Nahum 3

1 Woe to the city of blood! it is all full of lies and robbery; never ceaseth the preying;

Woe to the city of blood! She is all full of deceit and robbery; She ceaseth not from plunder.

2 The noise of a whip, and the noise of the rattling of wheels, and of prancing horses, and of the skipping chariots.

[[Hark!]] The noise of the whip! The noise of the rattling of the wheels, And of the prancing horses, And of the bounding chariots!

3 Horsemen mount, and there are the flaming sword and the glittering spear: and there is a multitude of slain, and heaps of carcasses; and without end are the corpses; they stumble on their corpses;

The horseman lifteth up the flame of the sword, And the lightning of the spear; There is a multitude of the slain; heaps of dead bodies; There is no end to the carcasses; they stumble over the carcasses.

4 Because of the multitude of the lewd deeds of the harlot, that is rich in gracefulness, the mistress of witchcrafts, that selleth nations through her lewd deeds, and families through her witchcrafts.

It is because of the many whoredoms of the harlot, The graceful beauty, the mistress of enchantments, That sold nations by her whoredoms, And kingdoms by her enchantments.

5 Behold, I will be against thee, saith the Lord of hosts; and I will lay thy skirts open over thy face, and I will let nations see thy nakedness, and kingdoms thy shame.

Behold, I am against thee, saith Jehovah of host, And I will lift up thy trail over thy face, And I will show the nations thy nakedness, And the kingdoms thy shame.

6 And I will cast abominable filth upon thee, and defile thee, and will render thee a dirt-heap.

And I will cast abominable filth upon thee, And I will dishonor thee, and make thee a gazing-stock,

7 And it shall come to pass, that all they that see thee shall flee from thee, and say, Laid waste is Nineveh: who will condole with her? whence shall I seek comforters for thee?

And all that see thee shall flee from thee, And shall say, “Nineveh is laid waste; Who will bemoan her? Whence shall I seek comforters for thee?”

8 Art thou better than No-amon, that was situated on the rivers, that had water round about her, the rampart of which was the sea, and the walls of which rose out of the sea?

Art thou better than No-Ammon, That dwelt by the rivers, That had the waters round about her, Whose fortress was the sea, And whose wall was from the waters?

9 Ethiopia the numerous, and Egypt that was without end, Put and Lubim were thy helpers.

Ethiopia and Egypt were her strength, a countless multitude; Phut and Lybia were thy helpers!

10 Yet also she was exiled, was carried away into captivity; also her young children were dashed in pieces at the corners of all streets: and for her honorable men they cast lots, and all her great ones were bound with chains.

Yet was she carried away; she went into captivity; Her children were dashed in pieces at the head of all the streets; For her honorable men they cast lots, And all her great men were bound in chains.

11 Thou also shalt be made drunken, thou shalt be hidden from view: thou also shalt seek refuge because of the enemy.

Thou also shalt drink to the full; Thou, too, shalt be hidden; Thou shalt seek a refuge from the enemy!

12 All thy strong-holds shall be like fig-trees with the first ripe figs, which, if they be shaken, will fall into the mouth of the eater.

All thy strong-holds shall be like fig-trees with the first ripe figs; If they be shaken, they fall into the mouth of the eater.

13 Behold, thy people are become women in the midst of thee: unto thy enemies are the gates of thy land set wide open; the fire hath devoured thy bars.

Behold, thy people shall be women in the midst of thee; The gates of thy land shall be set wide open to thine enemies; The fire shall devour thy bars.

14 Water for the siege draw for thyself, fortify thy strongholds: go into the clay, and tread the mortar, make strong the brick-kiln.

Draw thee water for the siege, Fortify thy strongholds. Go into the clay, and tread the mortar; Repair the brick-kiln!

15 There shall the fire devour thee; the sword shall cut thee off, it shall devour thee up like the cankerworm: [though] thou make thyself many as the cankerworm; make thyself many as the locusts.

Then shall the fire devour thee; The sword shall cut thee off, It shall devour thee like the locust; Though thou art increased like the locusts, Though thou art increased like the thick locusts.

16 [Though] thou hadst multiplied thy merchants more than the stars of heaven: the cankerworm spreadeth itself out, and flieth away.

Thy merchants have been more numerous than the stars of heaven; The locusts spread themselves and fly away.

17 Thy crowned ones are like the locusts, and thy leaders like the swarms of locusts, which camp in the hedges on a cold day, but when the sun ariseth they flee away, and their place is not known where they are.

Thy princes are like locusts, And thy captains like swarms of locusts, Which encamp in the hedges in the time of cold; But when the sun ariseth, they flee away, And the place is not known where they are.

18 Thy shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria; thy valiant men are at rest: scattered are thy people upon the mountains, and there is none that gathereth them.

Thy shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria! Thy nobles take their rest, Thy people are scattered on the mountains, and none gathereth them.

19 There is no healing for thy breach; fatal is thy wound: all that hear the report of thee will clap their hands over thee; for over whom did not thy wickedness pass continually?

Thy bruise is incurable; Thy wound is mortal. All that hear of thee shall clap their hands over thee; For upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually?