Nahum 3
1 Lok amlaihaih hoi hmuenmae lomhaih hoiah kakoi, kami bohhaih apet ai, athii palong thaih vangpui nang, khosak na bing!
Woe to the bloody city! Full of lies and plunder, without end is the spoil.
2 Bohhaih qui tuenh, hrang lakok khok tuenh, hrang lok hoi hrang lakok caehhaih atuennawk to oh.
Hear the crack of the whip, hear the rattle of wheels. Galloping horses, jolting chariots.
3 Hrang angthueng kaminawk loe sumsen hoi rong kampha tayae to van ah atoengh o tahang: pop parai kaminawk to hum o, pop parai kami qok, kroek laek ai qoknawk to oh, kaminawk loe qok nuiah amtimh o:
Horsemen charging, swords flashing, spears glittering, a multitude of slain, a heap of bodies, no end to the corpses over which people stumble!
4 tangzat zaw kami mah koeh baktiah zoek moe, miklet kop nongpata mah miklet sakhaih hoiah imthung takoh kaminawk to a zawh moe, angmah ih tangzat zawhhaih hoiah acaeng kaminawk to tamna ah zawh ving boeh.
‘Because you acted like a whore, bewitching the nations, enticing the peoples,
5 Khenah, nang loe misa ah kang suek, tiah misatuh kaminawk ih Angraeng mah thuih; na buen ih canghnak to mikhmai khoek to kang thlaeh pae han, azat thok bangkrai ah na ohhaih to prae kaminawk boih khaeah kam tuengsak han.
I am against you, Nineveh’ the Lord of hosts declares. ‘I will strip your clothes and show the nations your nakedness, and the kingdoms your shame.
6 Panuet thok hmuen na nuiah ka vah moe, patoek koi kaom kami ah kang sak han, minawk mah khet kur ih kami ah kang sak han.
‘I will fling loathsome filth at you, and make you an object of contempt, a spectacle,
7 Nang hnu kaminawk boih mah na cawn o taak ueloe, Nineveh loe amro boeh; mi mah maw anih qah haih tih? Nang pathloepkung naah maw ka pakrong han? tiah thui o tih.
so that everyone who sees you will flee from you and say: “Nineveh is laid waste, who will mourn for her?”
8 Nang loe tuipuinawk taengah kaom, tui mah takui khoep ih No vangpui pongah na hoih kue maw? Vangpui loe tuipui mah takui moe, tuipui loe anih han tapang ah oh.
‘Are you any better than Thebes, which stood on the banks of the Nile, with waters around as a rampart, whose wall was the sea of waters?
9 Ethiopia hoi Izip loe anih thacakhaih ah oh, anih loe boenghaih om ai; Put hoi Lubim loe nang bomkung ah oh hoi.
Her strength was Ethiopia and Egypt. The Libyans were her helpers, and Put with its countless people.
10 Toe anih loe misong ah caeh o haih, saning kanawk a caanawk loe lamkrung kruek ah amhet o; a oep ih kaminawk han taham khethaih phoisa vah pae o moe, kalen anih ih kaminawk to sumqui hoiah pathlet o.
Yet she was exiled and made captive. On all corners of the streets her infants were dashed to pieces. Lots were cast for her nobles, all her great ones were bound in chains.
11 Nangcae doeh mu na paqui o tih; nang hawk o ueloe, misa thung hoi abuephaih ahmuen to na pakrong o tih.
‘You too, Nineveh, will be drunk with fear; you too will seek a place of escape from the foe.
12 Na misa abuephaih ahmuennawk loe kahmin thaiduet thaih baktiah ni oh o: akung ahuenh naah kaminawk mah caak hanah kangmuen athaih baktiah ni oh o.
All your fortresses are fig trees with the first ripe figs; if shaken, they fall into the mouth of the eater!
13 Khenah, nang salakah misatuh kaminawk loe nongpata baktiah ni oh o: na prae khongkhanawk loe na misanawk hanah kakawk ah paong tih: hmai mah na khongkhanawk to kangh tih.
Your troops are weak as women before your foes; the gates of your land are wide open; your defenses burned down.
14 Na vangpui takui khoep nathung naek hanah tui to doh oh, long to naep oh, hmaiqoeng oh loe, okkhe hoiah misa angvaenghaih tapang to kacakah sah oh.
‘Draw water for the siege, strengthen your forts. Go to the clay pits and tread the clay; take up the brick moulds.
15 To tiah na sak o cadoeh nangcae loe hmai mah kangh ueloe, sumsen hoiah na takroek o tih; pakhu mah cang caak baktiah na caa o boih tih: nangmacae hoi nangmacae to khoinget baktiah pung oh loe, pakhunawk baktiah pop oh.
There the fire will consume you, the sword will cut you down. Multiply like the locust or a swarm of grasshoppers.
16 Hmuenmae zaw kaminawk loe van ih cakaeh pongah pop o: toe pakhuh mah na prae to caak boih moe, ang zawk o taak ving boeh.
Increase the numbers of your merchants until they are more than the stars of heaven,
17 Nangcae toepkung angraengnawk loe pakhu baktiah oh o, nangcae han misatuh angraengnawk loe angqai na niah tapang ah kacuk, pakhunawk baktiah oh o; toe ni bet naah loe kalah bangah azawk o boih, nihcae ohhaih ahmuen to mi mah doeh panoek ai.
until your watchmen are locusts, and your scribes like grasshoppers, which swarm in the hedges on a cold day; but when the sun rises they fly away, no one knows where.
18 Aw Assyria siangpahrang, nang ih tuu toep kaminawk loe iih angam o; oep kaom na toksah kaminawk loe maiphu thungah anghak o: nang ih kaminawk loe maenawk nuiah anghaeh o phang boeh, nihcae nawnto pakhueng kami mi doeh om ai.
‘King of Assyria: your princes slumber, your nobles sleep! Your people are scattered on the mountains with no one to gather them!
19 Nang ih ahma loe nung parai, na hma loe hoih thai ai boeh: nang ih tamthang thaih kaminawk boih mah ban na tabaeng o thui tih, boeng thai ai na sethaih mah nganbawh kana paek ai ih kami oh o maw?
There is no healing for your hurt, your wound is incurable. All who hear of your fate clap their hands in joy, for who has escaped your limitless cruelty?’
