of the brick mold!
15 There will the fire devour you;
the sword will cut you off.
It will (AI)devour you (AJ)like the locust.
Multiply yourselves (AK)like the locust;
multiply (AL)like the grasshopper!
16 You increased (AM)your merchants
more than the stars of the heavens.
(AN)The locust spreads its wings and flies away.
17 Your (AO)princes are (AP)like grasshoppers,
(AQ)your scribes[c] like clouds of locusts
settling on the fences
in a day of cold—
when the sun rises, they fly away;
no one knows where they are.
18 Your shepherds (AR)are asleep,
O king of Assyria;
(AS)your nobles slumber.
Your people (AT)are scattered on the mountains
with none to gather them.
19 There is no easing your hurt;
(AU)your wound is grievous.
All who hear the news about you
(AV)clap their hands over you.
For (AW)upon whom has not come
your unceasing evil?
Footnotes
- Nahum 3:8 Hebrew No-amon
- Nahum 3:9 Hebrew your
- Nahum 3:17 Or marshals
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?
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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.
