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 full of blood! It is all full of lies and stolen property; victims are always in her.
2 The noise of a whip, and the noise of the rattling of wheels, and of prancing horses, and of the skipping chariots.
But now there is the noise of whips and the sound of rattling wheels, prancing horses, and 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;
There are attacking horsemen, flashing swords, glittering spears, heaps of corpses, great piles of bodies. There is no end to the bodies; their attackers stumble over them.
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.
This is happening because of the lustful actions of the beautiful prostitute, the expert in witchcraft, who sells nations through her prostitution, and peoples through her acts of witchcraft.
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.
“See, I am against you—this is the declaration of Yahweh of hosts—I will raise up your skirt over your face and show your private parts to the nations, your shame to the kingdoms.
6 And I will cast abominable filth upon thee, and defile thee, and will render thee a dirt-heap.
I will throw disgusting filth on you and make you vile; I will make you someone that everyone will look at.
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?
It will come about that everyone who looks at you will flee from you and say, 'Nineveh is destroyed; who will weep for her?' Where can I find anyone to comfort you?”
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?
Nineveh, are you better than Thebes, that was built on the Nile River, that had water around her, whose defense was the ocean, whose wall was the sea itself?
9 Ethiopia the numerous, and Egypt that was without end, Put and Lubim were thy helpers.
Cush and Egypt were her strength, and there was no end to it; Put and Libya were allies to her.
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 Thebes was carried away; she went into captivity; her young children were dashed in pieces at the head of every street; her enemies threw lots for her honorable men, 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.
You also will become drunk; you will try to hide, and you will also look for a refuge from your 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 your fortresses will be like fig trees with the earliest ripe figs: if they are 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.
See, the people among you are women; the gates of your land have been opened wide to your enemies; fire has devoured their 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.
Go draw water for the siege; strengthen your fortresses; go into the clay and tread the mortar; pick up the molds for the bricks.
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.
Fire will devour you there, and the sword will destroy you. It will devour you as young locusts devour everything. Make yourselves as many as the young locusts, as many as the full-grown locusts.
16 [Though] thou hadst multiplied thy merchants more than the stars of heaven: the cankerworm spreadeth itself out, and flieth away.
You have multiplied your merchants more than the stars in the heavens; but they are like young locusts: they plunder the land and then 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.
Your princes are as many as the full-grown locusts, and your generals are like swarms of them that camp in the walls on a cold day. But when the sun rises they fly away to no one knows where.
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.
King of Assyria, your shepherds are asleep; your rulers are lying down resting. Your people are scattered on the mountains, and there is no one to gather 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?
No healing is possible for your wounds. Your wounds are severe. Everyone who hears the news about you will clap their hands in joy over you. Who has escaped your constant wickedness?
