Nahum 3

Woe to the city of blood, full of lies, full of plunder — the prey never departs!

KJV Woe to the bloody city! it is all full of lies and robbery; the prey departeth not;

The crack of the whip! The rumble of wheels! Galloping horses! Bounding chariots!

KJV The noise of a whip, and the noise of the rattling of the wheels, and of the pransing horses, and of the jumping chariots.

Charging horsemen, flashing swords, gleaming spears! Masses of slain, heaps of corpses, dead bodies without end — they stumble over the dead!

KJV The horseman lifteth up both the bright sword and the glittering spear: and there is a multitude of slain, and a great number of carcases; and there is none end of their corpses; they stumble upon their corpses:

Because of the countless harlotries of the prostitute, graceful and skilled in sorcery, who sells nations through her harlotries and peoples through her sorceries —

KJV Because of the multitude of the whoredoms of the wellfavoured harlot, the mistress of witchcrafts, that selleth nations through her whoredoms, and families through her witchcrafts.

I am against you, declares the LORD of Hosts. I will lift your skirts over your face and show the nations your nakedness, and the kingdoms your shame.

KJV Behold, I am against thee, saith the LORD of hosts; and I will discover thy skirts upon thy face, and I will shew the nations thy nakedness, and the kingdoms thy shame.

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

KJV And I will cast abominable filth upon thee, and make thee vile, and will set thee as a gazingstock.

Then all who see you will recoil from you and say, 'Nineveh is devastated — who will grieve for her?' Where will I find anyone to comfort you?

KJV And it shall come to pass, that all they that look upon thee shall flee from thee, and say, Nineveh is laid waste: who will bemoan her? whence shall I seek comforters for thee?

Are you better than Thebes, who sat by the Nile channels, with water surrounding her — whose rampart was the sea, whose wall was water?

KJV Art thou better than populous No, that was situate among the rivers, that had the waters round about it, whose rampart was the sea, and her wall was from the sea?

Cush was her strength, and Egypt — boundless! Put and Libya were her allies.

KJV Ethiopia and Egypt were her strength, and it was infinite; Put and Lubim were thy helpers.

Yet even she went into exile; she was carried into captivity. Her infants were dashed to pieces at the head of every street. Lots were cast for her nobles, and all her great men were bound in chains.

KJV Yet was she carried away, she went into captivity: her young children also were dashed in pieces at the top of all the streets: and they cast lots for her honourable men, and all her great men were bound in chains.

You too will drink until you stagger. You too will go into hiding. You too will seek refuge from the enemy.

KJV Thou also shalt be drunken: thou shalt be hid, thou also shalt seek strength because of the enemy.

All your fortresses are fig trees with early figs — when shaken, they fall right into the mouth of the eater.

KJV All thy strong holds shall be like fig trees with the firstripe figs: if they be shaken, they shall even fall into the mouth of the eater.

Look — your troops have become like women among you. The gates of your land stand wide open to your enemies; fire has consumed your gate bars.

KJV Behold, thy people in the midst of thee are women: the gates of thy land shall be set wide open unto thine enemies: the fire shall devour thy bars.

Draw water for the siege! Strengthen your fortresses! Go into the clay, tread the mortar, take hold of the brick mold!

KJV Draw thee waters for the siege, fortify thy strong holds: go into clay, and tread the morter, make strong the brickkiln.

There fire will consume you; the sword will cut you down. It will devour you like the locust. Multiply yourselves like locusts! Multiply like the swarming locust!

KJV There shall the fire devour thee; the sword shall cut thee off, it shall eat thee up like the cankerworm: make thyself many as the cankerworm, make thyself many as the locusts.

You multiplied your merchants more than the stars of the sky — but the locust strips the land and flies away.

KJV Thou hast multiplied thy merchants above the stars of heaven: the cankerworm spoileth, and flieth away.

Your guards are like locusts, your officials like swarms of grasshoppers that settle on the walls on a cold day — but when the sun rises, they fly away, and no one knows where they have gone.

KJV Thy crowned are as the locusts, and thy captains as the great grasshoppers, which camp in the hedges in the cold day, but when the sun ariseth they flee away, and their place is not known where they are.

Your shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria; your nobles lie still. Your people are scattered across the mountains, and there is no one to gather them.

KJV Thy shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria: thy nobles shall dwell in the dust; thy people is scattered upon the mountains, and no man gathereth them.

There is no relief for your wound; your injury is fatal. All who hear the news about you clap their hands over you — for upon whom has your unceasing cruelty not passed?

KJV There is no healing of thy bruise; thy wound is grievous: all that hear the bruit of thee shall clap the hands over thee: for upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually?