Nahum 1-3
Christian Standard Bible
1 The pronouncement(A) concerning Nineveh.(B) The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.
God’s Vengeance
2 The Lord is a jealous and avenging God;
the Lord takes vengeance
and is fierce in[a] wrath.
The Lord takes vengeance against his foes;(C)
he is furious with his enemies.(D)
3 The Lord is slow to anger but great in power;
the Lord will never leave the guilty unpunished.(E)
His path is in the whirlwind and storm,(F)
and clouds are the dust beneath his feet.(G)
4 He rebukes the sea and dries it up,
and he makes all the rivers run dry.(H)
Bashan and Carmel wither;(I)
even the flower of Lebanon withers.
5 The mountains quake before him,
and the hills melt;
the earth trembles[b][c] at his presence—
the world and all who live in it.(J)
6 Who can withstand his indignation?
Who can endure his burning anger?(K)
His wrath is poured out like fire;(L)
even rocks are shattered before him.
Destruction of Nineveh
7 The Lord is good,
a stronghold in a day of distress;
he cares for those who take refuge(M) in him.
8 But he will completely destroy Nineveh[d]
with an overwhelming flood,(N)
and he will chase his enemies into darkness.
9 Whatever you[e] plot against the Lord,
he will bring it to complete destruction;(O)
oppression will not rise up a second time.
10 For they will be consumed
like entangled thorns,(P)
like the drink of a drunkard
and like straw that is fully dry.[f]
11 One has gone out from you,[g]
who plots evil against the Lord,
and is a wicked counselor.
Promise of Judah’s Deliverance
12 This is what the Lord says:
Though they are strong[h] and numerous,
they will still be mowed down,
and he[i] will pass away.
Though I have punished you,[j](Q)
I will punish you no longer.(R)
13 For I will now break off his yoke from you
and tear off your shackles.
The Assyrian King’s Demise
14 The Lord has issued an order concerning you:
There will be no offspring
to carry on your name.[k](S)
I will eliminate the carved idol and cast image
from the house of your gods;(T)
I will prepare your grave,
for you are contemptible.
15 Look to the mountains—
the feet of the herald,(U)
who proclaims peace.
Celebrate your festivals, Judah;
fulfill your vows.
For the wicked one will never again
march through you;
he will be entirely wiped out.
Attack against Nineveh
2 One who scatters is coming up against you.(V)
Man the fortifications!
Watch the road!
Brace[l] yourself!
Summon all your strength!(W)
2 For the Lord will restore the majesty of Jacob,(X)
yes,[m] the majesty of Israel,
though ravagers have ravaged them(Y)
and ruined their vine branches.(Z)
3 The shields of his[n] warriors are dyed red;
the valiant men are dressed in scarlet.(AA)
The fittings of the chariot flash like fire(AB)
on the day of its battle preparations,
and the spears are brandished.
4 The chariots dash madly through the streets;
they rush around in the plazas.
They look like torches;
they dart back and forth like lightning.
5 He gives orders to his officers;
they stumble as they advance.
They race to its wall;
the protective shield is set in place.
6 The river gates are opened,
and the palace erodes away.(AC)
7 Beauty[o] is stripped;[p]
she is carried away;
her ladies-in-waiting moan
like the sound of doves(AD)
and beat their breasts.(AE)
8 Nineveh has been like a pool of water
from her first days,[q]
but they are fleeing.
“Stop! Stop!” they cry,
but no one turns back.
9 “Plunder the silver! Plunder the gold!” (AF)
There is no end to the treasure,
an abundance of every precious thing.(AG)
10 Desolation, decimation, devastation!
Hearts melt,(AH)
knees tremble,(AI)
insides churn,(AJ)
every face grows pale!(AK)
11 Where is the lions’ lair,(AL)
or the feeding ground of the young lions,
where the lion and lioness prowled,
and the lion’s cub,
with nothing to frighten them away?(AM)
12 The lion mauled whatever its cubs needed
and strangled prey for its lionesses.
It filled up its dens with the kill,
and its lairs with mauled prey.(AN)
13 Beware, I am against you.(AO)
This is the declaration of the Lord of Armies.
I will make your chariots go up in smoke,[r]
and the sword will devour your young lions.(AP)
I will cut off your prey from the earth,
and the sound of your messengers
will never be heard again.(AQ)
Nineveh’s Downfall
3 Woe to the city of blood,(AR)
totally deceitful,
full of plunder,
never without prey.(AS)
2 The crack of the whip
and rumble of the wheel,
galloping horse
and jolting chariot!(AT)
3 Charging horseman,
flashing sword,
shining spear;
heaps of slain,
mounds of corpses,(AU)
dead bodies without end(AV)—
they stumble over their dead.
4 Because of the continual prostitution of the prostitute,
the attractive mistress of sorcery,
who treats nations and clans like merchandise
by her prostitution and sorcery,(AW)
5 I am against you.(AX)
This is the declaration of the Lord of Armies.
I will lift your skirts over your face
and display your nakedness to nations,
your shame to kingdoms.(AY)
6 I will throw filth on you
and treat you with contempt;(AZ)
I will make a spectacle of you.
7 Then all who see you will recoil from you, saying,(BA)
“Nineveh is devastated;
who will show sympathy to her?”
Where can I find anyone to comfort you?
8 Are you better than Thebes[s](BB)
that sat along the Nile
with water surrounding her,
whose rampart was the sea,
the river[t][u] her wall?
9 Cush and Egypt were her endless source of strength;
Put and Libya were among her[v] allies.
10 Yet she became an exile;
she went into captivity.
Her children were also dashed to pieces(BC)
at the head of every street.
They cast lots for her dignitaries,(BD)
and all her nobles were bound in chains.
11 You[w] also will become drunk;
you will hide.[x]
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;
your land’s city gates
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.(BE)
Multiply yourselves like the young locust;
multiply like the swarming locust!
16 You have made your merchants(BF)
more numerous than the stars of the sky.
The young locust strips[y] 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;(BG)
your officers sleep.
Your people are scattered across the mountains(BH)
with no one to gather them together.(BI)
19 There is no remedy for your injury;
your wound is severe.(BJ)
All who hear the news about you
will clap their hands because of you,(BK)
for who has not experienced
your constant cruelty?
Footnotes
- 1:2 Lit is a master of
- 1:5 Some emend to earth is laid waste
- 1:5 Lit lifts
- 1:8 Lit her place
- 1:9 = Nineveh
- 1:10 Hb obscure
- 1:11 Possibly Nineveh
- 1:12 Lit intact
- 1:12 Either the king of Assyria or his army
- 1:12 = Judah
- 1:14 Lit It will not be sown from your name any longer
- 2:1 Lit Strengthen
- 2:2 Or like
- 2:3 = the army commander attacking Nineveh
- 2:7 Text emended; MT reads Huzzab
- 2:7 Hb obscure
- 2:8 Hb obscure
- 2:13 Lit will burn her chariots in smoke
- 3:8 Hb No-amon
- 3:8 LXX, Syr, Vg read water
- 3:8 Lit sea from sea
- 3:9 Lit your
- 3:11 = Nineveh
- 3:11 Or will be overcome
- 3:16 Or sheds its skin
Psalm 149
Christian Standard Bible
Psalm 149
Praise for God’s Triumph
1 Hallelujah!
Sing to the Lord a new song,(A)
his praise in the assembly of the faithful.(B)
2 Let Israel celebrate its Maker;
let the children of Zion rejoice in their King.(C)
3 Let them praise his name with dancing
and make music to him with tambourine and lyre.(D)
4 For the Lord takes pleasure in his people;(E)
he adorns the humble with salvation.(F)
5 Let the faithful celebrate in triumphal glory;
let them shout for joy on their beds.(G)
6 Let the exaltation of God be in their mouths[a]
and a double-edged sword in their hands,(H)
7 inflicting vengeance on the nations
and punishment on the peoples,(I)
8 binding their kings with chains
and their dignitaries with iron shackles,(J)
9 carrying out the judgment decreed against them.
This honor is for all his faithful people.(K)
Hallelujah!
Footnotes
- 149:6 Lit throat
2 Corinthians 4
Christian Standard Bible
The Light of the Gospel
4 Therefore, since we have this ministry because we were shown mercy,(A) we do not give up.(B) 2 Instead, we have renounced secret and shameful things, not acting(C) deceitfully or distorting the word of God,(D) but commending ourselves before God to everyone’s conscience by an open display of the truth.(E) 3 But if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 In their case, the god of this age(F) has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ,[a](G) who is the image of God.(H) 5 For we are not proclaiming ourselves but Jesus Christ as Lord,(I) and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’s sake. 6 For God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,”(J) has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge(K) of God’s glory(L) in the face of Jesus Christ.
Treasure in Clay Jars
7 Now we have this treasure in clay jars, so that this extraordinary power(M) may be from God and not from us. 8 We are afflicted in every way but not crushed; we are perplexed but not in despair; 9 we are persecuted but not abandoned; we are struck down but not destroyed. 10 We always carry the death of Jesus(N) in our body, so that the life of Jesus may also be displayed in our body. 11 For we who live are always being given over to death(O) for Jesus’s sake, so that Jesus’s life may also be displayed in our mortal flesh. 12 So then, death is at work in us, but life in you. 13 And since we have the same spirit of faith in keeping with what is written, I believed, therefore I spoke,[b](P) we also believe, and therefore speak. 14 For we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus(Q) and present us with you. 15 Indeed, everything is for your benefit so that, as grace extends through more and more people, it may cause thanksgiving(R) to increase to the glory of God.
16 Therefore we do not give up.(S) Even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person(T) is being renewed day by day. 17 For our momentary light affliction(U) is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory.(V) 18 So we do not focus on what is seen,(W) but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
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