Nahum 3:3-16
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 3
3Horsemen charging, Swords flashing, spears gleaming, Many killed, a mass of corpses, And there is no end to the dead bodies— They stumble over the dead bodies! 4 All because of the many sexual acts of the prostitute, The charming one, the mistress of sorceries, Who sells nations by her sexual acts, And families by her sorceries. 5'Behold, I am against you,' declares the Lord of armies; 'And I will lift up your skirts over your face, And show the nations your nakedness, And the kingdoms your shame. 6I will throw filth on you And declare you worthless, And set you up as a spectacle. 7And it will come about that all who see you Will shrink from you and say, ‘Nineveh is devastated! Who will have sympathy for her?’ Where shall I seek comforters for you?' 8Are you better than No-amon, Which was situated by the canals of the Nile, With water surrounding her, Whose rampart was the sea, Whose wall consisted of the sea? 9Ethiopia was her might, Egypt too, without limits. Put and Lubim were among her helpers. 10Yet she became an exile, She went into captivity; Also her small children were smashed to pieces At the head of every street; They cast lots for her honorable men, And all her great men were bound with shackles. 11You too will become drunk, You will be hidden. You too will search for a refuge from the enemy. 12All your fortifications are fig trees with ripe fruit— When shaken, they fall into the eater’s mouth. 13Behold, your people are women in your midst! The gates of your land are opened wide to your enemies; Fire consumes your gate bars. 14Draw for yourself water for a siege! Strengthen your fortifications! Go into the clay and tread the mortar! Take hold of the brick mold! 15There fire will consume you, The sword will cut you down; It will consume you as the creeping locust consumes a crop. Multiply yourself like the creeping locust, Multiply yourself like the migratory locust. 16You have made your traders more numerous than the stars of heaven— The creeping locust sheds its skin and flies away.King James Version
Chapter 3
3The 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: 4Because 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.
6And I will cast abominable filth upon thee, and make thee vile, and will set thee as a gazingstock.
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?
8Art 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?
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 3
3Charging horseman, flashing sword, shining spear; heaps of slain, mounds of corpses, dead bodies without end — they stumble over their dead. 4Because of the continual prostitution of the prostitute, the attractive mistress of sorcery, who treats nations and clans like merchandise by her prostitution and sorcery,
5I am against you. This is the declaration of the Lord of Armies. I will lift your skirts over your face and display your nakedness to nations, your shame to kingdoms.
6I will throw filth on you and treat you with contempt; I will make a spectacle of you.
7Then all who see you will recoil from you, saying, "Nineveh is devastated; who will show sympathy to her?" Where can I find anyone to comfort you?
8Are you better than Thebes that sat along the Nile with water surrounding her, whose rampart was the sea, the river her wall?
9Cush and Egypt were her endless source of strength; Put and Libya were among her allies.
10Yet she became an exile; she went into captivity. Her children were also dashed to pieces at the head of every street. They cast lots for her dignitaries, and all her nobles were bound in chains.
13Look, your troops are like women among you; your land’s city gates are wide open to your enemies. Fire will devour the bars of your gates.
14Draw water for the siege; strengthen your fortresses. Step into the clay and tread the mortar; take hold of the brick-mold!
15The fire will devour you there; the sword will cut you down. It will devour you like the young locust. Multiply yourselves like the young locust; multiply like the swarming locust!
16You have made your merchants more numerous than the stars of the sky. The young locust strips the land and flies away.
New Living Translation
Chapter 3
3See the flashing swords and glittering spears as the charioteers charge past! There are countless casualties, heaps of bodies — so many bodies that people stumble over them. 4All this because Nineveh, the beautiful and faithless city, mistress of deadly charms, enticed the nations with her beauty. She taught them all her magic, enchanting people everywhere.
5'I am your enemy!' says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. 'And now I will lift your skirts and show all the earth your nakedness and shame.
6I will cover you with filth and show the world how vile you really are.
7All who see you will shrink back and say, ‘Nineveh lies in ruins. Where are the mourners?’ Does anyone regret your destruction?'
8Are you any better than the city of Thebes, situated on the Nile River, surrounded by water? She was protected by the river on all sides, walled in by water.
9Ethiopia and the land of Egypt gave unlimited assistance. The nations of Put and Libya were among her allies.
10Yet Thebes fell, and her people were led away as captives. Her babies were dashed to death against the stones of the streets. Soldiers threw dice to get Egyptian officers as servants. All their leaders were bound in chains.
11And you, Nineveh, will also stagger like a drunkard. You will hide for fear of the attacking enemy.
12All your fortresses will fall. They will be devoured like the ripe figs that fall into the mouths of those who shake the trees.
13Your troops will be as weak and helpless as women. The gates of your land will be opened wide to the enemy and set on fire and burned.
14Get ready for the siege! Store up water! Strengthen the defenses! Go into the pits to trample clay, and pack it into molds, making bricks to repair the walls.
15But the fire will devour you; the sword will cut you down. The enemy will consume you like locusts, devouring everything they see. There will be no escape, even if you multiply like swarming locusts.
16Your merchants have multiplied until they outnumber the stars. But like a swarm of locusts, they strip the land and fly away.
English Standard Version
Chapter 3
3Horsemen charging, flashing sword and glittering spear, hosts of slain, heaps of corpses, dead bodies without end — they stumble over the bodies! 4And all for the countless whorings of the prostitute, graceful and of deadly charms, who betrays nations with her whorings, and peoples with her charms. 5 Behold, I am against you, declares the Lord of hosts, and will lift up your skirts over your face; and I will make nations look at your nakedness and kingdoms at your shame. 6I will throw filth at you and treat you with contempt and make you a spectacle. 7And all who look at you will shrink from you and say, "Wasted is Nineveh; who will grieve for her?" Where shall I seek comforters for you? 8 Are you better than Thebes that sat by the Nile, with water around her, her rampart a sea, and water her wall? 9 Cush was her strength; Egypt too, and that without limit; Put and the Libyans were her helpers. 10 Yet she became an exile; she went into captivity; her infants were dashed in pieces at the head of every street; for her honored men lots were cast, and all her great men were bound in chains. 11 You also will be drunken; you will go into hiding; you will seek a refuge from the enemy. 12All your fortresses are like fig trees with first-ripe figs — if shaken they fall into the mouth of the eater. 13Behold, your troops are women in your midst. The gates of your land are wide open to your enemies; fire has devoured your bars. 14 Draw water for the siege; strengthen your forts; go into the clay; tread the mortar; take hold of the brick mold! 15There will the fire devour you; the sword will cut you off. It will devour you like the locust. Multiply yourselves like the locust; multiply like the grasshopper! 16You increased your merchants more than the stars of the heavens. The locust spreads its wings and flies away.New International Version
4all because of the wanton lust of a prostitute, alluring, the mistress of sorceries, who enslaved nations by her prostitution and peoples by her witchcraft.
5"I am against you," declares the Lord Almighty. "I will lift your skirts over your face. I will show the nations your nakedness and the kingdoms your shame.
6I will pelt you with filth, I will treat you with contempt and make you a spectacle.
7All who see you will flee from you and say, ‘Nineveh is in ruins—who will mourn for her?’ Where can I find anyone to comfort you?"
8Are you better than Thebes, situated on the Nile, with water around her? The river was her defense, the waters her wall.
9Cush and Egypt were her boundless strength; Put and Libya were among her allies.
10Yet she was taken captive and went into exile. Her infants were dashed to pieces at every street corner. Lots were cast for her nobles, and all her great men were put in chains.
11You too will become drunk; you will go into hiding and seek refuge from the enemy.
12All your fortresses are like fig trees with their first ripe fruit; when they are shaken, the figs fall into the mouth of the eater.
13Look at your troops— they are all weaklings. The gates of your land are wide open to your enemies; fire has consumed the bars of your gates.
14Draw water for the siege, strengthen your defenses! Work the clay, tread the mortar, repair the brickwork!
15There the fire will consume you; the sword will cut you down— they will devour you like a swarm of locusts. Multiply like grasshoppers, multiply like locusts!
16You have increased the number of your merchants till they are more numerous than the stars in the sky, but like locusts they strip the land and then fly away.
New King James Version
