Nahum 3
1 Woe [to] the city of blood, She is all full with lies [and] burglary, Prey does not depart.
Alas for the city of bloodshed! All of it, deceit, of violence full, none releaseth prey!
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 sound of the whip, and the sound of the rushing wheel, —and horse galloping, and dancing chariot rattling along.
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.
Horsemen uplifting both the flashing sword, and the lightning spear, Aye, a mass of slain, and a weight of dead bridles, —and no end of corpses, so that they stumble upon their corpses.
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 multitude of the unchaste doings of the unchaste one, fair in grace, mistress of secret arts, —who hath been selling nations by her unchaste doings, families by her secret arts,
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 me! against thee, Declareth Yahweh of hosts, Therefore will I remove thy shirts over thy face, —and let, nations, see thy nakedness, and, kingdoms, thy shame;
6 And I have cast on you abominations, And dishonored you, and made you as a sight.
And I will cast upon thee abominable filth, and treat thee as foolish, —and set thee as a gazing-stock.
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 come to pass that, all who see thee, shall flee from thee, and shall say, Destroyed is Nineveh! Who will bemoan her?—Whence shall I seek any to comfort thee?
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.
Art thou better than No-amon, who sat among the Nile-streams, waters round about her, —whose fortress was the sea, from the sea, her wall.
9 Cush her might, and Egypt, and there is no end. Put and Lubim have been for your help.
Ethiopia, was her strength, and Egypt—Yea, without end, —Put and Lubim, were among thy 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, was given up to exile, she went into captivity, even her babes, were dashed to the ground, at the head of all the streets, —and, for her honourable men, cast they lots, and, all her great men, were bound together in chains.
11 Even you are drunken, you are hidden, Even you seek a strong place, because of an enemy.
Thou too, shalt be drunken, thou shalt hide thyself, —thou too, shalt seek shelter from the foe:
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 fortresses, shall be fig-trees with first-ripe figs: if thy be shaken, then shall [the fruit] fall on 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.
Lo! thy people, are women, in thy midst, to thy foes, have been set wide open the gates of thy and, —a fire, hath devoured, 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.
Siege-water, draw for thyself, strengthen thy fortresses, —go into the clay, and tread thou the mortar, make strong the 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, shall a fire devour thee, the sword, shall cut thee off, it shall devour thee like the grass locust, make thyself numerous like the grass locust, make thyself numerous as the swarming locust:
16 Multiply your merchants above the stars of the heavens, The cankerworm has stripped off, and flees away.
Though thou have multiplied thy foot-soldiers beyond the stars of the heavens, the grass locust, hath stript itself and 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 mercenary crowds, are like the swarming locust, and, thy mixed multitudes, like locusts—swarms of locusts, —which settle in the hedges on a cold day, the sun, hath broken forth, and they are in flight, and unknown is the place where they are!
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.
Asleep are thy shepherds, O king of Assyria, thy nobles, must needs rest. Scattered are thy people upon the mountains, and there is none to gather 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?
No lessening of thine injury, grievous is thy wound, —all who have heard the report of thee, have clapped their hands over thee, for, upon whom, hath not thy cruelty passed without ceasing?
