Nahum 3

1 Woe to the city full of blood! It is all full of lies and stolen property; victims are always in her.

A curse is on the town of blood; it is full of deceit and violent acts; and there is no end to the taking of life.

2 But now there is the noise of whips and the sound of rattling wheels, prancing horses, and bounding chariots.

The noise of the whip, and the noise of thundering wheels; horses rushing and war-carriages jumping,

3 There are attacking horsemen, flashing swords, glittering spears, heaps of corpses, great piles of bodies. There is no end to the bodies; their attackers stumble over them.

Horsemen driving forward, and the shining sword and the bright spear: and a great number of wounded, and masses of dead bodies; they are falling over the bodies of the dead:

4 This is happening because of the lustful actions of the beautiful prostitute, the expert in witchcraft, who sells nations through her prostitution, and peoples through her acts of witchcraft.

Because of all the false ways of the loose woman, expert in attraction and wise in secret arts, who takes nations in the net of her false ways, and families through her secret arts.

5 “See, I am against you—this is the declaration of Yahweh of hosts—I will raise up your skirt over your face and show your private parts to the nations, your shame to the kingdoms.

See, I am against you, says the Lord of armies, and I will have your skirts pulled over your face, and let the nations see you unclothed, and the kingdoms your shame.

6 I will throw disgusting filth on you and make you vile; I will make you someone that everyone will look at.

I will make you completely disgusting and full of shame, and will put you up to be looked at by all.

7 It will come about that everyone who looks at you will flee from you and say, 'Nineveh is destroyed; who will weep for her?' Where can I find anyone to comfort you?”

And it will come about that all who see you will go in flight from you and say, Nineveh is made waste: who will be weeping for her? where am I to get comforters for her?

8 Nineveh, are you better than Thebes, that was built on the Nile River, that had water around her, whose defense was the ocean, whose wall was the sea itself?

Are you better than No-amon, seated on the Nile streams, with waters all round her; whose wall was the sea and her earthwork the waters?

9 Cush and Egypt were her strength, and there was no end to it; Put and Libya were allies to her.

Ethiopia was her strength and Egyptians without number; Put and Lubim were her helpers.

10 Yet Thebes was carried away; she went into captivity; her young children were dashed in pieces at the head of every street; her enemies threw lots for her honorable men, and all her great men were bound in chains.

But even she has been taken away, she has gone away as a prisoner: even her young children are smashed to bits at the top of all the streets: the fate of her honoured men is put to the decision of chance, and all her great men are put in chains.

11 You also will become drunk; you will try to hide, and you will also look for a refuge from your enemy.

And you will be overcome with wine, you will become feeble; you will be looking for a safe place from those who are fighting against you.

12 All your fortresses will be like fig trees with the earliest ripe figs: if they are shaken, they fall into the mouth of the eater.

All your walled places will be like fig-trees and your people like the first figs, falling at a shake into the mouth which is open for them.

13 See, the people among you are women; the gates of your land have been opened wide to your enemies; fire has devoured their bars.

See, the people who are in you are women; the doorways of your land are wide open to your attackers: the locks of your doors have been burned away in the fire.

14 Go draw water for the siege; strengthen your fortresses; go into the clay and tread the mortar; pick up the molds for the bricks.

Get water for the time when you are shut in, make strong your towns: go into the potter's earth, stamping it down with your feet, make strong the brickworks.

15 Fire will devour you there, and the sword will destroy you. It will devour you as young locusts devour everything. Make yourselves as many as the young locusts, as many as the full-grown locusts.

There the fire will make you waste; you will be cut off by the sword: make yourself as great in number as the worms, as great in number as the locusts.

16 You have multiplied your merchants more than the stars in the heavens; but they are like young locusts: they plunder the land and then fly away.

Let your traders be increased more than the stars of heaven:

17 Your princes are as many as the full-grown locusts, and your generals are like swarms of them that camp in the walls on a cold day. But when the sun rises they fly away to no one knows where.

Your crowned ones are like the locusts, and your scribes like the clouds of insects which take cover in the walls on a cold day, but when the sun comes up they go in flight, and are seen no longer in their place.

18 King of Assyria, your shepherds are asleep; your rulers are lying down resting. Your people are scattered on the mountains, and there is no one to gather them.

Sorrow! how are the keepers of your flock sleeping, O king of Assyria! your strong men are at rest; your people are wandering on the mountains, and there is no one to get them together.

19 No healing is possible for your wounds. Your wounds are severe. Everyone who hears the news about you will clap their hands in joy over you. Who has escaped your constant wickedness?

Your pain may not be made better; you are wounded to death: all those hearing the news about you will be waving their hands in joy over you: for who has not undergone the weight of your evil-doing again and again?