Nahum 3:1–19
3 Woe to the city of blood,k
full of lies,l
full of plunder,
never without victims!
the clatter of wheels,
galloping horses
and jolting chariots!
flashing swords
and glittering spears!
Many casualties,
piles of dead,
bodies without number,
people stumbling over the corpsesm—
4 all because of the wanton lust of a prostitute,
alluring, the mistress of sorceries,n
who enslaved nations by her prostitutiono
and peoples by her witchcraft.
5 “I am againstp you,” declares the Lord Almighty.
“I will lift your skirtsq over your face.
I will show the nations your nakednessr
and the kingdoms your shame.
6 I will pelt you with filth,s
I will treat you with contemptt
and make you a spectacle.u
7 All who see you will fleev from you and say,
‘Ninevehw is in ruinsx—who will mourn for her?’y
Where can I find anyone to comfortz you?”
8 Are you better thana Thebes,b
situated on the Nile,c
with water around her?
The river was her defense,
the waters her wall.
9 Cusha d and Egypt were her boundless strength;
Pute and Libyaf were among her allies.
10 Yet she was taken captiveg
and went into exile.
Her infants were dashedh to pieces
at every street corner.
Lotsi were cast for her nobles,
and all her great men were put in chains.j
11 You too will become drunk;k
you will go into hidingl
and seek refuge from the enemy.
12 All 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.
they are all weaklings.o
The gatesp of your land
are wide open to your enemies;
fire has consumed the bars of your gates.q
14 Draw water for the siege,r
strengthen your defenses!s
Work the clay,
tread the mortar,
repair the brickwork!
15 There the firet will consume you;
the swordu will cut you down—
they will devour you like a swarm of locusts.
Multiply like grasshoppers,
multiply like locusts!v
16 You have increased the number of your merchants
till they are more numerous than the stars in the sky,
but like locustsw they strip the land
and then fly away.
17 Your 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.
18 King of Assyria, your shepherdsb slumber;y
your nobles lie down to rest.z
Your people are scattereda on the mountains
with no one to gather them.
19 Nothing can heal you;b
your wound is fatal.
All who hear the news about you
clap their handsc at your fall,
for who has not felt
your endless cruelty?d