Nahum 3
3
1Woe to the bloody city! It is all full of lies and robbery—no end to the prey. 2The noise of the whip, the noise of the rattling of wheels, prancing horses, and bounding chariots, 3the horseman charging, and the flashing sword, the glittering spear, and a multitude of slain, and a great heap of corpses, and there is no end of the bodies. They stumble on their bodies 4because of the multitude of the prostitution of the alluring prostitute, the mistress of witchcraft, who sells nations through her prostitution, and families through her witchcraft. 5“Behold, I am against you,” says Yahweh of Armies, “and I will lift your skirts over your face. I will show the nations your nakedness, and the kingdoms your shame. 6I will throw abominable filth on you and make you vile, and will make you a spectacle. 7It will happen that all those who look at you will flee from you, and say, ‘Nineveh is laid waste! Who will mourn for her?’ Where will I seek comforters for you?”
8Are you better than No-Amon,#3:8 or, Thebes who was situated among the rivers,#3:8 or, Nile who had the waters around her, whose rampart was the sea, and her wall was of the sea? 9Cush and Egypt were her boundless strength. Put and Libya were her helpers. 10Yet was she carried away. She went into captivity. Her young children also were dashed in pieces at the head of all the streets, and they cast lots for her honorable men, and all her great men were bound in chains. 11You also will be drunken. You will be hidden. You also will seek a stronghold because of the enemy. 12All your fortresses will be like fig trees with the first-ripe figs. If they are shaken, they fall into the mouth of the eater. 13Behold, your troops among you are women. The gates of your land are set wide open to your enemies. The fire has devoured your bars.
14Draw water for the siege. Strengthen your fortresses. Go into the clay, and tread the mortar. Make the brick kiln strong. 15There the fire will devour you. The sword will cut you off. It will devour you like the grasshopper. Multiply like grasshoppers. Multiply like the locust. 16You have increased your merchants more than the stars of the skies. The grasshopper strips and flees away. 17Your guards are like the locusts, and your officials like the swarms of locusts, which settle on the walls on a cold day, but when the sun appears, they flee away, and their place is not known where they are.
18Your shepherds slumber, king of Assyria. Your nobles lie down. Your people are scattered on the mountains, and there is no one to gather them. 19There is no healing your wound, for your injury is fatal. All who hear the report of you clap their hands over you, for who hasn’t felt your endless cruelty?
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Nahum 3: WEBUS
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PUBLIC DOMAIN (not copyrighted)
Nahum 3
3
Punishment for Nineveh
The Lord said:
1Doom to the crime capital!
Nineveh, city of murder
and treachery,
2here is your fate—
cracking whips,
churning wheels;
galloping horses,
roaring chariots;
3cavalry attacking,
swords and spears flashing;
soldiers stumbling
over piles of dead bodies.
4You were nothing more
than a prostitute
using your magical charms
and witchcraft
to attract and trap nations.
5But I, the Lord All-Powerful,
am now your enemy.
I will pull up your skirt
and let nations and kingdoms
stare at your nakedness.
6I will cover you with garbage,
treat you like trash,
and rub you in the dirt.
7Everyone who sees you
will turn away and shout,
“Nineveh is done for!
Is anyone willing to mourn
or to give her comfort?”
Nineveh's Fate Is Sealed
8Nineveh, do you feel safer
than the city of Thebes?#3.8 Thebes: In 663 b.c., the Assyrian King Ashurbanipal captured this Egyptian city, which seems to have been built with protection similar to that of Nineveh.
The Nile River
was its wall of defense.#3.8 was its … defense: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
9Thebes trusted the mighty power
of Ethiopia#3.9 Ethiopia: The Hebrew text has “Cush,” which was a region south of Egypt that included parts of the present countries of Ethiopia and Sudan. and Egypt;
the nations of Put#3.9 Put: A region in Africa, possibly part of the present country of Libya. and Libya
were her allies.
10But she was captured and taken
to a foreign country.
Her children were murdered
at every street corner.
The members of her royal family
were auctioned off,
and her high officials
were bound in chains.
11Nineveh, now it's your turn!
You will get drunk and try to hide
from your enemy.
12Your fortresses are fig trees
with ripe figs.
Merely shake the trees,
and fruit will fall
into every open mouth.
13Your army is weak.
Fire has destroyed the crossbars
on your city gates;
now they stand wide open
to your enemy.
14Your city is under attack.
Haul in extra water!
Strengthen your defenses!
Start making bricks!
Stir the mortar!
15You will still go up in flames
and be cut down by swords
that will wipe you out like a field
attacked by grasshoppers.
So, go ahead and increase
like a swarm of locusts!#3.15 locusts: A type of grasshopper that comes in swarms and causes great damage to plant life.
16More merchants are in your city
than there are stars
in the sky—
but they are like locusts
that eat everything,
then fly away.
17Your guards and your officials
are swarms of locusts.
On a chilly day
they settle on a fence,
but when the sun comes out,
they take off
to who-knows-where.
18King of Assyria,
your officials and leaders
are sound asleep,
while your people are scattered
in the mountains.
Yes, your people are sheep
without a shepherd.
19You're fatally wounded.
There's no hope for you.
But everyone claps
when they hear this news,
because your constant cruelty
has caused them pain.
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.