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

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

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

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.

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

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?

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?

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

10 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.

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

12 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.

13 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.

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

15 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.

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

17 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.

18 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.

19 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?

1 Of the fall of Ninevah. 8 No power can escape the hand of God.

O bloody city, it is all full of lies and robbery: [a]the prey departeth not.

The noise of a whip, [b]and the noise of the moving of the wheels, and the beating of the horses, and the leaping of the chariots.

The horseman lifteth up both the bright sword, and the glittering spear, and a multitude is slain, and the dead bodies are many: there is none end of their corpses: they stumble upon their corpses,

Because of the multitude of the fornications of the [c]harlot that is beautiful, and is a mistress of witchcraft, and selleth the people through her whoredom, and the nations through her witchcrafts.

Behold, I come upon thee, saith the Lord of hosts, and will discover thy skirts upon thy face, and will show the nations thy filthiness, and the kingdoms thy shame.

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

And it shall come to pass, that all they that look upon thee, shall flee from thee, and say, Nineveh is destroyed, who will have pity upon her? where shall I seek comforters for thee?

Art thou better than [d]No, which was full of people? that lay in the rivers, and had the waters round about it? whose ditch was the sea, and her wall was from the sea?

Ethiopia and Egypt were her strength, and there was none end: Put and Lubim were [e]her helpers.

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

11 Also thou shalt be drunken: thou shalt hide thyself, and shalt seek help because of the enemy.

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

13 Behold, thy people within thee are women: the gates of thy land shall be opened unto thine enemies, and the fire shall devour thy bars.

14 Draw thee waters for the siege: fortify thy strongholds: go into the clay, and temper the mortar: make strong brick.

15 There shall the fire devour thee: the sword shall cut thee off: it shall eat thee up like the [f]locusts, though thou be multiplied like the locusts, and multiplied like the grasshopper.

16 Thou hast multiplied thy merchants above the stars of heaven: the locust spoileth and flieth away.

17 Thy princes are as the grasshoppers, and thy captains as the great grasshoppers which remain in the hedges in the cold day: but when the sun ariseth, they flee away, and their place is not known where they are.

18 Thy [g]shepherds do sleep, O king of Assyria: thy strong men lie down: thy people is scattered upon the mountains, and no man gathereth them.

19 There is no healing of thy wound: thy plague is grievous: all that hear the brute of thee, shall clap the hands over thee: for upon [h]whom hath not thy malice passed continually?

Footnotes

  1. Nahum 3:1 It never ceaseth to spoil and rob.
  2. Nahum 3:2 He showeth how the Chaldeans shall haste, and how courageous their horses shall be in beating the ground when they come against the Assyrians.
  3. Nahum 3:4 He compareth Nineveh to an harlot, which by her beauty and subtlety enticeth young men, and bringeth them to destruction.
  4. Nahum 3:8 Meaning, Alexandria, which was in league with so many nations, and yet was now destroyed.
  5. Nahum 3:9 Or, thine.
  6. Nahum 3:15 Signifying, that God’s judgments should suddenly destroy the Assyrians, as these vermin are with rain or change of weather.
  7. Nahum 3:18 Thy princes and counselors.
  8. Nahum 3:19 Meaning, that there was no people to whom the Assyrians had not done hurt.