Nahum 1-3

English Standard Version

1 ^(A)An oracle concerning ^(B)Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum of Elkosh.

God's Wrath Against Nineveh

²^(C)The Lord is a jealous and avenging God;
    the Lord is avenging and wrathful;
^(D)the Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries
    and ^(E)keeps wrath for his enemies.
³^(F)The Lord is slow to anger and ^(G)great in power,
    and ^(H)the Lord will by no means clear the guilty.
^(I)His way is in whirlwind and storm,
    and the clouds are the dust of his feet.
⁴^(J)He rebukes the sea and makes it dry;
    he dries up all the rivers;
^(K)Bashan and ^(L)Carmel wither;
    the bloom of ^(M)Lebanon withers.
⁵^(N)The mountains quake before him;
    ^(O)the hills melt;
the earth heaves before him,
    ^(P)the world and all who dwell in it.

⁶^(Q)Who can stand before his indignation?
    Who can endure the heat of his anger?
His wrath ^(R)is poured out like fire,
    and ^(S)the rocks are broken into pieces by him.
⁷^(T)The Lord is good,
    ^(U)a stronghold in the day of trouble;
^(V)he knows those who take refuge in him.
⁸    But ^(W)with an overflowing flood
he will make a complete end of the adversaries,^[a]
    and ^(X)will pursue his enemies into darkness.
⁹What ^(Y)do you plot against the Lord?
    ^(Z)He will make a complete end;
    trouble will not rise up a second time.
¹⁰For they are ^(AA)like entangled thorns,
    like drunkards as they drink;
    ^(AB)they are consumed like stubble fully dried.
¹¹From you came one
    ^(AC)who plotted evil against the Lord,
    a worthless counselor.

¹²Thus says the Lord,
“Though they are at full strength and many,
    ^(AD)they will be cut down and pass away.
^(AE)Though I have afflicted you,
    I will afflict you no more.
¹³And now ^(AF)I will break his yoke from off you
    and will burst your bonds apart.”

¹⁴The Lord has given commandment about you:
^(AG)“No more shall your name be perpetuated;
from ^(AH)the house of your gods I will cut off
the carved image and the metal image.
^(AI)I will make your grave, ^(AJ)for you are vile.”

¹⁵^[b] ^(AK)Behold, upon the mountains, ^(AL)the feet of him
    who brings good news,
    who publishes peace!
^(AM)Keep your feasts, O Judah;
    ^(AN)fulfill your vows,
^(AO)for never again shall the worthless pass through you;
    he is utterly cut off.

The Destruction of Nineveh

2 ^(AP)The scatterer has come up against you.
    ^(AQ)Man the ramparts;
    watch the road;
dress for battle;^[c]
    collect all your strength.

²For ^(AR)the Lord is restoring the majesty of Jacob
as the majesty of Israel,
for plunderers have plundered them
and ^(AS)ruined their branches.

³The shield of his mighty men is red;
    ^(AT)his soldiers are clothed in scarlet.
The chariots come with flashing metal
    on the day he musters them;
    the cypress spears are brandished.
⁴^(AU)The chariots race madly through the streets;
    they rush to and fro through the squares;
they gleam like torches;
    they dart like lightning.
⁵He remembers ^(AV)his officers;
    ^(AW)they stumble as they go,
they hasten to the wall;
    the siege tower^[d] is set up.
⁶^(AX)The river gates are opened;
    the palace ^(AY)melts away;
⁷its mistress^[e] is ^(AZ)stripped;^[f] she is carried off,
    her slave girls ^(BA)lamenting,
moaning like doves
    and beating their breasts.
⁸^(BB)Nineveh is like a pool
    whose waters run away.^[g]
“Halt! Halt!” they cry,
    but ^(BC)none turns back.
⁹Plunder the silver,
    plunder the gold!
There is no end of the treasure
    or of the wealth of all precious things.

¹⁰^(BD)Desolate! Desolation and ruin!
    ^(BE)Hearts melt and ^(BF)knees tremble;
^(BG)anguish is in all loins;
    ^(BH)all faces grow pale!
¹¹Where is the lions' den,
    the feeding place of ^(BI)the young lions,
where the lion and lioness went,
    where his cubs were, with ^(BJ)none to disturb?
¹²^(BK)The lion tore enough for his cubs
    and ^(BL)strangled prey for his lionesses;
he filled his caves with prey
    and his dens with torn flesh.

¹³^(BM)Behold, I am against you, declares the Lord of hosts, and ^(BN)I will burn your^[h] chariots in smoke, and the sword shall devour your young lions. I will cut off your prey from the earth, and ^(BO)the voice of your messengers shall no longer be heard.

Woe to Nineveh

3 Woe to ^(BP)the bloody city,
    all full of lies and plunder—
    ^(BQ)no end to the prey!
²The crack of the whip, and ^(BR)rumble of the wheel,
    ^(BS)galloping horse and ^(BT)bounding chariot!
³Horsemen charging,
    flashing sword and ^(BU)glittering spear,
^(BV)hosts of slain,
    heaps of corpses,
dead bodies without end—
    they stumble over the bodies!
⁴And all for the countless whorings of the ^(BW)prostitute,
    ^(BX)graceful and of deadly charms,
who betrays nations with her whorings,
    and peoples with her charms.

⁵^(BY)Behold, I am against you,
    declares the Lord of hosts,
    and ^(BZ)will lift up your skirts over your face;
and I will make nations look at ^(CA)your nakedness
    and kingdoms at your shame.
⁶I will throw filth at you
    and ^(CB)treat you with contempt
    and make you ^(CC)a spectacle.
⁷And all who look at you ^(CD)will shrink from you and say,
“Wasted is ^(CE)Nineveh; ^(CF)who will grieve for her?”
    ^(CG)Where shall I seek comforters for you?

⁸^(CH)Are you better than ^(CI)Thebes^[i]
    that sat ^(CJ)by the Nile,
with water around her,
    her rampart a sea,
    and water her wall?
⁹^(CK)Cush was her strength;
    Egypt too, and that without limit;
    ^(CL)Put and the ^(CM)Libyans were her^[j] helpers.

¹⁰^(CN)Yet she became an exile;
    she went into captivity;
^(CO)her infants were dashed in pieces
    at the head of every street;
for her honored men ^(CP)lots were cast,
    ^(CQ)and all her great men were bound in chains.
¹¹^(CR)You also will be drunken;
    you will go into hiding;
^(CS)you will seek a refuge from the enemy.
¹²All your fortresses are ^(CT)like fig trees
    with first-ripe figs—
if shaken they fall
    into the mouth of the eater.
¹³Behold, your troops
    ^(CU)are women in your midst.
The gates of your land
    are wide open to your enemies;
    fire has devoured your bars.

¹⁴^(CV)Draw water for the siege;
    ^(CW)strengthen your forts;
go into the clay;
    tread the mortar;
    take hold of the brick mold!
¹⁵There will the fire devour you;
    the sword will cut you off.
    It will ^(CX)devour you ^(CY)like the locust.
Multiply yourselves ^(CZ)like the locust;
    multiply ^(DA)like the grasshopper!
¹⁶You increased ^(DB)your merchants
    more than the stars of the heavens.
    ^(DC)The locust spreads its wings and flies away.

¹⁷Your ^(DD)princes^[k] are ^(DE)like grasshoppers,
    ^(DF)your scribes^[l] like clouds of locusts
settling on the fences
    in a day of cold—
when the sun rises, they fly away;
    no one knows where they are.

¹⁸Your shepherds ^(DG)are asleep,
    O king of Assyria;
    ^(DH)your nobles slumber.
Your people ^(DI)are scattered on the mountains
    with none to gather them.
¹⁹There is no easing your hurt;
    ^(DJ)your wound is grievous.
All who hear the news about you
    ^(DK)clap their hands over you.
For ^(DL)upon whom has not come
    your unceasing evil?

Footnotes

Nahum 1:8 Hebrew of her place
Nahum 1:15 Ch 2:1 in Hebrew
Nahum 2:1 Hebrew gird your loins
Nahum 2:5 Or the mantelet
Nahum 2:7 The meaning of the Hebrew word rendered its mistress is uncertain
Nahum 2:7 Or exiled
Nahum 2:8 Compare Septuagint; the meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
Nahum 2:13 Hebrew her
Nahum 3:8 Hebrew No-amon
Nahum 3:9 Hebrew your
Nahum 3:17 Or guards
Nahum 3:17 Or marshals

Matthew 14

English Standard Version

The Death of John the Baptist

14 ^(A)At that time ^(B)Herod the tetrarch heard about the fame of Jesus, ²and he said to his servants, ^(C)“This is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead; that is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.” ³For ^(D)Herod had seized John and bound him and ^(E)put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife,^[a] ⁴because John had been saying to him, ^(F)“It is not lawful for you to have her.” ⁵And though he wanted to put him to death, ^(G)he feared the people, because they held him to be ^(H)a prophet. ⁶But when Herod's ^(I)birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company and pleased Herod, ⁷so that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask. ⁸Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.” ⁹And the king was sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he commanded it to be given. ¹⁰He sent and had John beheaded in the prison, ¹¹and his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. ¹²And ^(J)his disciples came and took the body and buried it, and they went and told Jesus.

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

¹³Now when Jesus heard this, ^(K)he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. ¹⁴When he went ashore he ^(L)saw a great crowd, and ^(M)he had compassion on them and healed their sick. ¹⁵Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; ^(N)send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” ¹⁶But Jesus said, “They need not go away; ^(O)you give them something to eat.” ¹⁷They said to him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.” ¹⁸And he said, “Bring them here to me.” ¹⁹Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, ^(P)he looked up to heaven and ^(Q)said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. ²⁰And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. ²¹And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

Jesus Walks on the Water

²²^(R)Immediately he ^(S)made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. ²³And after he had dismissed the crowds, ^(T)he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When ^(U)evening came, he was there alone, ²⁴but the boat by this time was a long way^[b] from the land,^[c] beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. ²⁵And ^(V)in the fourth watch of the night^[d] he came to them, walking on the sea. ²⁶But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, ^(W)they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. ²⁷But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, ^(X)“Take heart; it is I. ^(Y)Do not be afraid.”

²⁸And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” ²⁹He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and ^(Z)walked on the water and came to Jesus. ³⁰But when he saw the wind,^[e] he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, ^(AA)“Lord, save me.” ³¹Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, ^(AB)“O you of little faith, why did you ^(AC)doubt?” ³²And when they got into the boat, ^(AD)the wind ceased. ³³And ^(AE)those in the boat ^(AF)worshiped him, saying, ^(AG)“Truly you are ^(AH)the Son of God.”

Jesus Heals the Sick in Gennesaret

³⁴^(AI)And when they had crossed over, they came to land at ^(AJ)Gennesaret. ³⁵And when the men of that place recognized him, they sent around to all that region and ^(AK)brought to him all who were sick ³⁶and implored him that they might only touch ^(AL)the fringe of his garment. And ^(AM)as many as touched it were made well.