The Book of

NAHUM

Chapter 1

God Is Awesome

1 The 1aoracle of bNineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.

2 A ajealous and avenging God is the Lord;

The Lord is bavenging and 1wrathful.

The Lord takes cvengeance on His adversaries,

And He reserves wrath for His enemies.

3 The Lord is aslow to anger and great in power,

And the Lord will by no means leave the guilty unpunished.

In bwhirlwind and storm is His way,

And cclouds are the dust beneath His feet.

4 He arebukes the sea and makes it dry;

He dries up all the rivers.

bBashan and Carmel wither;

The blossoms of Lebanon wither.

5 Mountains aquake because of Him

And the hills bdissolve;

Indeed the earth is cupheaved by His presence,

The dworld and all the inhabitants in it.

6 aWho can stand before His indignation?

Who can endure the bburning of His anger?

His cwrath is poured out like fire

And the drocks are broken up by Him.

7 The Lord is agood,

A stronghold in the day of trouble,

And bHe knows those who take refuge in Him.

8 But with an aoverflowing flood

He will make a complete end of 1its site,

And will pursue His enemies into bdarkness.

9 Whatever you adevise against the Lord,

He will make a bcomplete end of it.

Distress will not rise up twice.

10 Like tangled athorns,

And like those who are bdrunken with their drink,

They are cconsumed

As stubble completely withered.

11 From you has gone forth

One who aplotted evil against the Lord,

A 1bwicked counselor.

12 Thus says the Lord,

“Though they are at full strength and likewise many,

Even so, they will be acut off and pass away.

Though I have afflicted you,

I will afflict you bno longer.

13 “So now, I will abreak his yoke bar from upon you,

And I will tear off your shackles.”

14 The Lord has issued a command concerning 1you:

“2Your name will ano longer be perpetuated.

I will cut off 3bidol and 4image

From the house of your gods.

I will prepare your cgrave,

For you are contemptible.”

15 1Behold, aon the mountains the feet of him who brings good news,

Who announces peace!

bCelebrate your feasts, O Judah;

Pay your vows.

For cnever again will the 2wicked one pass through you;

He is dcut off completely.

Chapter 2

The Overthrow of Nineveh

1 1The one who ascatters has come up against 2you.

Man the fortress, watch the road;

3Strengthen your back, 4summon all your strength.

2 For the Lord will restore the asplendor of Jacob

bLike the splendor of Israel,

Even though devastators have devastated them

And cdestroyed their vine branches.

3 The shields of 1his mighty men are colored red,

The warriors are dressed in ascarlet,

The chariots are enveloped in 2flashing steel

3When he is prepared to march,

And the cypress bspears are brandished.

4 The achariots race madly in the streets,

They rush wildly in the 1squares,

Their appearance is like torches,

They dash to and fro like lightning flashes.

5 He remembers his anobles;

They bstumble in their march,

They hurry to her wall,

And the 1mantelet is set up.

6 The gates of the rivers are opened

And the palace is dissolved.

7 It is fixed:

She is stripped, she is carried away,

And her handmaids are amoaning like the sound of doves,

bBeating on their 1breasts.

8 Though Nineveh was like a pool of water throughout her days,

Now they are fleeing;

“Stop, stop,”

But ano one turns back.

9 Plunder the silver!

Plunder the agold!

For there is no limit to the treasure—

Wealth from every kind of desirable object.

10 She is aemptied! Yes, she is desolate and waste!

bHearts are melting and knees knocking!

Also anguish is in 1the whole body

And all their cfaces are grown pale!

11 Where is the den of the lions

And the feeding place of the ayoung lions,

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

With nothing to disturb them?

12 The lion tore enough for his cubs,

1Killed enough for his lionesses,

And filled his lairs with prey

And his dens with torn flesh.

13 “Behold, aI am against you,” declares the Lord of hosts. “I will bburn up her chariots in smoke, a sword will devour your young lions; I will ccut off your prey from the land, and no longer will the voice of your messengers be heard.”

Chapter 3

Nineveh’s Complete Ruin

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

Her prey never departs.

2 The anoise of the whip,

The noise of the rattling of the wheel,

Galloping horses

And 1bounding chariots!

3 Horsemen charging,

Swords flashing, aspears gleaming,

bMany slain, a mass of corpses,

And 1ccountless dead bodies—

They stumble over 2the dead bodies!

4 All because of the amany harlotries of the harlot,

The charming one, the bmistress of sorceries,

Who csells nations by her harlotries

And families by her sorceries.

5 “Behold, aI am against you,” declares the Lord of hosts;

“And I will 1blift up your skirts over your face,

And cshow to the nations your nakedness

And to the kingdoms your disgrace.

6 “I will athrow 1filth on you

And bmake you vile,

And set you up as a cspectacle.

7 “And it will come about that all who see you

Will 1shrink from you and say,

‘Nineveh is devastated!

aWho will grieve for her?’

Where will I seek comforters for you?”

8 Are you better than 1aNo-amon,

Which was situated by the bwaters of the Nile,

With water surrounding her,

Whose rampart was 2the sea,

Whose wall consisted of 2the sea?

9 aEthiopia was her might,

And Egypt too, without limits.

bPut and cLubim were among 1her helpers.

10 Yet she abecame an exile,

She went into captivity;

Also her bsmall children were dashed to pieces

cAt the head of every street;

They dcast lots for her honorable men,

And all her great men were bound with fetters.

11 You too will become adrunk,

You will be bhidden.

You too will search for a refuge from the enemy.

12 All your fortifications are afig trees with 1bripe fruit—

When shaken, they fall into the eater’s mouth.

13 Behold, your people are awomen in your midst!

The gates of your land are bopened wide to your enemies;

Fire consumes your gate bars.

14 aDraw for yourself water for the siege!

bStrengthen your fortifications!

Go into the clay and tread the mortar!

Take hold of the brick mold!

15 There afire will consume you,

The sword will cut you down;

It will bconsume you as the locust does.

Multiply yourself like the creeping locust,

Multiply yourself like the swarming locust.

16 You have increased your atraders more than the stars of heaven—

The creeping locust 1strips and flies away.

17 Your 1aguardsmen are like the swarming locust.

Your bmarshals are like hordes of grasshoppers

Settling in the stone walls on a cold day.

The sun rises and they flee,

And the place where they are is not known.

18 Your shepherds are asleeping, O bking of Assyria;

Your cnobles are lying down.

Your people are dscattered on the mountains

And there is no one to regather them.

19 There is ano relief for your breakdown,

Your bwound is incurable.

All who hear 1about you

Will cclap their hands over you,

For on whom has not your evil passed continually?