The Lord has His way
In the whirlwind and in the storm,
And the clouds are the dust of His feet.
⁴ He rebukes the sea and makes it dry,
And dries up all the rivers.
Bashan and Carmel wither,
And the flower of Lebanon wilts.
⁵ The mountains quake before Him,
The hills melt,
And the earth ^[b]heaves at His presence,
Yes, the world and all who dwell in it.

⁶ Who can stand before His indignation?
And who can endure the fierceness of His anger?
His fury is poured out like fire,
And the rocks are thrown down by Him.

⁷ The Lord is good,
A stronghold in the day of trouble;
And He knows those who trust in Him.
⁸ But with an overflowing flood
He will make an utter end of its place,
And darkness will pursue His enemies.

⁹ What do you ^[c]conspire against the Lord?
He will make an utter end of it.
Affliction will not rise up a second time.
¹⁰ For while tangled like thorns,
And while drunken like drunkards,
They shall be devoured like stubble fully dried.
¹¹ From you comes forth one
Who plots evil against the Lord,
A ^[d]wicked counselor.

“Though they are ^[e]safe, and likewise many,
Yet in this manner they will be cut down
When he passes through.
Though I have afflicted you,
I will afflict you no more;
¹³ For now I will break off his yoke from you,
And burst your bonds apart.”

¹⁴ The Lord has given a command concerning you:
^[f]“Your name shall be perpetuated no longer.
Out of the house of your gods
I will cut off the carved image and the molded image.
I will dig your grave,
For you are vile.”^[g]

¹⁵ Behold, on the mountains
The feet of him who brings good tidings,
Who proclaims peace!
O Judah, keep your appointed feasts,
Perform your vows.
For the ^[h]wicked one shall no more pass through you;
He is utterly cut off.

² For the Lord will restore the excellence of Jacob
Like the excellence of Israel,
For the emptiers have emptied them out
And ruined their vine branches.

³ The shields of his mighty men are made red,
The valiant men are in scarlet.
The chariots come with flaming torches
In the day of his preparation,
And ^[j]the spears are brandished.
⁴ The chariots rage in the streets,
They jostle one another in the broad roads;
They seem like torches,
They run like lightning.

⁵ He remembers his nobles;
They stumble in their walk;
They make haste to her walls,
And the defense is prepared.
⁶ The gates of the rivers are opened,
And the palace is dissolved.
^7 [k]It is decreed:
She shall be led away captive,
She shall be brought up;
And her maidservants shall lead her as with the voice of doves,
Beating their breasts.

⁸ Though Nineveh of old was like a pool of water,
Now they flee away.
^[l]“Halt! Halt!” they cry;
But no one turns back.
^9 [m]Take spoil of silver!
Take spoil of gold!
There is no end of treasure,
Or wealth of every desirable prize.
¹⁰ She is empty, desolate, and waste!
The heart melts, and the knees shake;
Much pain is in every side,
And all their faces ^[n]are drained of color.

¹¹ Where is the dwelling of the lions,
And the feeding place of the young lions,
Where the lion walked, the lioness and lion’s cub,
And no one made them afraid?
¹² The lion tore in pieces enough for his cubs,
^[o]Killed for his lionesses,
Filled his caves with prey,
And his dens with ^[p]flesh.

⁵ “Behold, I am against you,” says the Lord of hosts;
“I will lift your skirts over your face,
I will show the nations your nakedness,
And the kingdoms your shame.
⁶ I will cast abominable filth upon you,
Make you vile,^[v]
And make you a spectacle.
⁷ It shall come to pass that all who look upon you
Will flee from you, and say,
‘Nineveh is laid waste!
Who will bemoan her?’
Where shall I seek comforters for you?”

⁸ Are you better than No^[w] Amon
That was situated by the ^[x]River,
That had the waters around her,
Whose rampart was the sea,
Whose wall was the sea?
⁹ Ethiopia and Egypt were her strength,
And it was boundless;
Put and Lubim were ^[y]your helpers.
¹⁰ Yet she was carried away,
She went into captivity;
Her young children also were dashed to pieces
At the head of every street;
They cast lots for her honorable men,
And all her great men were bound in chains.
¹¹ You also will be drunk;
You will be hidden;
You also will seek refuge from the enemy.

¹² All your strongholds are fig trees with ripened figs:
If they are shaken,
They fall into the mouth of the eater.
¹³ Surely, your people in your midst are women!
The gates of your land are wide open for your enemies;
Fire shall devour the bars of your gates.

¹⁴ Draw your water for the siege!
Fortify your strongholds!
Go into the clay and tread the mortar!
Make strong the brick kiln!
¹⁵ There the fire will devour you,
The sword will cut you off;
It will eat you up like a locust.

Make yourself many—like the locust!
Make yourself many—like the swarming locusts!
¹⁶ You have multiplied your merchants more than the stars of heaven.
The locust plunders and flies away.
¹⁷ Your commanders are like swarming locusts,
And your generals like great grasshoppers,
Which camp in the hedges on a cold day;
When the sun rises they flee away,
And the place where they are is not known.

¹⁸ Your shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria;
Your nobles rest in the dust.
Your people are scattered on the mountains,
And no one gathers them.
¹⁹ Your injury has no healing,
Your wound is severe.
All who hear news of you
Will clap their hands over you,
For upon whom has not your wickedness passed continually?