Nahum 3

1 Woe to the bloody city! It is all full of lies and robbery—no end to the prey.

What a disaster is coming upon this murderous city with all its treachery! It is full of wealth it has robbed, and always has plenty of victims.

2 The noise of the whip, the noise of the rattling of wheels, prancing horses, and bounding chariots,

Listen to the noise: whips crack, wheels clatter, horses gallop, chariots rattle!

3 the horseman charging, and the flashing sword, the glittering spear, and a multitude of slain, and a great heap of corpses, and there is no end of the bodies. They stumble on their bodies

Horsemen charge, swords flash, spears glitter! Many dead, piles of corpses, countless bodies—so many that people stumble over them.

4 because of the multitude of the prostitution of the alluring prostitute, the mistress of witchcraft, who sells nations through her prostitution, and families through her witchcraft.

All this happens because the repeated prostitution of Nineveh the prostitute, the beautiful mistress with her deadly charms who seduces nations into slavery by her prostitution and her witchcraft.

5 “Behold, I am against you,” says Yahweh of Armies, “and I will lift your skirts over your face. I will show the nations your nakedness, and the kingdoms your shame.

Watch out! For I am against you, declares the Lord Almighty. I will lift your skirts over your face and let the nations see your nakedness, and kingdoms see your shame.

6 I will throw abominable filth on you and make you vile, and will make you a spectacle.

I will throw filth at you. I will treat you with contempt, and make a spectacle of you.

7 It will happen that all those who look at you will flee from you, and say, ‘Nineveh is laid waste! Who will mourn for her?’ Where will I seek comforters for you?”

Then everyone who sees you will shun you saying, “Nineveh is ruined! But who is going to mourn your loss?” Where should I look to find anyone to comfort you?

8 Are you better than No-Amon, who was situated among the rivers, who had the waters around her, whose rampart was the sea, and her wall was of the sea?

Are you any better than the city of Thebes on the River Nile, surrounded by water? Water was its defense, water was its wall.

9 Cush and Egypt were her boundless strength. Put and Libya were her helpers.

The city ruled Egypt and Ethiopia. Put and Libya were its allies.

10 Yet was she carried away. She went into captivity. Her young children also were dashed in pieces at the head of all the streets, and they cast lots for her honorable men, and all her great men were bound in chains.

Yet its people were also taken away into exile, into captivity. Their babies were dashed to pieces in every street. Their nobles were bound in chains and taken away as servants, chosen by lot.

11 You also will be drunken. You will be hidden. You also will seek a stronghold because of the enemy.

You too will behave like a drunk. You will hide in fear, trying to find a place safe from the enemy.

12 All your fortresses will be like fig trees with the first-ripe figs. If they are shaken, they fall into the mouth of the eater.

All your fortresses are like fig trees ripe with fruit—they fall when they are shaken into the mouth of the one eating.

13 Behold, your troops among you are women. The gates of your land are set wide open to your enemies. The fire has devoured your bars.

Look! Your soldiers are women among you. The gates of your land are wide open to your enemies; the bars of the gates will be set on fire.

14 Draw water for the siege. Strengthen your fortresses. Go into the clay, and tread the mortar. Make the brick kiln strong.

Store water to prepare for a siege! Strengthen your fortresses! Go to the clay pits to tread it well, mix the cement, get your brick molds ready!

15 There the fire will devour you. The sword will cut you off. It will devour you like the grasshopper. Multiply like grasshoppers. Multiply like the locust.

But even so, there the fire will consume you, you will be cut down by the sword. You will be destroyed as if you were devoured by a swarm of locusts. So multiply yourselves like locusts, like a swarm of locusts.

16 You have increased your merchants more than the stars of the skies. The grasshopper strips and flees away.

You increased your merchants so that there are more of them than the stars of heaven. But like locusts they strip everything and then fly away.

17 Your guards are like the locusts, and your officials like the swarms of locusts, which settle on the walls on a cold day, but when the sun appears, they flee away, and their place is not known where they are.

Your leaders are like locusts, your officials like a swarm of locusts. They rest on walls on a cold day, but when the sun rises they fly away, and no one knows where they've gone.

18 Your shepherds slumber, king of Assyria. Your nobles lie down. Your people are scattered on the mountains, and there is no one to gather them.

King of Assyria, your shepherds are asleep, your princes are slumbering. Your people are scattered across the mountains and no one can gather them.

19 There is no healing your wound, for your injury is fatal. All who hear the report of you clap their hands over you, for who hasn’t felt your endless cruelty?

There is no way to heal your injuries, you are too badly wounded. Everyone who hears this news will applaud what has happened to you, for was there anyone who escaped your continuous cruelty?