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GOD’S WORD Translation
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3RD CHAPTER

Nineveh’s Punishment for Sin

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

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

The sound of the whip! 

The sound of rattling wheels! 

Horses gallop! 

Chariots bounce along! 

Horses charge! 

Swords flash! 

Spears glitter! 

Many are killed! 

Dead bodies pile up! 

There is no end to the corpses! 

People trip over corpses 

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.” 

“I am against you, Nineveh,” declares the Lord of Armies. 

“I will lift up your dress over your face. 

I will show nations your naked body and kingdoms your disgrace. 

I will throw filth on you. 

I will make you look like a fool. 

I will make you a sight to be seen. 

Everyone who sees you will run from you, saying, 

‘Nineveh has been violently destroyed! 

Who will feel sorry for her?’ 

Where can I find anyone to comfort you?” 

Nineveh Will Not Escape Punishment

Are you better than No-amon,a which sits by the streams of the Nile 

with water surrounding her? 

The sea was ⸤her⸥ defense. 

The water was her wall. 

Sudan and Egypt were her endless strength. 

Put and the Lybians were her help. 

10  Even she went into captivity and was exiled. 

Even her little children were smashed to death at every street corner. 

Soldiers tossed dice for her important men, 

and all her best men were bound in chains. 

11  Even you, Nineveh, will stagger like a drunk. 

You will disappear. 

Even you will look for a fortress ⸤to escape⸥ from the enemy. 

12  All your defenses will be like fig trees with the earliest figs. 

When shaken, the figs fall into the mouth of the eater. 

13  Look at your soldiers; they’re women! 

The gates of your country are wide open to your enemies. 

Fire has destroyed the bars of your gates. 

Nineveh’s Strength Will Not Save Her

14  Store water for the siege! 

Strengthen your defenses! 

Step into the claypits and trample the clay! 

Grab the brick mold! 

15  Fire will consume you there. 

A sword will cut you down. 

It will consume you like locusts. 

Multiply like locusts

Multiply like hungry locusts! 

16  You have produced more businessmen than there are stars in the sky. 

⸤They are⸥ like locusts that attack and then fly away. 

17  Your officers are like locusts, 

and your scribes are like swarms of locusts 

that settle on the fences when it is cold. 

The sun rises, and they scatter in every direction. 

No one knows where they’ve gone. 

18  Your shepherds, king of Assyria, have fallen into a deep sleep. 

Your best fighting men are at rest. 

Your people are scattered on the mountains, 

and there is no one to gather them. 

19  There is no relief for your collapse. 

Your wound is fatal. 

All who hear the news about you will clap their hands. 

Who hasn’t suffered from your endless evil? 

GW

About GOD’S WORD Translation

GOD’S WORD Translation (GW) communicates the saving, life-changing Good News about Jesus in clear, natural English. Translated directly from the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek by a committee of scholars, GOD’S WORD is an exceptional Bible that consciously combines scholarly fidelity with natural English.

By implementing the translation principles of Closest Natural Equivalence, the translation committee seeks to translate the best available texts into English with the closest possible accuracy. This commitment to accurately translating the Bible includes expressing the meaning naturally and in a style that preserves the characteristics of the source text.

The combination of accuracy and readability makes GOD’S WORD ideally suited for the following:

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Scripture references from GOD’S WORD are used by permission. Copyright 1995 by God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society. All rights reserved.

Up to 500 verses from GOD’S WORD may be quoted in any form (printed, written, visual, electronic, or audio) without written permission, provided that no more than half of any one book is quoted, and the verses quoted do not amount to more than 25% of the text of the work in which they are quoted.

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GOD’S WORD is a copyrighted work of God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society. Quotations are used by permission.

If used in a work that is for sale, the following copyright notice must be used:

GOD’S WORD is a copyrighted work of God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society. Quotations are used by permission. Copyright 1995 by God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society. All rights reserved.

For quotation of over 500 verses and/or questions about these policies, contact God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society, P.O. Box 26343, Cleveland, Ohio 44126-0343, U.S.A.

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