Nahum 3
Names of God Bible
Nineveh’s Punishment for Sin
3 How horrible it will be for that city of bloody violence!
It is completely full of lies and stolen goods—never without victims.
2 The sound of the whip!
The sound of rattling wheels!
Horses gallop!
Chariots bounce along!
3 Horses charge!
Swords flash!
Spears glitter!
Many are killed!
Dead bodies pile up!
There is no end to the corpses!
People trip over corpses
4 because of Nineveh’s constant prostitution,
this very charming mistress of evil magic.
She used to sell
nations her prostitution
and people her evil magic.
5 “I am against you, Nineveh,” declares Yahweh Tsebaoth.
“I will lift up your dress over your face.
I will show nations your naked body and kingdoms your disgrace.
6 I will throw filth on you.
I will make you look like a fool.
I will make you a sight to be seen.
7 Everyone who sees you will run from you, saying,
‘Nineveh has been violently destroyed!
Who will feel sorry for her?’
Where can I find anyone to comfort you?”
Nineveh Will Not Escape Punishment
8 Are you better than No-amon,[a] which sits by the streams of the Nile
with water surrounding her?
The sea was her defense.
The water was her wall.
9 Sudan and Egypt were her endless strength.
Put and the Lybians were her help.
10 Even she went into captivity and was exiled.
Even her little children were smashed to death at every street corner.
Soldiers tossed dice for her important men,
and all her best men were bound in chains.
11 Even you, Nineveh, will stagger like a drunk.
You will disappear.
Even you will look for a fortress to escape from the enemy.
12 All your defenses will be like fig trees with the earliest figs.
When shaken, the figs fall into the mouth of the eater.
13 Look at your soldiers; they’re women!
The gates of your country are wide open to your enemies.
Fire has destroyed the bars of your gates.
Nineveh’s Strength Will Not Save Her
14 Store water for the siege!
Strengthen your defenses!
Step into the claypits and trample the clay!
Grab the brick mold!
15 Fire will consume you there.
A sword will cut you down.
It will consume you like locusts.
Multiply like locusts!
Multiply like hungry locusts!
16 You have produced more businessmen than there are stars in the sky.
They are like locusts that attack and then fly away.
17 Your officers are like locusts,
and your scribes are like swarms of locusts
that settle on the fences when it is cold.
The sun rises, and they scatter in every direction.
No one knows where they’ve gone.
18 Your shepherds, king of Assyria, have fallen into a deep sleep.
Your best fighting men are at rest.
Your people are scattered on the mountains,
and there is no one to gather them.
19 There is no relief for your collapse.
Your wound is fatal.
All who hear the news about you will clap their hands.
Who hasn’t suffered from your endless evil?
Footnotes
- Nahum 3:8 The city No-amon, also called Thebes, was the capital of southern Egypt.
Nahum 3
Lexham English Bible
The Doom of the Wicked City is Certain
3 Woe to the city that has shed much blood![a]
She is a deceiver,[b]
She is filled with plunder,
She has hoarded her spoils of war.[c]
2 The crack of the whip!
The rumbling of the chariot wheel!
The galloping of the horse!
The racing of the chariot!
3 Chariots charge!
Swords flash!
Spears glitter!
Many corpses are piled high![d]
There is no end to the slain!
They stumble over their dead!
Harlot Nineveh Will Get What She Deserves
4 “Because of the many idolatries of the prostitute,
the beautiful charm of a mistress of witchcraft,
she who enslaves nations by her harlotries,
and peoples by her sorceries,
5 “Look! I am against you!” declares[e]Yahweh.
“I will strip up your skirts over your face;
I will let nations look at your nakedness and your shame.
6 “I will throw filth upon you,
I will treat you with contempt,
I will make you a spectacle.
7 “And it will be that everyone who sees you will flee from you,
And they[f] will say, ‘Nineveh is destroyed!’
Who will mourn for her?
From whence shall I seek comforters for you?”
Nineveh Will Suffer the Same Fate She Inflicted on Thebes
8 Are you better than Thebes?[g]
She who sits at the Nile, surrounded by her waters,
her rampart was the sea and water was her wall.
9 Cush was her strength, Egypt without end;
Put and Libya were among your allies.[h]
10 Yet she went into captivity as an exile;
her children were dashed to pieces at the head of the streets;
they cast lots for all of her nobles;
all of her dignitaries were bound with chains.
11 You also will behave like a drunkard;
You also will hide yourself;
You also will seek refuge from the enemy.
Nineveh’s Defenses Will Fail
12 All of your fortifications are like fig trees with ripe firstfruits—
if they are shaken, they will fall into the mouth of the eater.
13 Look! Your troops are like women in your midst.
The gates of your land are wide open to your enemies;
fire will consume the bars of your gates.
14 Draw water for a siege!
Strengthen your fortifications!
Go to the mud pit!
Trample the clay!
Grasp the brick mold!
15 There fire will consume you;
the sword will cut you off.
It will consume you like the locust.
Nineveh’s Defenders Will Flee
Multiply yourself like the locust!
Multiply yourself like the grasshopper!
16 You have increased your merchants more than the stars of heaven;
like the locust they will shed their skin and fly away.
17 Your officials are like locusts;
your commanders are like a swarm of locusts.
They encamp on the walls on a cold day;
when the sun rises, they fly away—
no one knows where they have gone.
Nineveh Will Come to an End
18 Your shepherds are sleeping, O king of Assyria!
Your nobles slumber.
Your people are scattered on the mountains;
no one can gather them.
19 There is no healing for your wound;
your injury is fatal.
All who hear the report of you will clap their hands for joy concerning you,
For who has not suffered at the hands of your endless cruelty?[i]
Footnotes
- Nahum 3:1 Literally “bloods”
- Nahum 3:1 Literally “All of her is deception”
- Nahum 3:1 Literally “Prey does not depart”
- Nahum 3:3 Literally “Many dead, piles of corpses”
- Nahum 3:5 Literally “a declaration of”
- Nahum 3:7 Hebrew “he”
- Nahum 3:8 Hebrew “No-Amon”
- Nahum 3:9 Literally “your helpers”
- Nahum 3:19 Literally “For over whom has your endless cruelty not passed?”
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.
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