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?