Nahum 3:8-13
The Message
Past the Point of No Return
8-13 Do you think you’re superior to Egyptian Thebes,
proudly invincible on the River Nile,
Protected by the great River,
walled in by the River, secure?
Ethiopia stood guard to the south,
Egypt to the north.
Put and Libya, strong friends,
were ready to step in and help.
But you know what happened to her:
The whole city was marched off to a refugee camp,
Her babies smashed to death
in public view on the streets,
Her prize leaders auctioned off,
her celebrities put in chain gangs.
Expect the same treatment, Nineveh.
You’ll soon be staggering like a bunch of drunks,
Wondering what hit you,
looking for a place to sleep it off.
All your forts are like peach trees,
the lush peaches ripe, ready for the picking.
One shake of the tree and they fall
straight into hungry mouths.
Face it: Your warriors are wimps.
You’re sitting ducks.
Your borders are gaping doors, inviting
your enemies in. And who’s to stop them?
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Nahum 3:8-10
New International Version
8 Are you better than(A) Thebes,(B)
situated on the Nile,(C)
with water around her?
The river was her defense,
the waters her wall.
9 Cush[a](D) and Egypt were her boundless strength;
Put(E) and Libya(F) were among her allies.
10 Yet she was taken captive(G)
and went into exile.
Her infants were dashed(H) to pieces
at every street corner.
Lots(I) were cast for her nobles,
and all her great men were put in chains.(J)
Footnotes
- Nahum 3:9 That is, the upper Nile region
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
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