1 Woe to the city of blood,

full of lies,

full of plunder,

never without victims!

2 The crack of whips,

the clatter of wheels,

galloping horses

and jolting chariots!

3 Charging cavalry,

flashing swords

and glittering spears!

Many casualties,

piles of dead,

bodies without number,

people stumbling over the corpses—

4 all because of the wanton lust of a prostitute,

alluring, the mistress of sorceries,

who enslaved nations by her prostitution

and peoples by her witchcraft.

1 Woe to the bloody city!

It is all full of lies and robbery;

The prey departeth not;

2 The noise of a whip, and the noise of the rattling of the wheels,

And of the pransing horses, and of the jumping chariots.

3 The horseman lifteth up both the bright sword and the glittering spear:

And there is a multitude of slain, and a great number of carcases;

And there is none end of their corpses; they stumble upon their corpses:

4 Because of the multitude of the whoredoms of the wellfavoured harlot,

The mistress of witchcrafts,

That selleth nations through her whoredoms,

And families through her witchcrafts.

1 What sorrow awaits Nineveh,

the city of murder and lies!

She is crammed with wealth

and is never without victims.

2 Hear the crack of whips,

the rumble of wheels!

Horses’ hooves pound,

and chariots clatter wildly.

3 See the flashing swords and glittering spears

as the charioteers charge past!

There are countless casualties,

heaps of bodies—

so many bodies that

people stumble over them.

4 All this because Nineveh,

the beautiful and faithless city,

mistress of deadly charms,

enticed the nations with her beauty.

She taught them all her magic,

enchanting people everywhere.

1 Woe to the bloody city!

It is all full of lies and robbery.

Its victim never departs.

2 The noise of a whip

And the noise of rattling wheels,

Of galloping horses,

Of clattering 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 harlotries of the seductive harlot,

The mistress of sorceries,

Who sells nations through her harlotries,

And families through her sorceries.

1 How terrible it will be for the city that has killed so many.

It is full of lies

and goods stolen from other countries.

It is always killing somebody.

2 Hear the sound of whips

and the noise of the wheels.

Hear horses galloping

and chariots bouncing along!

3 Horses are charging,

swords are shining,

spears are gleaming!

Many are dead;

their bodies are piled up—

too many to count.

People stumble over the dead bodies.

4 The city was like a prostitute;

she was charming and a lover of magic.

She made nations slaves with her prostitution

and her witchcraft.

1 Woe to the bloody city! it is all full of lies and rapine; the prey departeth not. 2 The noise of the whip, and the noise of the rattling of wheels, and prancing horses, and bounding chariots, 3 the horseman mounting, and the flashing sword, and the glittering spear, and a multitude of slain, and a great heap of corpses, and there is no end of the bodies; they stumble upon their bodies;— 4 because of the multitude of the whoredoms of the well-favored harlot, the mistress of witchcrafts, that selleth nations through her whoredoms, and families through her witchcrafts.

1 Woe to the bloody city! It is all full of lies and violence; the prey departeth not. 2 The crack of the whip, and the noise of the rattling of the wheels, and of the prancing horses, and of the bounding chariots! 3 The horseman springing up, and the glitter of the sword, and the flash of the spear, and a multitude of slain, and a mass of carcases, and no end of corpses: they stumble over their corpses. 4 —Because of the multitude of the fornications of the well-favoured harlot, mistress of sorceries, that selleth nations through her fornications, and families through her sorceries,

1 How horrible it will be for that city of bloody violence! 

It is completely full of lies and stolen goods—never without victims. 

2 The sound of the whip! 

The sound of rattling wheels! 

Horses gallop! 

Chariots bounce along! 

3 Horses charge! 

Swords flash! 

Spears glitter! 

Many are killed! 

Dead bodies pile up! 

There is no end to the corpses! 

People trip over corpses 

4 because of Nineveh’s constant prostitution, 

this very charming mistress of evil magic. 

She used to sell 

nations her prostitution 

and people her evil magic.” 

1 Woe to the city of blood,

totally deceitful,

full of plunder,

never without prey.

2 The crack of the whip

and rumble of the wheel,

galloping horse

and jolting chariot!

3 Charging horseman,

flashing sword,

shining spear;

heaps of slain,

mounds of corpses,

dead bodies without end —

they stumble over their dead.

4 Because of the continual prostitution of the prostitute,

the attractive mistress of sorcery,

who betrays nations by her prostitution

and clans by her witchcraft,

1 Ah! City of bloodshed,

utterly deceitful, full of booty—

no end to the plunder!

2 The crack of whip and rumble of wheel,

galloping horse and bounding chariot!

3 Horsemen charging,

flashing sword and glittering spear,

piles of dead,

heaps of corpses,

dead bodies without end—

they stumble over the bodies!

4 Because of the countless debaucheries of the prostitute,

gracefully alluring, mistress of sorcery,

who enslaves nations through her debaucheries,

and peoples through her sorcery,

1 Woe to the city that has shed much blood!

She is a deceiver,

She is filled with plunder,

She has hoarded her spoils of war.

2 The crack of the whip!

The rumbling of the chariot wheel!

The galloping of the horse!

The racing of the chariot!

3 Chariots charge!

Swords flash!

Spears glitter!

Many corpses are piled high!

There is no end to the slain!

They stumble over their dead!

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,

1 How terrible it will be for Nineveh!

It is a city of murderers!

It is full of liars!

It’s filled with stolen goods!

The killing never stops!

2 Whips crack!

Wheels clack!

Horses charge!

Chariots rumble!

3 Horsemen attack!

Swords flash!

Spears gleam!

Many people die.

Dead bodies pile up.

They can’t even be counted.

People trip over them.

4 All of that was caused by the evil longings

of the prostitute Nineveh.

That woman who practiced evil magic

was very beautiful.

She used her sinful charms

to make slaves out of the nations.

She worshiped evil powers

in order to trap others.

1 Woe to the bloody city, completely full of lies and pillage;

Her prey never departs.

2 The noise of the whip,

The noise of the rattling of the wheel,

Galloping horses

And bounding chariots!

3 Horsemen charging,

Swords flashing, spears gleaming,

Many slain, a mass of corpses,

And countless dead bodies—

They stumble over the dead bodies!

4 All because of the many harlotries of the harlot,

The charming one, the mistress of sorceries,

Who sells nations by her harlotries

And families by her sorceries.