Nahum 3
1 Tami thi palawngnae kho dawk, thoebonae ka tâcawtkhai e laithoe hoi thamanae akawi. A man e naw hai tha awh hoeh.
Woe to the bloody city! Full of lies and plunder, without end is the spoil.
2 Bongpai hoi hem e lawk, rangleng khok kamlei lawk, marang coukdouk lawk, rangleng a yawng e lawk hah ka thai.
Hear the crack of the whip, hear the rattle of wheels. Galloping horses, jolting chariots.
3 Marangransa ni laklakkaang e tahloi, keitat tahroe hah a dâw teh, kadout e tami ro teh a kâmawk. Hote ronaw hah boeba touk thai hoeh. Ronaw hah a kamthui awh teh ro van a tâlaw awh.
Horsemen charging, swords flashing, spears glittering, a multitude of slain, a heap of bodies, no end to the corpses over which people stumble!
4 Hetnaw pueng teh ka kâyawt e napui kecu doeh a tho. A meihawinae, ânnae, a kâyonae lahoi khocaramca pueng koung a dum toe.
‘Because you acted like a whore, bewitching the nations, enticing the peoples,
5 Hatdawkvah, Cathut ni a dei e teh, nange avanglah kai ka o. Na angki hah na minhmai dawk ka ling vaiteh caici lah na onae hoi na kayanae hah uknaeram tangkuem ka patue 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 Ei hoi na dei vaiteh, na khin sak vaiteh, ayâ ni panuet e lah na ta han.
‘I will fling loathsome filth at you, and make you an object of contempt, a spectacle,
7 Na kahmawt e tami pueng ni, Nineveh kho a rawk toe, apinimouh a khui han vai ati awh teh, na yawng takhai awh han. Nang lungpahawi hanelah, nâmouh ka tawng vaiteh ka pâphawng han vai.
so that everyone who sees you will flee from you and say: “Nineveh is laid waste, who will mourn for her?”
8 Nang teh tuipui rahak kaawm e Noamon kho hlak na talue maw. Hote khopui teh tui ni a kalup teh, tuipui teh ahnie rapan lah ao.
‘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 ram teh ahnie senehmaica lah ao teh a thaonae teh baw thai hoeh. Put hoi Lubim ni a kabawp.
Her strength was Ethiopia and Egypt. The Libyans were her helpers, and Put with its countless people.
10 Hatei, hote kho teh tarannaw ni a tuk awh teh a man awh toe. Khocanaw teh lamtakinnaw koe a phep awh. Bari lah kaawm e khocanaw teh, cungpam lah a khoe awh teh, thakasai e khocanaw abuemlah sumrui hoi a pâkhi awh toe.
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 Nang haiyah puen laihoi na kâhro han. Taran kut dawk hoi hlout nahanelah kacakpounge hmuen na tawng han.
‘You too, Nineveh, will be drunk with fear; you too will seek a place of escape from the foe.
12 Nange rapanimnaw teh a paw hmaloe kahmin e thaibunglungnaw hoi a kâvan han. Kahuet navah ka cat ngai e kâko thung hloum a bo pouh awh han.
All your fortresses are fig trees with the first ripe figs; if shaken, they fall into the mouth of the eater!
13 Na taminaw teh na hmalah napui patetlah ao vaiteh, kho longkhanaw teh tarannaw hanelah kakaw lah a kamawng vaiteh tho rawngkannae teh hmai a kak han.
Your troops are weak as women before your foes; the gates of your land are wide open; your defenses burned down.
14 Taran ni na kaven yunglam, na hno hane tui sut do awh. Rapanimnaw hah caksak awh. Amhru talai hah katin awh. Amhru hmai raawng awh.
‘Draw water for the siege, strengthen your forts. Go to the clay pits and tread the clay; take up the brick moulds.
15 Hote hmuen koe raw vah hmai na kak awh vaiteh, tahloi hoi pat na raboung awh han. Samtong patetlah pap awh yawkaw, awsi patetlah pap a yawkaw.
There the fire will consume you, the sword will cut you down. Multiply like the locust or a swarm of grasshoppers.
16 Kalvan âsinaw hlak hno kayawtnaw kapap nakunghai, samtongnaw patetlah parang a kamleng awh han.
Increase the numbers of your merchants until they are more than the stars of heaven,
17 Nangmae khobawinaw teh samtangnaw patetlah ransabawinaw teh tapangkhongdengnaw patetlah ao awh teh, a pâding toteh tahmout dawk a tabo awh. Kanî a tâco toteh nâmouh phang a kamleng tie panuek hoeh.
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 Assiria siangpahrang nange tukhoumnaw teh muet a i awh teh, Saring kakhenkungnaw teh a yan awh. Ransanaw teh monsom vah koung kâkapek awh teh apinihai pâkhueng awh hoeh.
‘King of Assyria: your princes slumber, your nobles sleep! Your people are scattered on the mountains with no one to gather them!
19 Na khang e a hmâ a nung poung dawkvah dam thai mahoeh. Nange kamthang ka thai e pueng ni kut na tabawng sin awh han. Bangkongtetpawiteh, nang ni na rektap hoeh e tami apihai awm hoeh.
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?’
