Woe to Nineveh

Woe to (A)the bloody city,
    all full of lies and plunder—
    (B)no end to the prey!
The crack of the whip, and (C)rumble of the wheel,
    (D)galloping horse and (E)bounding chariot!
Horsemen charging,
    flashing sword and (F)glittering spear,
(G)hosts of slain,
    heaps of corpses,
dead bodies without end—
    they stumble over the bodies!
And all for the countless whorings of the (H)prostitute,
    (I)graceful and of deadly charms,
who betrays nations with her whorings,
    and peoples with her charms.

(J)Behold, I am against you,
    declares the Lord of hosts,
    and (K)will lift up your skirts over your face;
and I will make nations look at (L)your nakedness
    and kingdoms at your shame.
I will throw filth at you
    and (M)treat you with contempt
    and make you (N)a spectacle.
And all who look at you (O)will shrink from you and say,
“Wasted is (P)Nineveh; (Q)who will grieve for her?”
    (R)Where shall I seek comforters for you?

(S)Are you better than (T)Thebes[a]
    that sat (U)by the Nile,
with water around her,
    her rampart a sea,
    and water her wall?
(V)Cush was her strength;
    Egypt too, and that without limit;
    (W)Put and the (X)Libyans were her[b] helpers.

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

14 (AG)Draw water for the siege;
    (AH)strengthen your forts;
go into the clay;
    tread the mortar;
    take hold of the brick mold!
15 There will the fire devour you;
    the sword will cut you off.
    It will (AI)devour you (AJ)like the locust.
Multiply yourselves (AK)like the locust;
    multiply (AL)like the grasshopper!
16 You increased (AM)your merchants
    more than the stars of the heavens.
    (AN)The locust spreads its wings and flies away.

17 Your (AO)princes[c] are (AP)like grasshoppers,
    (AQ)your scribes[d] 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.

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

Footnotes

  1. Nahum 3:8 Hebrew No-amon
  2. Nahum 3:9 Hebrew your
  3. Nahum 3:17 Or guards
  4. Nahum 3:17 Or marshals

Woe to the bloody city! it is all full of lies and robbery; the prey departeth not;

The noise of a whip, and the noise of the rattling of the wheels, and of the pransing horses, and of the jumping chariots.

The horseman lifteth up both the bright sword and the glittering spear: and there is a multitude of slain, and a great number of carcases; and there is none end of their corpses; they stumble upon their corpses:

Because of the multitude of the whoredoms of the wellfavoured harlot, the mistress of witchcrafts, that selleth nations through her whoredoms, and families through her witchcrafts.

Behold, I am against thee, saith the Lord of hosts; and I will discover thy skirts upon thy face, and I will shew the nations thy nakedness, and the kingdoms thy shame.

And I will cast abominable filth upon thee, and make thee vile, and will set thee as a gazingstock.

And it shall come to pass, that all they that look upon thee shall flee from thee, and say, Nineveh is laid waste: who will bemoan her? whence shall I seek comforters for thee?

Art thou better than populous No, that was situate among the rivers, that had the waters round about it, whose rampart was the sea, and her wall was from the sea?

Ethiopia and Egypt were her strength, and it was infinite; Put and Lubim were thy helpers.

10 Yet was she carried away, she went into captivity: her young children also were dashed in pieces at the top of all the streets: and they cast lots for her honourable men, and all her great men were bound in chains.

11 Thou also shalt be drunken: thou shalt be hid, thou also shalt seek strength because of the enemy.

12 All thy strong holds shall be like fig trees with the firstripe figs: if they be shaken, they shall even fall into the mouth of the eater.

13 Behold, thy people in the midst of thee are women: the gates of thy land shall be set wide open unto thine enemies: the fire shall devour thy bars.

14 Draw thee waters for the siege, fortify thy strong holds: go into clay, and tread the morter, make strong the brickkiln.

15 There shall the fire devour thee; the sword shall cut thee off, it shall eat thee up like the cankerworm: make thyself many as the cankerworm, make thyself many as the locusts.

16 Thou hast multiplied thy merchants above the stars of heaven: the cankerworm spoileth, and fleeth away.

17 Thy crowned are as the locusts, and thy captains as the great grasshoppers, which camp in the hedges in the cold day, but when the sun ariseth they flee away, and their place is not known where they are.

18 Thy shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria: thy nobles shall dwell in the dust: thy people is scattered upon the mountains, and no man gathereth them.

19 There is no healing of thy bruise; thy wound is grievous: all that hear the bruit of thee shall clap the hands over thee: for upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually?

祸哉!这流人血的城,
欺诈连连,抢夺充斥,
掳掠的事总不止息。
鞭声响亮,车轮轰轰,
马匹跳跃,战车奔腾;
骑兵争先,刀剑发光,
枪矛闪烁,被杀的甚多,
尸首成堆,尸骸无数,
人因尸骸而绊跌,
都因那美貌的妓女多有淫行,
惯行邪术,
藉淫行诱惑[a]列国,
用邪术诱惑万族。

看哪,我与你为敌,
掀开你的下摆,蒙在你脸上,
使列邦看见你的赤体,
使列国观看你的羞辱。
这是万军之耶和华说的。
我必将可憎污秽之物抛在你身上,
使你被藐视,为众人所观看。
凡看见你的,都必逃离你,说:
尼尼微荒凉了!有谁为你悲伤呢?
我何处找到安慰你的人呢?”

你能胜过挪亚们[b]吗?
它坐落在众河之间,
周围有水,
[c]作它的城郭,
[d]作它的城墙。
古实[e]埃及是它的力量,
没有穷尽,
[f]人和路比[g]人是它的帮手。
10 但它被流放,被人掳去,
它的婴孩也被摔碎在各街头;
人为它的贵族抽签,
它的权贵都被锁链锁住。

11 你也必喝醉,昏迷错乱,
并因仇敌的缘故寻求庇护。
12 你一切的堡垒必如无花果树上初熟的果子,
一经摇动,就落在想吃的人口中。
13 看哪,你中间的士兵是妇女,
你国中的关口向仇敌敞开,
你的门闩被火焚烧。

14 你要打水预备受困;
要加强防御,
取土踹泥,
做成砖模。
15 在那里,火要吞灭你,
刀必杀戮你,
如蝻子般吞灭你。

你人数增多如蝻子,
增多如蝗虫吧!
16 你增添商贾,多过天上的星宿;
如蝻子蜕皮飞去。
17 你的领袖多如蝗虫,
你的将军仿佛成群的蝗虫;
天凉时齐落在篱笆上,
太阳一出就飞去,
人不知道落在何处。

18 亚述王啊,
你的牧人睡觉,
你的贵族躺卧[h]
你的百姓散在山间,
无人招聚。
19 你的损伤并未减轻,
你的伤痕极其重大。
凡听见这消息的人都因你拍掌。
有谁没有时常遭受你的暴行呢?

Footnotes

  1. 3.4 “诱惑”:原文是“卖”;下同。
  2. 3.8 “挪亚们”就是埃及的底比斯,也称“挪”。
  3. 3.8 “海”指尼罗河;下同。
  4. 3.8 “海”:七十士译本是“众水”。
  5. 3.9 “古实”包括苏丹的大部分和埃塞俄比亚的一部分。
  6. 3.9 “弗”是利比亚的一部分。
  7. 3.9 “路比”就是利比亚。
  8. 3.18 “躺卧”:原文另译“安歇”。