Nahum 3
1 Woe to the city of blood, filled with all manner of lies and violence. Crime shall not depart from you:
Woe to the bloody city! It is all full of lies and rapine; the prey departeth not.
2 the voice of the whip, and the voice of the turning wheels, and of the neighing horse, and the burning chariot, and the horsemen who ride,
Hark! the whip, and hark! the rattling of the wheels; and prancing horses, and bounding chariots;
3 and of the flashing sword and the shining spear, and of a multitude executed and a grievous ruination. Neither is there an end to the dead bodies, and they will fall down upon their dead bodies.
The horseman charging, and the flashing sword, and the glittering spear; and a multitude of slain, and a heap of carcases; and there is no end of the corpses, and they stumble upon their corpses;
4 Because of the multitude of fornications of the kept woman, beautiful and pleasing and practicing evil deeds, who sold nations by her fornications, and families by her evil doing:
Because of the multitude of the harlotries of the well-favoured harlot, the mistress of witchcrafts, that selleth nations through her harlotries, and families through her witchcrafts.
5 behold, I will come to you, says the Lord of hosts, and I will reveal your shame to your face, and I will show your nakedness to the Gentiles, and your disgrace to kingdoms.
Behold, I am against thee, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will uncover thy skirts upon thy face, and I will shew the nations thy nakedness, and the kingdoms thy shame.
6 And I will cast abominations over you, and I will afflict you with abuse, and I will make an example of you.
And I will cast detestable things upon thee, and make thee vile, and will make thee as dung.
7 And this shall be: everyone who sees you, will recoil from you, and he will say: “Nineveh has been devastated.” Who will shake his head over you? Where might I seek consolation for you?
And it shall come to pass, that all they that look upon thee shall flee from thee, and say: 'Nineveh is laid waste; who will bemoan her? whence shall I seek comforters for thee?'
8 Are you better than the populous Alexandria, which dwells along the rivers? Waters encircle it: the sea, with its riches. The waters are its walls.
Art thou better than No-amon, that was situate among the rivers, that had the waters round about her; whose rampart was the sea, and of the sea her wall?
9 Ethiopia and Egypt were its strength, and there is no limit. Africa and Northern Africa have been your helpers.
Ethiopia and Egypt were thy strength, and it was infinite; Put and Lubim were thy helpers.
10 Nevertheless, she has been led away with the transmigration into captivity. Her little ones have been dashed in pieces at the top of every street, and they have cast lots over her celebrities, and all her elite have been fastened together in shackles.
Yet 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 honourable men, and all her great men were bound in chains.
11 Therefore, you also will become inebriated, and you will be despised, and you will seek help from the opposition.
Thou also shalt be drunken, thou shalt swoon; thou also shalt seek a refuge because of the enemy.
12 All your fortresses will be like fig trees with their green figs. If they are shaken violently, they will fall into the mouth of the one who devours.
All thy fortresses shall be like fig-trees with the first-ripe figs: if they be shaken, they fall into the mouth of the eater.
13 Behold, women are at the center of your people. The gates of your land will be opened wide for your enemies; fire will devour your bars.
Behold, thy people in the midst of thee are women; the gates of thy land are set wide open unto thine enemies; the fire hath devoured thy bars.
14 Draw in water because of the blockade; build up your fortresses. Go into the clay and tread; work it to make brick.
Draw thee water for the siege, strengthen thy fortresses; go into the clay, and tread the mortar, lay hold of the brickmould.
15 There, fire will devour you. You will perish by the sword; it will devour you like the beetle. Gather together like the beetle. Multiply like the locust.
There shall the fire devour thee; the sword shall cut thee off, it shall devour thee like the canker-worm; make thyself many as the canker-worm, make thyself many as the locusts.
16 You have made more negotiations than there are stars in the sky. The beetle has spread out and flown away.
Thou hast multiplied thy merchants above the stars of heaven; the canker-worm spreadeth itself, and flieth away.
17 Your guardians are like locusts, and your little ones are like locusts among locusts, which alight on hedges on a cold day. The sun rose up, and they flew away, and there was no way to know the place where they had been.
Thy crowned are as the locusts, and thy marshals as the swarms of grasshoppers, which camp in the walls in the cold day, but when the sun ariseth they flee away, and their place is not known where they are.
18 Your shepherds have become drowsy, king Assur. Your princes will be buried. Your people have remained hidden in the mountains, and there is no one to gather them.
Thy shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria, thy worthies are at rest; thy people are scattered upon the mountains, and there is none to gather them.
19 Your destruction is not hidden; your wound is grievous. All who have heard of your fame have clenched their hands over you, because over whom has your wickedness not trampled continually?
There is no assuaging of thy hurt, thy wound is grievous; all that hear the report of thee clap the hands over thee; for upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually?
