Nahum 3
3
1Doomed is the lying, murderous city,
full of wealth to be looted and plundered!
2Listen! The crack of the whip,
the rattle of wheels,
the gallop of horses,
the jolting of chariots!
3Horsemen charge,
swords flash, spears gleam!
Corpses are piled high,
dead bodies without number —
men stumble over them!
4Nineveh the whore is being punished.
Attractive and full of deadly charms,
she enchanted nations and enslaved#3.4 enslaved; or seduced. them.
5The LORD Almighty says,
“I will punish you, Nineveh!
I will strip you naked
and let the nations see you,
see you in all your shame.
6I will treat you with contempt
and cover you with filth.
People will stare at you in horror.
7All who see you will shrink back.
They will say, ‘Nineveh lies in ruins!
Who has any sympathy for her?
Who will want to comfort her?’ ”
8Nineveh, are you any better than Thebes, the capital of Egypt? She too had a river to protect her like a wall — the Nile was her defence. 9She ruled Ethiopia#3.9 Ethiopia: See Word List. and Egypt, there was no limit to her power; Libya was her ally. 10Yet the people of Thebes were carried off into exile. At every street corner their children were beaten to death. Their leading men were carried off in chains and divided among their captors.
11Nineveh, you too will fall into a drunken stupor! You too will try to escape from your enemies. 12All your fortresses will be like fig trees with ripe figs: shake the trees, and the fruit falls right into your mouth! 13Your soldiers are like women, and your country stands defenceless before your enemies. Fire will destroy the bars across your gates. 14Draw water to prepare for a siege, and strengthen your fortresses! Trample the clay to make bricks, and get the brick moulds ready! 15No matter what you do, you will still be burnt to death or killed in battle. You will be wiped out like crops eaten up by locusts.
You multiplied like locusts! 16You produced more merchants than there are stars in the sky! But now they are gone, like locusts that spread their wings and fly away. 17Your officials are like a swarm of locusts that stay in the walls on a cold day. But when the sun comes out, they fly away, and no one knows where they have gone!
18Emperor of Assyria, your governors are dead, and your noblemen are asleep for ever! Your people are scattered on the mountains, and there is no one to bring them home again. 19There is no remedy for your injuries, and your wounds cannot be healed. All those who hear the news of your destruction clap their hands for joy. Did anyone escape your endless cruelty?
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Good News Bible with Deuterocanonicals/Apocrypha. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.
Nahum 3
3
The Doom of the Wicked City is Certain
1Woe to the city that has shed much blood!#Literally “bloods”
She is a deceiver,#Literally “All of her is deception”
She is filled with plunder,
She has hoarded her spoils of war.#Literally “Prey does not depart”
2The crack of the whip!
The rumbling of the chariot wheel!
The galloping of the horse!
The racing of the chariot!
3Chariots charge!
Swords flash!
Spears glitter!
Many corpses are piled high!#Literally “Many dead, piles of corpses”
There is no end to the slain!
They stumble over their dead!
Harlot Nineveh Will Get What She Deserves
4“Because of the many idolatries of the prostitute,
the beautiful charm of a mistress of witchcraft,
she who enslaves nations by her harlotries,
and peoples by her sorceries,
5“Look! I am against you!” declares#Literally “a declaration of”Yahweh.
“I will strip up your skirts over your face;
I will let nations look at your nakedness and your shame.
6“I will throw filth upon you,
I will treat you with contempt,
I will make you a spectacle.
7“And it will be that everyone who sees you will flee from you,
And they#Hebrew “he” will say, ‘Nineveh is destroyed!’
Who will mourn for her?
From whence shall I seek comforters for you?”
Nineveh Will Suffer the Same Fate She Inflicted on Thebes
8Are you better than Thebes?#Hebrew “No-Amon”
She who sits at the Nile, surrounded by her waters,
her rampart was the sea and water was her wall.
9Cush was her strength, Egypt without end;
Put and Libya were among your allies.#Literally “your helpers”
10Yet she went into captivity as an exile;
her children were dashed to pieces at the head of the streets;
they cast lots for all of her nobles;
all of her dignitaries were bound with chains.
11You also will behave like a drunkard;
You also will hide yourself;
You also will seek refuge from the enemy.
Nineveh’s Defenses Will Fail
12All of your fortifications are like fig trees with ripe firstfruits—
if they are shaken, they will fall into the mouth of the eater.
13Look! Your troops are like women in your midst.
The gates of your land are wide open to your enemies;
fire will consume the bars of your gates.
14Draw water for a siege!
Strengthen your fortifications!
Go to the mud pit!
Trample the clay!
Grasp the brick mold!
15There fire will consume you;
the sword will cut you off.
It will consume you like the locust.
Nineveh’s Defenders Will Flee
Multiply yourself like the locust!
Multiply yourself like the grasshopper!
16You have increased your merchants more than the stars of heaven;
like the locust they will shed their skin and fly away.
17Your officials are like locusts;
your commanders are like a swarm of locusts.
They encamp on the walls on a cold day;
when the sun rises, they fly away—
no one knows where they have gone.
Nineveh Will Come to an End
18Your shepherds are sleeping, O king of Assyria!
Your nobles slumber.
Your people are scattered on the mountains;
no one can gather them.
19There is no healing for your wound;
your injury is fatal.
All who hear the report of you will clap their hands for joy concerning you,
For who has not suffered at the hands of your endless cruelty?#Literally “For over whom has your endless cruelty not passed?”
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