Nahum 3

Woe to Nineveh

3Woe to the city of blood,^k

full of lies,^l

full of plunder,

never without victims!

²The crack of whips,

the clatter of wheels,

galloping horses

and jolting chariots!

³Charging cavalry,

flashing swords

and glittering spears!

Many casualties,

piles of dead,

bodies without number,

people stumbling over the corpses^m—

⁴all because of the wanton lust of a prostitute,

alluring, the mistress of sorceries,ⁿ

who enslaved nations by her prostitution^o

and peoples by her witchcraft.

⁵“I am against^p you,” declares the Lord Almighty.

“I will lift your skirts^q over your face.

I will show the nations your nakedness^r

and the kingdoms your shame.

⁶I will pelt you with filth,^s

I will treat you with contempt^t

and make you a spectacle.^u

⁷All who see you will flee^v from you and say,

‘Nineveh^w is in ruins^x—who will mourn for her?’^y

Where can I find anyone to comfort^z you?”

⁸Are you better than^a Thebes,^b

situated on the Nile,^c

with water around her?

The river was her defense,

the waters her wall.

⁹Cush^ad and Egypt were her boundless strength;

Put^e and Libya^f were among her allies.

¹⁰Yet she was taken captive^g

and went into exile.

Her infants were dashed^h to pieces

at every street corner.

Lotsⁱ were cast for her nobles,

and all her great men were put in chains.^j

¹¹You too will become drunk;^k

you will go into hiding^l

and seek refuge from the enemy.

¹²All your fortresses are like fig trees

with their first ripe fruit;^m

when they are shaken,

the figsⁿ fall into the mouth of the eater.

¹³Look at your troops—

they are all weaklings.^o

The gates^p of your land

are wide open to your enemies;

fire has consumed the bars of your gates.^q

¹⁴Draw water for the siege,^r

strengthen your defenses!^s

Work the clay,

tread the mortar,

repair the brickwork!

¹⁵There the fire^t will consume you;

the sword^u will cut you down—

they will devour you like a swarm of locusts.

Multiply like grasshoppers,

multiply like locusts!^v

¹⁶You have increased the number of your merchants

till they are more numerous than the stars in the sky,

but like locusts^w they strip the land

and then fly away.

¹⁷Your guards are like locusts,^x

your officials like swarms of locusts

that settle in the walls on a cold day—

but when the sun appears they fly away,

and no one knows where.

¹⁸King of Assyria, your shepherds^b slumber;^y

your nobles lie down to rest.^z

Your people are scattered^a on the mountains

with no one to gather them.

¹⁹Nothing can heal you;^b

your wound is fatal.

All who hear the news about you

clap their hands^c at your fall,

for who has not felt

your endless cruelty?^d