Nahum

Judgment on Nineveh

1Woe to the city of blood,full of lies,full of plunder,never without prey.

2The crack of the whip,the rumble of the wheel,galloping horseand bounding chariot!

3Charging horseman,flashing sword, shining spear;heaps of slain,mounds of corpses,dead bodies without end—they stumble over their dead—

4because of the many harlotries of the harlot,the seductive mistress of sorcery,who betrays nations by her prostitutionand clans by her witchcraft.

5“Behold, I am against you,”declares the LORD of Hosts.“I will lift your skirts over your face.I will show your nakedness to the nations and your shame to the kingdoms.

6I will pelt you with filthand treat you with contempt; I will make a spectacle of you.

7Then all who see youwill recoil from you and say,‘Nineveh is devastated;who will grieve for her?’Where can I findcomforters for you?”

8Are you better than Thebes,stationed by the Nile with water around her,whose rampart was the sea,whose wall was the water?

9Cushand Egypt were her boundless strength;Put and Libya were her allies.

10Yet she became an exile;she went into captivity.Her infants were dashed to piecesat the head of every street.They cast lots for her dignitaries,and all her nobles were bound in chains.

11You too will become drunk;you will go into hiding and seek refuge from the enemy.

12All your fortresses are fig treeswith the first ripe figs;when shaken, they fallinto the mouth of the eater!

13Look at your troops—they are like your women!The gates of your landare wide open to your enemies; fire consumes their bars.

14Draw your water for the siege;strengthen your fortresses.Work the clay and tread the mortar;repair the brick kiln!

15There the fire will devour you;the sword will cut you down and consume you like a young locust.Make yourself many like the young locust;make yourself many like the swarming locust!

16You have multiplied your merchantsmore than the stars of the sky.The young locust strips the landand flies away.

17Your guardsare like the swarming locust,and your scribeslike clouds of locusts that settle on the walls on a cold day.When the sun rises, they fly away,and no one knows where.

18O king of Assyria, your shepherds slumber;your officers sleep.Your people are scattered on the mountainswith no one to gather them.

19There is no healing for your injury;your wound is severe.All who hear the news of youapplaud your downfall,for who has not experiencedyour constant cruelty?

1Woe to the bloody city! It is all full of lies and robbery—no end to the prey.

2The noise of the whip, the noise of the rattling of wheels, prancing horses, and bounding chariots,

3the horseman charging, and the flashing sword, the glittering spear, and a multitude of slain, and a great heap of corpses, and there is no end of the bodies. They stumble on their bodies

4because of the multitude of the prostitution of the alluring prostitute, the mistress of witchcraft, who sells nations through her prostitution, and families through her witchcraft.

5“Behold, I am against you,” says the LORD of Armies, “and I will lift your skirts over your face. I will show the nations your nakedness, and the kingdoms your shame.

6I will throw abominable filth on you and make you vile, and will make you a spectacle.

7It will happen that all those who look at you will flee from you, and say, ‘Nineveh is laid waste! Who will mourn for her?’ Where will I seek comforters for you?”

8Are you better than No-Amon,who was situated among the rivers,who had the waters around her, whose rampart was the sea, and her wall was of the sea?

9Cush and Egypt were her boundless strength. Put and Libya were her helpers.

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

11You also will be drunken. You will be hidden. You also will seek a stronghold because of the enemy.

12All your fortresses will be like fig trees with the first-ripe figs. If they are shaken, they fall into the mouth of the eater.

13Behold, your troops among you are women. The gates of your land are set wide open to your enemies. The fire has devoured your bars.

14Draw water for the siege. Strengthen your fortresses. Go into the clay, and tread the mortar. Make the brick kiln strong.

15There the fire will devour you. The sword will cut you off. It will devour you like the grasshopper. Multiply like grasshoppers. Multiply like the locust.

16You have increased your merchants more than the stars of the skies. The grasshopper strips and flees away.

17Your guards are like the locusts, and your officials like the swarms of locusts, which settle on the walls on a cold day, but when the sun appears, they flee away, and their place is not known where they are.

18Your shepherds slumber, king of Assyria. Your nobles lie down. Your people are scattered on the mountains, and there is no one to gather them.

19There is no healing your wound, for your injury is fatal. All who hear the report of you clap their hands over you, for who hasn’t felt your endless cruelty?