Nahum 3
Expanded Bible
It Will Be Terrible for Nineveh
3 ·How terrible it will be for [L Woe to] the city ·that has killed so many [L of blood].
It is full of lies
and ·goods stolen from other countries [plunder].
It is ·always killing somebody [L never empty of prey].
2 Hear the sound of whips
and the ·noise [rumble; shaking] of the wheels.
Hear horses galloping
and chariots bouncing along!
3 ·Horses [Cavalry; Horsemen] are charging,
swords are ·shining [flashing],
spears are gleaming!
Many are ·dead [slain];
their bodies are piled up—
too many to count.
People stumble over the dead bodies.
4 ·The city was like a prostitute [For her many acts of prostitution];
she was ·charming [graceful] and a ·lover of magic [L mistress of sorceries].
She made nations slaves with her prostitution
and her ·witchcraft [sorcery; charms].
5 “I am against ·you, Nineveh [L you],” says the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts].
“I will pull your dress up over your face
and show the nations your nakedness
and the kingdoms your shame [C the punishment of a prostitute in the ancient Near East].
6 I will throw filthy garbage on you
and ·make a fool of you [treat you with contempt].
I will make ·people stare at you [you a spectacle].
7 Everyone who sees you will ·run away [or turn away in disgust] and say,
‘Nineveh is in ruins. Who will ·cry [grieve; lament] for her?’
Nineveh, where will I find anyone to comfort you?”
8 You are no better than ·Thebes [L No Amon; C meaning “city of (the god) Amon”; This capital of Upper Egypt, thought to be impregnable, was destroyed by the Assyrians in 663 bc],
who sits by the Nile River
with water all around her.
The river was her ·defense [rampart];
the waters were like a wall around her.
9 Cush [C ancient Ethiopia or Nubia] and Egypt gave her endless strength;
Put and Libya supported her [C neighboring countries allied with Egypt].
10 But Thebes was captured
and went into ·captivity [exile].
Her ·small children [infants] were ·beaten to death [dashed to pieces]
at every street corner.
Lots were thrown for her ·important men [nobles; C parceled out as slaves],
and all of her ·leaders [great ones] were put in chains.
11 You [C Nineveh] will be drunk, too.
You will hide;
you will ·look for a place safe [seek refuge] from the enemy.
12 All your ·defenses [fortresses] are like fig trees with ripe fruit.
When the tree is shaken, the figs fall into the mouth of the eater.
13 Look at your soldiers.
They are all women [C meaning helpless or physically weak]!
The gates of your land
are wide open for your enemies;
fire has ·burned [consumed; devoured] the bars of your gates.
14 ·Get enough water before the long war begins [Draw water for the siege].
Make your defenses strong!
Get mud,
mix clay,
·make bricks [strengthen the brickwork]!
15 There the fire will ·burn you up [consume/devour you].
The sword will ·kill you [cut you down];
·like grasshoppers eating crops, the battle will completely destroy you [it will devour you like locusts].
Grow in number like ·hopping [or young] locusts;
grow in number like ·swarming [or flying] locusts!
16 Your ·traders [merchants] are more than the stars in the sky,
but like locusts they ·strip the land [or shed their skin] and then fly away.
17 Your guards are like locusts.
Your officers are like swarms of locusts
that ·hang [settle; encamp] on the walls on a cold day.
When the sun comes up, they fly away,
and no one knows where they have gone.
18 King of Assyria, your ·rulers [L shepherds] are asleep;
your ·important men [nobles; officers] lie down ·to rest [or dead].
Your people have been scattered on the mountains [C like sheep],
and there is no one to ·bring them back [gather them].
19 Nothing can heal your wound;
your ·injury [wound] ·will not heal [is fatal].
Everyone who hears ·about you applauds [will clap their hands over you],
because ·everyone has [L who has not…?] felt your endless cruelty.
Nahum 3
New King James Version
The Woe of Nineveh
3 Woe to the (A)bloody city!
It is all full of lies and robbery.
Its [a]victim never departs.
2 The noise of a whip
And the noise of rattling wheels,
Of galloping horses,
Of [b]clattering chariots!
3 Horsemen charge with bright sword and glittering spear.
There is a multitude of slain,
A great number of bodies,
Countless corpses—
They stumble over the corpses—
4 Because of the multitude of [c]harlotries of the [d]seductive harlot,
(B)The mistress of sorceries,
Who sells nations through her harlotries,
And families through her sorceries.
5 “Behold, I am (C)against you,” says the Lord of hosts;
(D)“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 (E)vile,[e]
And make you (F)a spectacle.
7 It shall come to pass that all who look upon you
(G)Will flee from you, and say,
(H)‘Nineveh is laid waste!
(I)Who will bemoan her?’
Where shall I seek comforters for you?”
8 (J)Are you better than (K)No[f] Amon
That was situated by the [g]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;
(L)Put and Lubim were [h]your helpers.
10 Yet she was carried away,
She went into captivity;
(M)Her young children also were dashed to pieces
(N)At the head of every street;
They (O)cast lots for her honorable men,
And all her great men were bound in chains.
11 You also will be (P)drunk;
You will be hidden;
You also will seek refuge from the enemy.
12 All your strongholds are (Q)fig trees with ripened figs:
If they are shaken,
They fall into the mouth of the eater.
13 Surely, (R)your people in your midst are women!
The gates of your land are wide open for your enemies;
Fire shall devour the (S)bars of your gates.
14 Draw your water for the siege!
(T)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 (U)locust.
Make yourself many—like the locust!
Make yourself many—like the swarming locusts!
16 You have multiplied your (V)merchants more than the stars of heaven.
The locust plunders and flies away.
17 (W)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 (X)Your shepherds slumber, O (Y)king of Assyria;
Your nobles rest in the dust.
Your people are (Z)scattered on the mountains,
And no one gathers them.
19 Your injury has no healing,
(AA)Your wound is severe.
(AB)All who hear news of you
Will clap their hands over you,
For upon whom has not your wickedness passed continually?
Nahúm 3
Palabra de Dios para Todos
Malas noticias para Nínive
3 Pobre de ti, ciudad asesina,
no eres más que una mentira.
Estás llena de rapiña
y nunca estás sin presa.
2 Se pueden escuchar los sonidos de látigos,
de ruedas y caballos al galope
con sus carros saltando tras ellos.
3 Ataca la caballería, brillan las espadas,
resplandecen las lanzas.
Hay montones de muertos,
muchos cadáveres, innumerables.
Hay tantos muertos
que la gente tropieza con ellos.
4 Todo eso sucedió por culpa de esa prostituta,
la bruja hermosa y seductora
que con sus seducciones esclavizó naciones,
y con sus conjuros, pueblos enteros.
5 El SEÑOR Todopoderoso dice:
«Estoy en contra tuya;
te voy a levantar las faldas hasta la cara,
les mostraré a las naciones tu desnudez
y a los reinos tu deshonra.
6 Echaré cosas asquerosas sobre ti,
te trataré mal para que todos se burlen.
7 Desde ese momento, todo el que te vea huirá de ti,
dirán: “Nínive está en ruinas”,
¿quién llorará por ella?
¿Dónde encontrar a alguien que la consuele?»
8 ¿Te crees mejor que Tebas[a], la del río Nilo?
Tebas también tenía agua a su alrededor
y la usaba para protegerse de sus enemigos.
9 Etiopía y Egipto la protegieron con su inmenso poder,
también Fut y Libia le dieron su apoyo.
10 Pero así y todo, Tebas fue desterrada
y sus habitantes fueron llevados cautivos.
En cada esquina sus niños pequeños fueron estrellados.
Sobre su gente importante echaron suertes;
sus grandes personajes fueron encadenados.
11 Así también, tú caerás como un borracho.
Tratarás de esconderte,
buscando refugio de tu enemigo.
12 Todas tus fortalezas serán como árboles de higos,
que cuando están cargados de higos bien maduros,
llega alguien, sacude el árbol
y los higos caen derecho en su boca.
13 Tus tropas son como mujeres.
Las puertas del país están abiertas
de par en par para tus enemigos.
El fuego ha destruido las barras
que las mantenían cerradas.
14 Abastécete de agua para resistir el asedio;
refuerza tus defensas.
Métete en el barro, písalo
y toma el molde para hacer ladrillos.
15 Puedes hacer todo esto
y aun así serás consumida por el fuego
y la espada te matará.
El fuego te devorará como langostas que vienen
y devoran todo a su paso.
Reprodúcete tanto como las langostas,
reprodúcete tanto como los saltamontes.
16 Aumenta tus negociantes,
más que las estrellas en el cielo.
Como langostas se comerán todo
y después se irán.
17 Tus gobernantes son también como langostas.
Tus funcionarios son como insectos
que acampan en las paredes en un día frío,
pero cuando sale el sol vuelan,
y nadie sabe para dónde se fueron.
18 Rey de Asiria, tus pastores están dormidos,
tu gente importante se fue a descansar;
tu pueblo está esparcido por los montes
y no hay quién lo vuelva a juntar.
19 No hay forma de curar tu fractura;
tu herida es incurable.
Se alegra todo el que oye las noticias de tu destrucción,
pues, ¿quién no sufrió tu crueldad sin límite?
Footnotes
- 3:8 Tebas Importante ciudad de Egipto que fue destruida por el ejército asirio en el año 663 a. C.
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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