Nahum 3

Woe to Nineveh

3Woe to ^pthe bloody city,

all full of lies and plunder—

^qno end to the prey!

²The crack of the whip, and ^rrumble of the wheel,

^sgalloping horse and ^tbounding chariot!

³Horsemen charging,

flashing sword and ^uglittering spear,

^vhosts of slain,

heaps of corpses,

dead bodies without end—

they stumble over the bodies!

⁴And all for the countless whorings of the ^wprostitute,

^xgraceful and of deadly charms,

who betrays nations with her whorings,

and peoples with her charms.

^5mBehold, I am against you,

declares the Lord of hosts,

and ^ywill lift up your skirts over your face;

and I will make nations look at ^zyour nakedness

and kingdoms at your shame.

⁶I will throw filth at you

and ^atreat you with contempt

and make you ^ba spectacle.

⁷And all who look at you ^cwill shrink from you and say,

“Wasted is ^dNineveh; ^ewho will grieve for her?”

^fWhere shall I seek comforters for you?

^8gAre you better than ^hThebes¹

that sat ⁱby the Nile,

with water around her,

her rampart a sea,

and water her wall?

^9jCush was her strength;

Egypt too, and that without limit;

^kPut and the ^lLibyans were her² helpers.

^10mYet she became an exile;

she went into captivity;

ⁿher infants were dashed in pieces

at the head of every street;

for her honored men ^olots were cast,

^pand all her great men were bound in chains.

^11qYou also will be drunken;

you will go into hiding;

^ryou will seek a refuge from the enemy.

¹²All your fortresses are ^slike fig trees

with first-ripe figs—

if shaken they fall

into the mouth of the eater.

¹³Behold, your troops

^tare women in your midst.

The gates of your land

are wide open to your enemies;

fire has devoured your bars.

^14uDraw water for the siege;

^rstrengthen your forts;

go into the clay;

tread the mortar;

take hold of the brick mold!

¹⁵There will the fire devour you;

the sword will cut you off.

It will ^vdevour you ^wlike the locust.

Multiply yourselves ^wlike the locust;

multiply ^wlike the grasshopper!

¹⁶You increased ^xyour merchants

more than the stars of the heavens.

^wThe locust spreads its wings and flies away.

¹⁷Your ^zprinces³ are ^wlike grasshoppers,

^ayour scribes⁴ like clouds of locusts

settling on the fences

in a day of cold—

when the sun rises, they fly away;

no one knows where they are.

¹⁸Your shepherds ^bare asleep,

O king of Assyria;

^cyour nobles slumber.

Your people ^dare scattered on the mountains

with none to gather them.

¹⁹There is no easing your hurt;

^eyour wound is grievous.

All who hear the news about you

^fclap their hands over you.

For ^gupon whom has not come

your unceasing evil?