Nahum

1 The 1burden aagainst Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.

God’s Wrath on His Enemies

2 God is bjealous, and the Lord avenges;

The Lord avenges and is furious.

The Lord will take vengeance on His adversaries,

And He reserves wrath for His enemies;

3 The Lord is cslow to anger and dgreat in power,

And will not at all acquit the wicked.

eThe Lord has His way

In the whirlwind and in the storm,

And the clouds are the dust of His feet.

4 fHe rebukes the sea and makes it dry,

And dries up all the rivers.

gBashan and Carmel wither,

And the flower of Lebanon wilts.

5 The mountains quake before Him,

The hills melt,

And the earth 2heaves at His presence,

Yes, the world and all who dwell in it.

6 Who can stand before His indignation?

And hwho can endure the fierceness of His anger?

His fury is poured out like fire,

And the rocks are thrown down by Him.

7 iThe Lord is good,

A stronghold in the day of trouble;

And jHe knows those who trust in Him.

8 But with an overflowing flood

He will make an utter end of its place,

And darkness will pursue His enemies.

9 kWhat do you 3conspire against the Lord?

lHe will make an utter end of it.

Affliction will not rise up a second time.

10 For while tangled mlike thorns,

nAnd while drunken like drunkards,

oThey shall be devoured like stubble fully dried.

11 From you comes forth one

Who plots evil against the Lord,

A 4wicked counselor.

12 Thus says the Lord:

“Though they are 5safe, and likewise many,

Yet in this manner they will be pcut down

When he passes through.

Though I have afflicted you,

I will afflict you no more;

13 For now I will break off his yoke from you,

And burst your bonds apart.”

14 The Lord has given a command concerning you:

6“Your name shall be perpetuated no longer.

Out of the house of your gods

I will cut off the carved image and the molded image.

I will dig your qgrave,

For you are rvile.” 7

15 Behold, on the mountains

The sfeet of him who brings good tidings,

Who proclaims peace!

O Judah, keep your appointed feasts,

Perform your vows.

For the 8wicked one shall no more pass through you;

He is tutterly cut off.

The Destruction of Nineveh

2 He 1who scatters has come up before your face.

Man the fort!

Watch the road!

Strengthen your flanks!

Fortify your power mightily.

2 For the Lord will restore the excellence of Jacob

Like the excellence of Israel,

For the emptiers have emptied them out

And ruined their vine branches.

3 The shields of his mighty men are made red,

The valiant men are in scarlet.

The chariots come with flaming torches

In the day of his preparation,

And 2the spears are brandished.

4 The chariots rage in the streets,

They jostle one another in the broad roads;

They seem like torches,

They run like lightning.

5 He remembers his nobles;

They stumble in their walk;

They make haste to her walls,

And the defense is prepared.

6 The gates of the rivers are opened,

And the palace is dissolved.

7 3It is decreed:

She shall be led away captive,

She shall be brought up;

And her maidservants shall lead her as with the voice of doves,

Beating their breasts.

8 Though Nineveh of old was like a pool of water,

Now they flee away.

4“Halt! Halt!” they cry;

But no one turns back.

9 5Take spoil of silver!

Take spoil of agold!

There is no end of treasure,

Or wealth of every desirable prize.

10 She is empty, desolate, and waste!

The heart melts, and the knees shake;

Much pain is in every side,

And all their faces 6are drained of color.

11 Where is the dwelling of the blions,

And the feeding place of the young lions,

Where the lion walked, the lioness and lion’s cub,

And no one made them afraid?

12 The lion tore in pieces enough for his cubs,

7Killed for his lionesses,

cFilled his caves with prey,

And his dens with 8flesh.

13 “Behold, dI am against you,” says the Lord of hosts, “I will burn 9your chariots in smoke, and the sword shall devour your young lions; I will cut off your prey from the earth, and the voice of your emessengers shall be heard no more.”

The Woe of Nineveh

3 Woe to the abloody city!

It is all full of lies and robbery.

Its 1victim never departs.

2 The noise of a whip

And the noise of rattling wheels,

Of galloping horses,

Of 2clattering chariots!

3 Horsemen charge with bright sword and glittering spear.

There is a multitude of slain,

A great number of bodies,

Countless corpses—

They stumble over the corpses—

4 Because of the multitude of 3harlotries of the 4seductive harlot,

bThe mistress of sorceries,

Who sells nations through her harlotries,

And families through her sorceries.

5 “Behold, I am cagainst you,” says the Lord of hosts;

d“I will lift your skirts over your face,

I will show the nations your nakedness,

And the kingdoms your shame.

6 I will cast abominable filth upon you,

Make you evile, 5

And make you fa spectacle.

7 It shall come to pass that all who look upon you

gWill flee from you, and say,

h‘Nineveh is laid waste!

iWho will bemoan her?’

Where shall I seek comforters for you?”

8 jAre you better than kNo 6Amon

That was situated by the 7River,

That had the waters around her,

Whose rampart was the sea,

Whose wall was the sea?

9 Ethiopia and Egypt were her strength,

And it was boundless;

lPut and Lubim were 8your helpers.

10 Yet she was carried away,

She went into captivity;

mHer young children also were dashed to pieces

nAt the head of every street;

They ocast lots for her honorable men,

And all her great men were bound in chains.

11 You also will be pdrunk;

You will be hidden;

You also will seek refuge from the enemy.

12 All your strongholds are qfig trees with ripened figs:

If they are shaken,

They fall into the mouth of the eater.

13 Surely, ryour people in your midst are women!

The gates of your land are wide open for your enemies;

Fire shall devour the sbars of your gates.

14 Draw your water for the siege!

tFortify your strongholds!

Go into the clay and tread the mortar!

Make strong the brick kiln!

15 There the fire will devour you,

The sword will cut you off;

It will eat you up like a ulocust.

Make yourself many—like the locust!

Make yourself many—like the swarming locusts!

16 You have multiplied your vmerchants more than the stars of heaven.

The locust plunders and flies away.

17 wYour commanders are like swarming locusts,

And your generals like great grasshoppers,

Which camp in the hedges on a cold day;

When the sun rises they flee away,

And the place where they are is not known.

18 xYour shepherds slumber, O yking of Assyria;

Your nobles rest in the dust.

Your people are zscattered on the mountains,

And no one gathers them.

19 Your injury has no healing,

aYour wound is severe.

bAll who hear news of you

Will clap their hands over you,

For upon whom has not your wickedness passed continually?