Nahum 3
1 Woe to the city full of blood! It is all full of lies and stolen property; victims are always in her.
Woe to the city of blood! She is all full of deceit and robbery; She ceaseth not from plunder.
2 But now there is the noise of whips and the sound of rattling wheels, prancing horses, and bounding 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 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.
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 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.
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 “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.
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 I will throw disgusting filth on you and make you vile; I will make you someone that everyone will look at.
And I will cast abominable filth upon thee, And I will dishonor thee, and make thee a gazing-stock,
7 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?”
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 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?
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 Cush and Egypt were her strength, and there was no end to it; Put and Libya were allies to her.
Ethiopia and Egypt were her strength, a countless multitude; Phut and Lybia were thy helpers!
10 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.
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 You also will become drunk; you will try to hide, and you will also look for a refuge from your enemy.
Thou also shalt drink to the full; Thou, too, shalt be hidden; Thou shalt seek a refuge from the enemy!
12 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.
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 See, the people among you are women; the gates of your land have been opened wide to your enemies; fire has devoured their 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 Go draw water for the siege; strengthen your fortresses; go into the clay and tread the mortar; pick up the molds for the bricks.
Draw thee water for the siege, Fortify thy strongholds. Go into the clay, and tread the mortar; Repair the brick-kiln!
15 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.
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 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.
Thy merchants have been more numerous than the stars of heaven; The locusts spread themselves and fly away.
17 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.
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 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.
Thy shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria! Thy nobles take their rest, Thy people are scattered on the mountains, and none gathereth them.
19 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?
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?
