It Is Bad for Nineveh

3 It is bad for the city of blood, full of lies and stolen riches! There is no end of her prizes of war! ² The noise of the whip, the noise of the wheel, running horses and rolling war-wagons! ³ Horsemen rushing to battle, swords and spears shining, many dead, too many dead bodies to number! They fall over the dead bodies! ⁴ All this is because of the many sins of the woman who sells the use of her body. She tempts with her beauty and uses witchcraft. She sells nations by her sinful acts, and families by her witchcraft. ⁵ “I am against you,” says the Lord of All. “I will lift up your clothing over your face and let the nations see your body. The nations will see your shame. ⁶ I will throw dirt on you and make you unclean. People will look at you and see how bad you are. ⁷ All who see you will leave you and say, ‘Nineveh is destroyed! Who will have sorrow for her?’ Where can I find anyone to comfort you?”

⁸ Are you better than Thebes, which is by the Nile River? Water was all around her. The sea kept her safe, for the water was her wall. ⁹ Ethiopia and Egypt were her strength, with too many to number. Put and Lubim were among her helpers. ¹⁰ Yet she was taken away to a strange land. She was taken away in chains. Her small children were beaten to death at every street corner. They drew names to see who would get her men of honor. And all her great men were put in chains. ¹¹ You also will become drunk. You will be hidden. You will look for a safe place from those who hate you. ¹² All your strong towers are like fig trees with first-fruits. When they are shaken, they fall into the mouth of the one who eats them. ¹³ Your soldiers are all women. The gates of your land are opened wide to those who hate you. Fire destroys your gates. ¹⁴ Store up water to drink when you are shut in by armies! Make your walls stronger! Go into the clay to make more clay blocks for building! ¹⁵ There the fire will destroy you. The sword will kill you. It will destroy you like the locust.

Make yourselves as many as the locusts, as many as the flying locusts. ¹⁶ You have more traders than the stars of heaven. The locust destroys everything from the land and flies away. ¹⁷ Your watchmen are like the flying locusts. Your leaders are like clouds of locusts. They stay in the stone walls on a cold day. When the sun rises they fly away and no one knows where they are. ¹⁸ Your shepherds are sleeping, O king of Assyria. Your leaders are lying down. Your people have gone everywhere on the mountains. And there is no one to gather them together again. ¹⁹ Nothing can heal your hurt. Your sore cannot be cured. All who hear about you will clap their hands over you. For who has not suffered under your sinful ways again and again?