Nahum 3

1 Woe to the bloody city! it is all full of lies and rapine; the prey departeth not.

Woe to the city of blood, full of lies, full of plunder, never without prey.

2 The noise of the whip, and the noise of the rattling of wheels; and pransing horses, and jumping chariots;

The crack of the whip, the rumble of the wheel, galloping horse and bounding chariot!

3 the horseman mounting, and the flashing sword, and the glittering spear; and a multitude of slain, and a great heap of carcases: and there is none end of the corpses; they stumble upon their corpses:

Charging horseman, flashing sword, shining spear; heaps of slain, mounds of corpses, dead bodies without end— they stumble over their dead—

4 because of the multitude of the whoredoms of the well favoured harlot, the mistress of witchcrafts, that selleth nations through her whoredoms, and families through her witchcrafts.

because of the many harlotries of the harlot, the seductive mistress of sorcery, who betrays nations by her prostitution and clans by her witchcraft.

5 Behold, I am against thee, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will discover thy skirts upon thy face; and I will shew the nations thy nakedness, and the kingdoms thy shame.

“Behold, I am against you,” declares the LORD of Hosts. “I will lift your skirts over your face. I will show your nakedness to the nations and your shame to the kingdoms.

6 And I will cast abominable filth upon thee, and make thee vile, and will set thee as a gazingstock.

I will pelt you with filth and treat you with contempt; I will make a spectacle of you.

7 And it shall come to pass, that all they that look upon thee shall flee from thee, and say, Nineveh is laid waste: who will bemoan her? whence shall I seek comforters for thee?

Then all who see you will recoil from you and say, ‘Nineveh is devastated; who will grieve for her?’ Where can I find comforters for you?”

8 Art thou better than No-amon, that was situate among the rivers, that had the waters round about her; whose rampart was the sea, [and] her wall was of the sea?

Are you better than Thebes, stationed by the Nile with water around her, whose rampart was the sea, whose wall was the water?

9 Ethiopia and Egypt were her strength, and it was infinite; Put and Lubim were thy helpers.

Cush and Egypt were her boundless strength; Put and Libya were her allies.

10 Yet was she carried away, she went into captivity: her young children also were dashed in pieces at the top of all the streets: and they cast lots for her honourable men, and all her great men were bound in chains.

Yet she became an exile; she went into captivity. Her infants were dashed to pieces at the head of every street. They cast lots for her dignitaries, and all her nobles were bound in chains.

11 Thou also shalt be drunken, thou shalt be hid; thou also shalt seek a strong hold because of the enemy.

You too will become drunk; you will go into hiding and seek refuge from the enemy.

12 All thy fortresses shall be [like] fig trees with the firstripe figs: if they be shaken, they fall into the mouth of the eater.

All your fortresses are fig trees with the first ripe figs; when shaken, they fall into the mouth of the eater!

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

Look at your troops— they are like your women! The gates of your land are wide open to your enemies; fire consumes their bars.

14 Draw thee water for the siege, strengthen thy fortresses: go into the clay, and tread the mortar, make strong the brickkiln.

Draw your water for the siege; strengthen your fortresses. Work 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 like the cankerworm: make thyself many as the cankerworm, make thyself many as the locust.

There the fire will devour you; the sword will cut you down and consume you like a young locust. Make yourself many like the young locust; make yourself many like the swarming locust!

16 Thou hast multiplied thy merchants above the stars of heaven: the cankerworm spoileth, and flieth away.

You have multiplied your merchants more than the stars of the sky. The young locust strips the land and flies away.

17 Thy crowned are as the locusts, and thy marshals as the swarms of grasshoppers, which camp in the hedges in the cold day, but when the sun ariseth they flee away, and their place is not known where they are.

Your guards are like the swarming locust, and your scribes like clouds of locusts that settle on the walls on a cold day. When the sun rises, they fly away, and no one knows where.

18 Thy shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria: thy worthies are at rest: thy people are scattered upon the mountains, and there is none to gather them.

O king of Assyria, your shepherds slumber; your officers sleep. Your people are scattered on the mountains with no one to gather them.

19 There is no assuaging of thy hurt; thy wound is grievous: all that hear the bruit of thee clap the hands over thee; for upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually?

There is no healing for your injury; your wound is severe. All who hear the news of you applaud your downfall, for who has not experienced your constant cruelty?