Nahum 3
1 Woe [to] the city of blood, She is all full with lies [and] burglary, Prey does not depart.
O city of blood, wholly false, full of unrighteousness; the prey shall not be handled.
2 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.
The noise of whips, and the noise of the rumbling of wheels, and of the pursuing horse, and of the bounding chariot,
3 And the flame of a sword, and the lightning of a spear, And the abundance of the wounded, And the weight of carcasses, Indeed, there is no end to the bodies, They stumble over their bodies.
and of the mounting rider, and of the glittering sword, and of the gleaming arms, and of a multitude of slain, and of heavy falling: and there was no end to her nations, but they shall be weak in their bodies
4 Because of the abundance of the fornications of a harlot, The goodness of the grace of the lady of witchcrafts, Who is selling nations by her fornications, And families by her witchcrafts.
because of the abundance of fornication: [she is] a fair harlot, and well-favoured, skilled in sorcery, that sells the nations by her fornication, and peoples by her sorceries.
5 “Behold, I [am] against you,” A declaration of YHWH of Hosts, “And have removed your skirts before your face, And have showed nations your nakedness, And kingdoms your shame,
Behold, I am against thee, saith the Lord God Almighty, and I will uncover thy skirts in thy presence, and I will shew the nations thy shame, and the kingdoms thy disgrace.
6 And I have cast on you abominations, And dishonored you, and made you as a sight.
And I will cast abominable filth upon thee according to thine unclean ways, and will make thee a public example.
7 And it has come to pass, Each of your beholders flees from you, And has said: Nineveh is spoiled, Who bemoans for her? From where do I seek comforters for you?”
And it shall be [that] every one that sees thee shall go down from thee, and shall say, Wretched Nineve! who shall lament for her? whence shall I seek comfort for her?
8 Are you better than No-Ammon, That is dwelling among brooks? Waters she has around her, Whose bulwark [is] the sea, waters her wall.
Prepare thee a portion, tune the chord, prepare a portion for Ammon: she that dwells among the rivers, water is round about her, whose dominion is the sea, and whose walls are water.
9 Cush her might, and Egypt, and there is no end. Put and Lubim have been for your help.
And Ethiopia is her strength, and Egypt; and there was no limit of the flight [of her enemies]; and the Libyans became her helpers.
10 Even she becomes an exile, She has gone into captivity, Even her sucklings are dashed to pieces At the top of all out-places, And for her honored ones they cast a lot, And all her great ones have been bound in chains.
Yet she shall go as a prisoner into captivity, and they shall dash her infants against the ground at the top of all her ways: and they shall cast lots upon all her glorious [possessions], and all her nobles shall be bound in chains.
11 Even you are drunken, you are hidden, Even you seek a strong place, because of an enemy.
And thou shalt be drunken, and shalt be overlooked; and thou shalt seek for thyself strength because of [thine] enemies.
12 All your fortresses [are] fig trees with first-fruits, If they are shaken, They have fallen into the mouth of the eater.
All thy strong-holds are as fig-trees having watchers: if they be shaken, they shall fall into the mouth of the eater.
13 Behold, your people [are] women in your midst, To your enemies thoroughly opened Have been the gates of your land, Fire has consumed your bars.
Behold, thy people within thee are as women: the gates of thy land shall surely be opened to thine enemies: the fire shall devour thy bars.
14 Waters of a siege draw for yourself, Strengthen your fortresses, Enter into mire, and tread on clay, Make strong a brick-kiln.
Draw thee water for a siege, and well secure thy strong-holds: enter into the clay, and be thou trodden in the chaff, make [the fortifications] stronger than brick.
15 There a fire consumes you, A sword cuts you off, It consumes you as a cankerworm! Make yourself heavy as the cankerworm, Make yourself heavy as the locust.
There the fire shall devour thee; the sword shall utterly destroy thee, it shall devour thee as the locust, and thou shalt be pressed down as a palmerworm.
16 Multiply your merchants above the stars of the heavens, The cankerworm has stripped off, and flees away.
Thou hast multiplied thy merchandise beyond the stars of heaven: the palmerworm has attacked [it], and has flown away.
17 Your crowned ones [are] as a locust, And your princes as great grasshoppers, That encamp in hedges in a day of cold, The sun has risen, and it flees away, And its place where they are is not known.
Thy mixed [multitude] has suddenly departed as the grasshopper, as the locust perched on a hedge in a frosty day; the sun arises, and it flies off, and knows not its place: woe to them!
18 Your friends have slumbered, king of Asshur, Your majestic ones rest, Your people have been scattered on the mountains, And there is none gathering.
Thy shepherds have slumbered, the Assyrian king has laid low thy mighty men: thy people departed to the mountains, and there was none to receive [them].
19 There is no weakening of your destruction, Your striking [is] grievous, All hearing your fame have clapped the hand at you, For over whom did your wickedness not pass continually?
There is no healing for thy bruise; thy wound has rankled: all that hear the report of thee shall clap their hands against thee; for upon whom has not thy wickedness passed continually?
