Nahum 3
Legacy Standard Bible
Woe to Nineveh
3 (A)Woe to the city of [a]bloodshed, completely full of deception and pillage;
Her prey never departs.
2 The (B)sound of the whip,
And the sound of the rumbling of the wheel,
Galloping horses,
And [b]bounding chariots!
3 Horsemen charging,
And swords flaming, and (C)spears flashing,
(D)Many slain, a mass of corpses,
And (E)there is no end to dead bodies—
They stumble over [c]the dead bodies!
4 All because of the (F)many harlotries of the harlot,
The charming one, the (G)mistress of sorceries,
Who (H)sells nations by her harlotries
And families by her sorceries.
5 “Behold, (I)I am against you,” declares Yahweh of hosts;
“And I will (J)uncover your skirts over your face
And (K)show to the nations your nakedness
And to the kingdoms your disgrace.
6 I will (L)throw detestable filth on you
And (M)display you as a wicked fool
And set you up as a (N)spectacle.
7 And it will be that all who see you
Will flee from you and say,
‘Nineveh is devastated!
(O)Who will console her?’
Where will I seek comforters for you?”
8 Are you better than [d](P)No-amon,
Which sits along the (Q)waters of the Nile,
With water surrounding her,
Whose rampart was [e]the sea,
Whose wall consisted of [f]the sea?
9 [g](R)Ethiopia was her might,
And Egypt too, without end.
(S)Put and (T)Lubim were among [h]her helpers.
10 Yet she (U)became an exile;
She went into captivity;
Also her (V)infants were dashed 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 fetters.
11 You too will become (Y)drunk;
You will be (Z)hidden.
You too will search for a strong defense 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 the siege!
(AF)Strengthen your fortifications!
Go into the clay and tread the mortar!
[j]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 locust does.
Multiply yourself like the creeping locust,
Multiply yourself like the swarming locust.
16 You have increased your (AI)traders more than the stars of heaven—
The creeping locust [k]strips and flies away.
17 Your [l](AJ)guardsmen are like the swarming locust.
Your (AK)marshals are like a locust-swarm
Encamping in the stone walls 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)mighty ones are [m]lying down.
Your people are (AO)scattered on the mountains,
And there is no one to regather them.
19 There is (AP)no relief for your breakdown,
Your (AQ)wound is incurable.
All who hear the report about you
Will (AR)clap their hands over you,
For on whom has not your evil passed continually?
Footnotes
- Nahum 3:1 Or blood, cf. Ezek 22:2; 24:6
- Nahum 3:2 Lit skipping
- Nahum 3:3 Lit their
- Nahum 3:8 The city of Amon: Thebes
- Nahum 3:8 The Nile
- Nahum 3:8 The Nile
- Nahum 3:9 Or Cush, cf. Gen 10:6
- Nahum 3:9 Lit your
- Nahum 3:12 Lit first fruits
- Nahum 3:14 Or strengthen, cf. 3:14a
- Nahum 3:16 Strips vegetation; or molts
- Nahum 3:17 Or officials
- Nahum 3:18 Lit dwelling
Nahum 3
Holman 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,
dead bodies without end(D)—
they stumble over their dead.
4 Because of the continual prostitution of the prostitute,
the attractive mistress of sorcery,
who betrays nations by her prostitution
and clans by her witchcraft,(E)
5 I am against you.(F)
This is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts.
I will lift your skirts over your face
and display your nakedness to nations,
your shame to kingdoms.(G)
6 I will throw filth on you
and treat you with contempt;
I will make a spectacle of you.
7 Then all who see you will recoil from you, saying,
“Nineveh is devastated;
who will show sympathy to her?”
Where can I find anyone to comfort you?
8 Are you better than Thebes[a](H)
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(I)
at the head of every street.
They cast lots for her dignitaries,(J)
and all her nobles were bound in chains.
11 You[e] also will become drunk;
you will hide yourself.[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;
the gates of your land
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.(K)
Multiply yourselves like the young locust,
multiply like the swarming locust!
16 You have made your merchants(L)
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;
your officers sleep.
Your people are scattered across the mountains
with no one to gather them together.(M)
19 There is no remedy for your injury;
your wound is severe.(N)
All who hear the news about you
will clap their hands because of you,
for who has not experienced
your constant cruelty?
Footnotes
- Nahum 3:8 Or No-amon
- Nahum 3:8 LXX, Syr, Vg read water
- Nahum 3:8 Lit sea from sea
- Nahum 3:9 Lit your
- Nahum 3:11 = Nineveh
- Nahum 3:11 Or will be overcome
- Nahum 3:16 Or sheds [its skin]
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