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
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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