Nahum 3
Legacy Standard Bible
Woe to Nineveh
3 (A)Woe to the city of [a]bloodshed, completely full of deception and pillage;
Her prey never departs.
2 The (B)sound of the whip,
And the sound of the rumbling of the wheel,
Galloping horses,
And [b]bounding chariots!
3 Horsemen charging,
And swords flaming, and (C)spears flashing,
(D)Many slain, a mass of corpses,
And (E)there is no end to dead bodies—
They stumble over [c]the dead bodies!
4 All because of the (F)many harlotries of the harlot,
The charming one, the (G)mistress of sorceries,
Who (H)sells nations by her harlotries
And families by her sorceries.
5 “Behold, (I)I am against you,” declares Yahweh of hosts;
“And I will (J)uncover your skirts over your face
And (K)show to the nations your nakedness
And to the kingdoms your disgrace.
6 I will (L)throw detestable filth on you
And (M)display you as a wicked fool
And set you up as a (N)spectacle.
7 And it will be that all who see you
Will flee from you and say,
‘Nineveh is devastated!
(O)Who will console her?’
Where will I seek comforters for you?”
8 Are you better than [d](P)No-amon,
Which sits along the (Q)waters of the Nile,
With water surrounding her,
Whose rampart was [e]the sea,
Whose wall consisted of [f]the sea?
9 [g](R)Ethiopia was her might,
And Egypt too, without end.
(S)Put and (T)Lubim were among [h]her helpers.
10 Yet she (U)became an exile;
She went into captivity;
Also her (V)infants were dashed to pieces
(W)At the head of every street;
They (X)cast lots for her honorable men,
And all her great men were bound with fetters.
11 You too will become (Y)drunk;
You will be (Z)hidden.
You too will search for a strong defense from the enemy.
12 All your fortifications are (AA)fig trees with [i](AB)ripe fruit—
When shaken, they fall into the eater’s mouth.
13 Behold, your people are (AC)women in your midst!
The gates of your land are (AD)opened wide to your enemies;
Fire consumes your gate bars.
14 (AE)Draw for yourself water for the siege!
(AF)Strengthen your fortifications!
Go into the clay and tread the mortar!
[j]Take hold of the brick mold!
15 There, (AG)fire will consume you;
The sword will cut you down;
It will (AH)consume you as the locust does.
Multiply yourself like the creeping locust,
Multiply yourself like the swarming locust.
16 You have increased your (AI)traders more than the stars of heaven—
The creeping locust [k]strips and flies away.
17 Your [l](AJ)guardsmen are like the swarming locust.
Your (AK)marshals are like a locust-swarm
Encamping in the stone walls on a cold day.
The sun rises, and they flee,
And the place where they are is not known.
18 Your shepherds are (AL)sleeping, O (AM)king of Assyria;
Your (AN)mighty ones are [m]lying down.
Your people are (AO)scattered on the mountains,
And there is no one to regather them.
19 There is (AP)no relief for your breakdown,
Your (AQ)wound is incurable.
All who hear the report about you
Will (AR)clap their hands over you,
For on whom has not your evil passed continually?
Footnotes
- Nahum 3:1 Or blood, cf. Ezek 22:2; 24:6
- Nahum 3:2 Lit skipping
- Nahum 3:3 Lit their
- Nahum 3:8 The city of Amon: Thebes
- Nahum 3:8 The Nile
- Nahum 3:8 The Nile
- Nahum 3:9 Or Cush, cf. Gen 10:6
- Nahum 3:9 Lit your
- Nahum 3:12 Lit first fruits
- Nahum 3:14 Or strengthen, cf. 3:14a
- Nahum 3:16 Strips vegetation; or molts
- Nahum 3:17 Or officials
- Nahum 3:18 Lit dwelling
Nahum 3
Tree of Life Version
City of Corpses
3 Oy, bloody city!
Full of deceit, full of plunder.
The prey never departs.
2 Crack of whip,
rattling of wheels,
horse galloping,
chariot jolting,
3 horseman climbing up,
blade of sword and flash of spear,
many slain, a mass of corpses
—no end to the corpses—
they stumble over their corpses!
The Harlot Humiliated
4 Because of the many fornications of the elegant prostitute,
the mistress of sorceries,
who sells nations by her fornications,
and clans through her sorceries—
5 Behold, I am against you
—it is a declaration of Adonai-Tzva’ot—
I will lift your skirts over your face,
I will show nations your nakedness
and kingdoms your disgrace.
6 Yes, I will fling filth on you.
I will treat you with contempt
and set you up as a spectacle.
7 So it will be that all who see you
will recoil from you and say,
“Nineveh has been ravaged!
Who will lament for her?”
Where will I find comforters for you?
8 Are you better than No-amon[a],
situated among channels of the Nile,
water surrounding her,
whose fortress and wall was water?[b]
9 Cush and Egypt were her might—unlimited.
Put and Libya were her allies.
10 Yet she went off to exile among the captives.
Even her babes were dashed to pieces
at the head of all streets.
They cast lots for her dignitaries,
and all her great men were bound with chains.
11 You too will become drunk.
You will hide yourself.
You too will seek refuge from an enemy.
12 All your fortifications will be fig trees with firstfruits—
when shaken, they will fall, into an eater’s mouth.
13 See, your people within you are women[c].
The gates of your land are wide open to your enemies—
fire has devoured your gate-bars.
14 Draw water for a siege.
Strengthen your fortifications!
Go into the mud and tread mortar.
Take hold of the brick mold.
15 There fire will devour you.
Sword will cut you off,
devouring you like the locust.
Multiply like the locust.
Multiply like the swarming locust!
16 You have multiplied your traders
more than the stars of heaven.
Locusts have stripped and flown off.
17 Your princes are like locusts,
your officials like a locust swarm,
camping in the walls on a chilly day.
The sun rises, and they are chased away,
and where they are is unknown.
18 Your shepherds have become drowsy,
king of Assyria, your nobles lie down.
Your people are scattered on the hills,
with no one to gather them.
19 There is no cure for your brokenness,
your wound is severe.
All who hear the report about you,
clap hands over you.
For over whom has not passed
your constant cruelty?
Footnotes
- Nahum 3:8 Or city of Amon (Thebes)
- Nahum 3:8 Heb. the sea, i.e., the Nile.
- Nahum 3:13 i.e., incapable of getting the better of armed adversaries.
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Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.