Nahum 3
Lexham English Bible
The Doom of the Wicked City is Certain
3 Woe to the city that has shed much blood![a]
She is a deceiver,[b]
She is filled with plunder,
She has hoarded her spoils of war.[c]
2 The crack of the whip!
The rumbling of the chariot wheel!
The galloping of the horse!
The racing of the chariot!
3 Chariots charge!
Swords flash!
Spears glitter!
Many corpses are piled high![d]
There is no end to the slain!
They stumble over their dead!
Harlot Nineveh Will Get What She Deserves
4 “Because of the many idolatries of the prostitute,
the beautiful charm of a mistress of witchcraft,
she who enslaves nations by her harlotries,
and peoples by her sorceries,
5 “Look! I am against you!” declares[e]Yahweh.
“I will strip up your skirts over your face;
I will let nations look at your nakedness and your shame.
6 “I will throw filth upon you,
I will treat you with contempt,
I will make you a spectacle.
7 “And it will be that everyone who sees you will flee from you,
And they[f] will say, ‘Nineveh is destroyed!’
Who will mourn for her?
From whence shall I seek comforters for you?”
Nineveh Will Suffer the Same Fate She Inflicted on Thebes
8 Are you better than Thebes?[g]
She who sits at the Nile, surrounded by her waters,
her rampart was the sea and water was her wall.
9 Cush was her strength, Egypt without end;
Put and Libya were among your allies.[h]
10 Yet she went into captivity as an exile;
her children were dashed to pieces at the head of the streets;
they cast lots for all of her nobles;
all of her dignitaries were bound with chains.
11 You also will behave like a drunkard;
You also will hide yourself;
You also will seek refuge from the enemy.
Nineveh’s Defenses Will Fail
12 All of your fortifications are like fig trees with ripe firstfruits—
if they are shaken, they will fall into the mouth of the eater.
13 Look! Your troops are like women in your midst.
The gates of your land are wide open to your enemies;
fire will consume the bars of your gates.
14 Draw water for a siege!
Strengthen your fortifications!
Go to the mud pit!
Trample the clay!
Grasp the brick mold!
15 There fire will consume you;
the sword will cut you off.
It will consume you like the locust.
Nineveh’s Defenders Will Flee
Multiply yourself like the locust!
Multiply yourself like the grasshopper!
16 You have increased your merchants more than the stars of heaven;
like the locust they will shed their skin and fly away.
17 Your officials are like locusts;
your commanders are like a swarm of locusts.
They encamp on the walls on a cold day;
when the sun rises, they fly away—
no one knows where they have gone.
Nineveh Will Come to an End
18 Your shepherds are sleeping, O king of Assyria!
Your nobles slumber.
Your people are scattered on the mountains;
no one can gather them.
19 There is no healing for your wound;
your injury is fatal.
All who hear the report of you will clap their hands for joy concerning you,
For who has not suffered at the hands of your endless cruelty?[i]
Footnotes
- Nahum 3:1 Literally “bloods”
- Nahum 3:1 Literally “All of her is deception”
- Nahum 3:1 Literally “Prey does not depart”
- Nahum 3:3 Literally “Many dead, piles of corpses”
- Nahum 3:5 Literally “a declaration of”
- Nahum 3:7 Hebrew “he”
- Nahum 3:8 Hebrew “No-Amon”
- Nahum 3:9 Literally “your helpers”
- Nahum 3:19 Literally “For over whom has your endless cruelty not passed?”
Nahum 3
Common English Bible
3 Doom, city of bloodshed—all deceit,
full of plunder: prey cannot get away.
2 Cracking whip and rumbling wheel,
galloping horse and careening chariot!
3 Charging cavalry, flashing sword, and glittering spear;
countless slain, masses of corpses,
endless dead bodies—they stumble over their dead bodies!
4 Because of the many whorings of the whore,
the lovely graces of the mistress of sorceries,
the one who sells nations by means of her whorings
and peoples by means of her sorceries:
5 Look! I am against you, proclaims
the Lord of heavenly forces.
I will lift your skirts over your face;
I will show nations your nakedness
and kingdoms your dishonor.
6 I will throw disgusting things at you;
I will treat you with contempt and make you a spectacle.
7 Then all who look at you will recoil from you and say,
“Nineveh has been devastated!
Who will lament for her?”
Where could I possibly seek comforters for you?
8 Are you better than Thebes,
situated by the Nile, waters surrounding her,
whose fortress is sea and whose city wall is waters?
9 Cush[a] and Egypt constituted her strength, without limit;
Put and the Libyans were her[b] help.
10 Yet even she was destined for exile;
she went into captivity.
Indeed, her infants were dashed to pieces at the head of every street.
They cast lots for her officials;
all of her powerful citizens were bound in chains.
11 Yes, even you will become drunk;
you will have to hide!
Even you will have to seek refuge from the enemy!
12 All your fortifications are fig trees with ripe fruit;
when the trees are shaken, the fruit falls into the mouth of the eater.
13 Look, your people are women in your midst.
The gates of your land have been flung wide open to your enemies.
Fire consumes the bars of your gates.
14 Draw water for yourself to prepare for siege!
Strengthen your fortifications!
Tread the clay, trample the mortar, grab the brick mold!
15 Fire will consume you there;
the sword will cut you down;
like the locust it will consume you.
Multiply like the locust; multiply like the grasshopper!
16 You boasted more traders than the heavens have stars.
The locust sheds its skin and flies away.
17 Your guards are like grasshoppers,
your marshals like swarms of cicadas
that encamp on stone fences on a chilly day;
when the sun rises, they take flight;
no one knows where they have gone.
18 Your shepherds have fallen asleep, king of Assyria!
Your officials are lying down.
Your people are scattered across the mountains;
there is no one to gather them.
19 There is no remedy for your injury;
your wound is grievous.
All who hear the news about you clap their hands over you.
Who has not suffered from your continual cruelty?
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