Nahum 3

1Woe to the bloody city! it is all full of lies and rapine; the prey departeth not.

1How terrible it will be for this city of murderers! It is completely full of lies and stolen goods; it never stops plundering.

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

2Listen to the sound of the whip and the noise of rattling wheels! Hear the galloping horses and the bouncing chariots!

3the horseman mounting, and the flashing sword, and the glittering spear, and a multitude of slain, and a great heap of corpses, and there is no end of the bodies; they stumble upon their bodies;—

3Cavalry are charging, swords are flashing, and spears are gleaming! There are piles of dead people and huge heaps of corpses. There is no end to the bodies; people trip over them.

4because of the multitude of the whoredoms of the well-favored harlot, the mistress of witchcrafts, that selleth nations through her whoredoms, and families through her witchcrafts.

4This is happening because Nineveh is like a beautiful prostitute and a mistress of sorcery. She has enslaved nations with her charms and families with her witchcraft.

5Behold, I am against thee, saith Jehovah of hosts, and I will uncover thy skirts upon thy face; and I will show the nations thy nakedness, and the kingdoms thy shame.

5'I am against you,' says the LORD of Armies. 'I will pull your skirts up over your face. I will show nations your nakedness and let kingdoms see your shame.'

6And I will cast abominable filth upon thee, and make thee vile, and will set thee as a gazing-stock.

6'I will throw filthy garbage at you and treat you with contempt. I will make you a public spectacle.'

7And 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?

7Everyone who sees you will run away, saying, 'Nineveh is destroyed! Who will feel sorry for her?' Where can I find anyone to comfort you?

8Art thou better than No-amon, that was situate among the rivers, that had the waters round about her; whose rampart was the sea, and her wall was of the sea?

8Are you any better than the city of Thebes, situated by the Nile with water all around her? The river was her defense, and the water was her wall.

9Ethiopia and Egypt were her strength, and it was infinite; Put and Lubim were thy helpers.

9Ethiopia and Egypt gave her endless strength; Put and Libya were among her allies.

10Yet 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.

10Yet she was taken away and went into exile. Her little children were smashed to pieces at every street corner. Soldiers gambled for her noblemen, and all her great leaders were bound in chains.

11Thou also shalt be drunken; thou shalt be hid; thou also shalt seek a stronghold because of the enemy.

11You too will become like a drunk person; you will try to hide. You too will look for a safe place to escape the enemy.

12All thy fortresses shall be like fig-trees with the first-ripe figs: if they be shaken, they fall into the mouth of the eater.

12All your fortresses are like fig trees with the first ripe fruit: when they are shaken, the figs fall straight into the mouth of the person waiting to eat them.

13Behold, thy people in the midst of thee are women; the gates of thy land are set wide open unto thine enemies: the fire hath devoured thy bars.

13Look at your troops—they are as weak as women! The gates of your land stand wide open to your enemies, and fire has burned up the bars that locked them.

14Draw thee water for the siege; strengthen thy fortresses; go into the clay, and tread the mortar; make strong the brickkiln.

14Store up water for the siege and make your defenses stronger! Get into the mud, stomp the mortar, and repair the brickwork!

15There shall the fire devour thee; the sword shall cut thee off; it shall devour thee like the canker-worm: make thyself many as the canker-worm; make thyself many as the locust.

15Even then, the fire will consume you and the sword will cut you down; it will devour you like a swarm of locusts. Go ahead and multiply like grasshoppers; increase your numbers like locusts!

16Thou hast multiplied thy merchants above the stars of heaven: the canker-worm ravageth, and fleeth away.

16You have more traders than there are stars in the sky, but like locusts, they strip the land and then fly away.

17Thy princes are as the locusts, and thy marshals as the swarms of grasshoppers, which encamp in the hedges in the cold day, but when the sun ariseth they flee away, and their place is not known where they are.

17Your guards are like swarms of locusts, and your officials are like clouds of insects that settle on walls during a cold day. But when the sun comes up, they fly away, and no one knows where they went.

18Thy shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria; thy nobles are at rest; thy people are scattered upon the mountains, and there is none to gather them.

18King of Assyria, your leaders are sleeping; your nobles are lying in the dust. Your people are scattered across the mountains, and there is no one left to bring them back together.

19There is no assuaging of thy hurt; thy wound is grievous: all that hear the report of thee clap their hands over thee; for upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually?

19There is no healing for your injury; your wound is fatal. Use the news of your downfall, and everyone will clap their hands for joy. Who hasn't suffered from your endless cruelty?