VerseAI

NIV

Nahum 3

  1. 1<pb/><t>Woe to the city of blood,</t> <t>full of lies,</t> <t>full of plunder,</t> <t>never without victims!</t>
  2. 2<t>The crack of whips,</t> <t>the clatter of wheels,</t> <t>galloping horses</t> <t>and jolting chariots!</t>
  3. 3<t>Charging cavalry,</t> <t>flashing swords</t> <t>and glittering spears!</t> <t>Many casualties,</t> <t>piles of dead,</t> <t>bodies without number,</t> <t>people stumbling over the corpses—</t>
  4. 4<t>all because of the wanton lust of a prostitute,</t> <t>alluring, the mistress of sorceries,</t> <t>who enslaved nations by her prostitution</t> <t>and peoples by her witchcraft. <pb/></t>
  5. 5<t>“I am against you,” declares the LORD Almighty.</t> <t>“I will lift your skirts over your face.</t> <t>I will show the nations your nakedness</t> <t>and the kingdoms your shame.</t>
  6. 6<t>I will pelt you with filth,</t> <t>I will treat you with contempt</t> <t>and make you a spectacle.</t>
  7. 7<t>All who see you will flee from you and say,</t> <t>‘Nineveh is in ruins—who will mourn for her?’</t> <t>Where can I find anyone to comfort you?” <pb/></t>
  8. 8<t>Are you better than Thebes,</t> <t>situated on the Nile,</t> <t>with water around her?</t> <t>The river was her defense,</t> <t>the waters her wall.</t>
  9. 9<t>Cush<f>[7]</f> and Egypt were her boundless strength;</t> <t>Put and Libya were among her allies.</t>
  10. 10<t>Yet she was taken captive</t> <t>and went into exile.</t> <t>Her infants were dashed to pieces</t> <t>at every street corner.</t> <t>Lots were cast for her nobles,</t> <t>and all her great men were put in chains.</t>
  11. 11<t>You too will become drunk;</t> <t>you will go into hiding</t> <t>and seek refuge from the enemy. <pb/></t>
  12. 12<t>All your fortresses are like fig trees</t> <t>with their first ripe fruit;</t> <t>when they are shaken,</t> <t>the figs fall into the mouth of the eater.</t>
  13. 13<t>Look at your troops—</t> <t>they are all weaklings.</t> <t>The gates of your land</t> <t>are wide open to your enemies;</t> <t>fire has consumed the bars of your gates. <pb/></t>
  14. 14<t>Draw water for the siege,</t> <t>strengthen your defenses!</t> <t>Work the clay,</t> <t>tread the mortar,</t> <t>repair the brickwork!</t>
  15. 15<t>There the fire will consume you;</t> <t>the sword will cut you down—</t> <t>they will devour you like a swarm of locusts.</t> <t>Multiply like grasshoppers,</t> <t>multiply like locusts!</t>
  16. 16<t>You have increased the number of your merchants</t> <t>till they are more numerous than the stars in the sky,</t> <t>but like locusts they strip the land</t> <t>and then fly away.</t>
  17. 17<t>Your guards are like locusts,</t> <t>your officials like swarms of locusts</t> <t>that settle in the walls on a cold day—</t> <t>but when the sun appears they fly away,</t> <t>and no one knows where. <pb/></t>
  18. 18<t>King of Assyria, your shepherds<f>[8]</f> slumber;</t> <t>your nobles lie down to rest.</t> <t>Your people are scattered on the mountains</t> <t>with no one to gather them.</t>
  19. 19<t>Nothing can heal you;</t> <t>your wound is fatal.</t> <t>All who hear the news about you</t> <t>clap their hands at your fall,</t> <t>for who has not felt</t> <t>your endless cruelty?</t>