Nahum 3
1 What a disaster is coming upon this murderous city with all its treachery! It is full of wealth it has robbed, and always has plenty of victims.
Woe [to] the city of blood, She is all with lies — burglary — full, Prey doth not depart.
2 Listen to the noise: whips crack, wheels clatter, horses gallop, chariots rattle!
The sound of a whip, And the sound of the rattling of a wheel, And of a prancing horse, and of a bounding chariot, Of a horseman mounting.
3 Horsemen charge, swords flash, spears glitter! Many dead, piles of corpses, countless bodies—so many that people stumble over them.
And the flame of a sword, and the lightning of a spear, And the abundance of the wounded, And the weight of carcases, Yea, there is no end to the bodies, They stumble over their bodies.
4 All this happens because the repeated prostitution of Nineveh the prostitute, the beautiful mistress with her deadly charms who seduces nations into slavery by her prostitution and her witchcraft.
Because of the abundance of the fornications of an harlot, The goodness of the grace of the lady of witchcrafts, Who is selling nations by her fornications, And families by her witchcrafts.
5 Watch out! For I am against you, declares the Lord Almighty. I will lift your skirts over your face and let the nations see your nakedness, and kingdoms see your shame.
Lo, I [am] against thee, An affirmation of Jehovah of Hosts, And have removed thy skirts before thy face, And have shewed nations thy nakedness, And kingdoms thy shame,
6 I will throw filth at you. I will treat you with contempt, and make a spectacle of you.
And I have cast upon thee abominations, And dishonoured thee, and made thee as a sight.
7 Then everyone who sees you will shun you saying, “Nineveh is ruined! But who is going to mourn your loss?” Where should I look to find anyone to comfort you?
And it hath come to pass, Each of thy beholders fleeth from thee, And hath said: 'Spoiled is Nineveh, Who doth bemoan for her?' Whence do I seek comforters for thee?
8 Are you any better than the city of Thebes on the River Nile, surrounded by water? Water was its defense, water was its wall.
Art thou better than No-Ammon, That is dwelling among brooks? Waters she hath round about her, Whose bulwark [is] the sea, waters her wall.
9 The city ruled Egypt and Ethiopia. Put and Libya were its allies.
Cush her might, and Egypt, and there is no end. Put and Lubim have been for thy help.
10 Yet its people were also taken away into exile, into captivity. Their babies were dashed to pieces in every street. Their nobles were bound in chains and taken away as servants, chosen by lot.
Even she doth become an exile, She hath gone into captivity, Even her sucklings are dashed to pieces At the top of all out-places, And for her honoured ones they cast a lot, And all her great ones have been bound in fetters.
11 You too will behave like a drunk. You will hide in fear, trying to find a place safe from the enemy.
Even thou art drunken, thou art hidden, Even thou dost seek a strong place, because of an enemy.
12 All your fortresses are like fig trees ripe with fruit—they fall when they are shaken into the mouth of the one eating.
All thy fortresses [are] fig-trees with first-fruits, If they are shaken, They have fallen into the mouth of the eater.
13 Look! Your soldiers are women among you. The gates of your land are wide open to your enemies; the bars of the gates will be set on fire.
Lo, thy people [are] women in thy midst, To thine enemies thoroughly opened Have been the gates of thy land, Consumed hath fire thy bars.
14 Store water to prepare for a siege! Strengthen your fortresses! Go to the clay pits to tread it well, mix the cement, get your brick molds ready!
Waters of a siege draw for thyself, Strengthen thy fortresses, Enter into mire, and tread on clay, Make strong a brick-kiln.
15 But even so, there the fire will consume you, you will be cut down by the sword. You will be destroyed as if you were devoured by a swarm of locusts. So multiply yourselves like locusts, like a swarm of locusts.
There consume thee doth a fire, Cut thee off doth a sword, It doth consume thee as a cankerworm! Make thyself heavy as the cankerworm, Make thyself heavy as the locust.
16 You increased your merchants so that there are more of them than the stars of heaven. But like locusts they strip everything and then fly away.
Multiply thy merchants above the stars of the heavens, The cankerworm hath stripped off, and doth flee away.
17 Your leaders are like locusts, your officials like a swarm of locusts. They rest on walls on a cold day, but when the sun rises they fly away, and no one knows where they've gone.
Thy crowned ones [are] as a locust, And thy princes as great grasshoppers, That encamp in hedges in a day of cold, The sun hath risen, and it doth flee away, And not known is its place where they are.
18 King of Assyria, your shepherds are asleep, your princes are slumbering. Your people are scattered across the mountains and no one can gather them.
Slumbered have thy friends, king of Asshur, Rest do thine honourable ones, Scattered have been thy people on the mountains, And there is none gathering.
19 There is no way to heal your injuries, you are too badly wounded. Everyone who hears this news will applaud what has happened to you, for was there anyone who escaped your continuous cruelty?
There is no weakening of thy destruction, Grievous [is] thy smiting, All hearing thy fame have clapped the hand at thee, For over whom did not thy wickedness pass continually?
