Nahum 1:1–3:19

The pronouncement^a concerning Nineveh.^b The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.

GOD’S VENGEANCE

²The Lord is a jealous and avenging God;

the Lord takes vengeance

and is fierce in^A wrath.

The Lord takes vengeance against his foes;^c

he is furious with his enemies.^d

³The Lord is slow to anger but great in power;

the Lord will never leave the guilty unpunished.^e

His path is in the whirlwind and storm,^f

and clouds are the dust beneath his feet.^g

⁴He rebukes the sea and dries it up,

and he makes all the rivers run dry.^h

Bashan and Carmel wither;ⁱ

even the flower of Lebanon withers.

⁵The mountains quake before him,

and the hills melt;

the earth trembles^BC at his presence—

the world and all who live in it.^j

⁶Who can withstand his indignation?

Who can endure his burning anger?^k

His wrath is poured out like fire;^l

even rocks are shattered before him.

DESTRUCTION OF NINEVEH

⁷The Lord is good,

a stronghold in a day of distress;

he cares for those who take refuge^m in him.

⁸But he will completely destroy Nineveh^D

with an overwhelming flood,ⁿ

and he will chase his enemies into darkness.

⁹Whatever you^E plot against the Lord,

he will bring it to complete destruction;^o

oppression will not rise up a second time.

¹⁰For they will be consumed

like entangled thorns,^p

like the drink of a drunkard

and like straw that is fully dry.^F

¹¹One has gone out from you,^G

who plots evil against the Lord,

and is a wicked counselor.

PROMISE OF JUDAH’S DELIVERANCE

¹²This is what the Lord says:

Though they are strong^H and numerous,

they will still be mowed down,

and he^I will pass away.

Though I have punished you,^Aq

I will punish you no longer.^r

¹³For I will now break off his yoke from you

and tear off your shackles.

THE ASSYRIAN KING’S DEMISE

¹⁴The Lord has issued an order concerning you:

There will be no offspring

to carry on your name.^Bs

I will eliminate the carved idol and cast image

from the house of your gods;^t

I will prepare your grave,

for you are contemptible.

¹⁵Look to the mountains—

the feet of the herald,^u

who proclaims peace.

Celebrate your festivals, Judah;

fulfill your vows.

For the wicked one will never again

march through you;

he will be entirely wiped out.

ATTACK AGAINST NINEVEH

2One who scatters is coming up against you.^v

Man the fortifications!

Watch the road!

Brace^C yourself!

Summon all your strength!^a

²For the Lord will restore the majesty of Jacob,^b

yes,^D the majesty of Israel,

though ravagers have ravaged them^c

and ruined their vine branches.^d

³The shields of his^E warriors are dyed red;

the valiant men are dressed in scarlet.^e

The fittings of the chariot flash like fire^f

on the day of its battle preparations,

and the spears are brandished.

⁴The chariots dash madly through the streets;

they rush around in the plazas.

They look like torches;

they dart back and forth like lightning.

⁵He gives orders to his officers;

they stumble as they advance.

They race to its wall;

the protective shield is set in place.

⁶The river gates are opened,

and the palace erodes away.^g

⁷Beauty^F is stripped;^G

she is carried away;

her ladies-in-waiting moan

like the sound of doves^h

and beat their breasts.ⁱ

⁸Nineveh has been like a pool of water

from her first days,^G

but they are fleeing.

“Stop! Stop!” they cry,

but no one turns back.

⁹“Plunder the silver! Plunder the gold!”^j

There is no end to the treasure,

an abundance of every precious thing.^k

¹⁰Desolation, decimation, devastation!

Hearts melt,^l

knees tremble,^m

insides churn,ⁿ

every face grows pale!^o

¹¹Where is the lions’ lair,^p

or the feeding ground of the young lions,

where the lion and lioness prowled,

and the lion’s cub,

with nothing to frighten them away?^q

¹²The lion mauled whatever its cubs needed

and strangled prey for its lionesses.

It filled up its dens with the kill,

and its lairs with mauled prey.^r

¹³Beware, I am against you.^s

This is the declaration of the Lord of Armies.

I will make your chariots go up in smoke,^A

and the sword will devour your young lions.^t

I will cut off your prey from the earth,

and the sound of your messengers

will never be heard again.^u

NINEVEH’S DOWNFALL

3Woe to the city of blood,^v

totally deceitful,

full of plunder,

never without prey.^w

²The crack of the whip

and rumble of the wheel,

galloping horse

and jolting chariot!^x

³Charging horseman,

flashing sword,

shining spear;

heaps of slain,

mounds of corpses,^y

dead bodies without end^z—

they stumble over their dead.

⁴Because of the continual prostitution of the prostitute,

the attractive mistress of sorcery,

who treats nations and clans like merchandise

by her prostitution and sorcery,^aa

⁵I am against you.^ab

This is the declaration of the Lord of Armies.

I will lift your skirts over your face

and display your nakedness to nations,

your shame to kingdoms.^ac

⁶I will throw filth on you

and treat you with contempt;^ad

I will make a spectacle of you.

⁷Then all who see you will recoil from you, saying,^ae

“Nineveh is devastated;

who will show sympathy to her?”

Where can I find anyone to comfort you?

⁸Are you better than Thebes^Ba

that sat along the Nile

with water surrounding her,

whose rampart was the sea,

the river^CD her wall?

⁹Cush and Egypt were her endless source of strength;

Put and Libya were among her^A allies.

¹⁰Yet she became an exile;

she went into captivity.

Her children were also dashed to pieces^b

at the head of every street.

They cast lots for her dignitaries,^c

and all her nobles were bound in chains.

¹¹You^B also will become drunk;

you will hide.^C

You also will seek refuge from the enemy.

¹²All your fortresses are fig trees

with figs that ripened first;

when shaken, they fall—

right into the mouth of the eater!

¹³Look, your troops are like women among you;

your land’s city gates

are wide open to your enemies.

Fire will devour the bars of your gates.

¹⁴Draw water for the siege;

strengthen your fortresses.

Step into the clay and tread the mortar;

take hold of the brick-mold!

¹⁵The fire will devour you there;

the sword will cut you down.

It will devour you like the young locust.^d

Multiply yourselves like the young locust;

multiply like the swarming locust!

¹⁶You have made your merchants^e

more numerous than the stars of the sky.

The young locust strips^D the land

and flies away.

¹⁷Your court officials are like the swarming locust,

and your scribes like clouds of locusts,

which settle on the walls on a cold day;

when the sun rises, they take off,

and no one knows where they are.

¹⁸King of Assyria, your shepherds slumber;^f

your officers sleep.

Your people are scattered across the mountains^g

with no one to gather them together.^h

¹⁹There is no remedy for your injury;

your wound is severe.ⁱ

All who hear the news about you

will clap their hands because of you,^j

for who has not experienced

your constant cruelty?