Nineveh’s Complete Ruin

(A)Woe to the bloody city, completely full of lies and pillage;
Her prey does not leave.
The (B)sound of the whip,
The sound of the roar of the wheel,
Galloping horses
And [a]bounding chariots!
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!
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.
“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.
I will (L)throw filth on you
And (M)declare you worthless,
And set you up as a (N)spectacle.
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?”

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?
(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

  1. Nahum 3:2 Lit leaping
  2. Nahum 3:3 Lit their
  3. Nahum 3:5 Lit uncover your private parts
  4. Nahum 3:7 Lit flee
  5. Nahum 3:8 I.e., the city of Amon: Thebes
  6. Nahum 3:8 I.e., the Nile
  7. Nahum 3:8 I.e., the Nile
  8. Nahum 3:9 Lit your
  9. Nahum 3:12 Lit first fruits
  10. Nahum 3:19 Lit your report

Woe to the bloody city! it is all full of lies and rapine; the prey departeth not. The noise of the whip, and the noise of the rattling of wheels, and prancing horses, and bounding chariots, the horseman [a]mounting, and the flashing sword, and the glittering spear, and a multitude of slain, and a great heap of corpses, and there is no end of the bodies; they stumble upon their bodies;— because of the multitude of the whoredoms of the well-favored harlot, the mistress of witchcrafts, that selleth nations through her whoredoms, and families through her witchcrafts. Behold, I am against thee, saith Jehovah of hosts, and I will uncover thy skirts [b]upon thy face; and I will show the nations thy nakedness, and the kingdoms thy shame. And I will cast abominable filth upon thee, and make thee vile, and will set thee as a gazing-stock. And it shall come to pass, that all they that look upon thee shall flee from thee, and say, Nineveh is laid waste: who will bemoan her? whence shall I seek comforters for thee?

Art thou better than No-amon, that was situate among the [c]rivers, that had the waters round about her; whose rampart was [d]the sea, and her wall was of the sea? Ethiopia and Egypt were her strength, and it was infinite; Put and Lubim were thy helpers. 10 Yet was she carried away, she went into captivity; her young children also were dashed in pieces at the head of all the streets; and they cast lots for her honorable men, and all her great men were bound in chains. 11 Thou also shalt be drunken; thou shalt be hid; thou also shalt seek [e]a stronghold because of the enemy. 12 All thy fortresses shall be like fig-trees with the first-ripe figs: if they be shaken, they fall into the mouth of the eater. 13 Behold, thy people in the midst of thee are women; the gates of thy land are set wide open unto thine enemies: the fire hath devoured thy bars. 14 Draw thee water for the siege; strengthen thy fortresses; go into the clay, and tread the mortar; [f]make strong the brickkiln. 15 There shall the fire devour thee; the sword shall cut thee off; it shall devour thee like the canker-worm: make thyself many as the canker-worm; make thyself many as the locust. 16 Thou hast multiplied thy merchants above the stars of heaven: the canker-worm [g]ravageth, and fleeth away. 17 Thy princes are as the locusts, and thy [h]marshals as the swarms of grasshoppers, which encamp in the [i]hedges in the cold day, but when the sun ariseth they flee away, and their place is not known where they are. 18 Thy shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria; thy nobles are at rest; thy people are scattered upon the mountains, and there is none to gather them. 19 There is no assuaging of thy hurt; thy wound is grievous: all that hear the report of thee clap their hands over thee; for upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually?

Footnotes

  1. Nahum 3:3 Or, charging
  2. Nahum 3:5 Or, before
  3. Nahum 3:8 Or, canals. See Ex. 7:19.
  4. Nahum 3:8 That is, the Nile
  5. Nahum 3:11 Or, a defence against
  6. Nahum 3:14 Or, lay hold of the brick-mould
  7. Nahum 3:16 Or, spreadeth himself
  8. Nahum 3:17 Or, scribes
  9. Nahum 3:17 Or, walls