1 aAn oracle concerning bNineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum of Elkosh.
2 cThe Lord is a jealous and avenging God;
the Lord is avenging and wrathful;
dthe Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries
and ekeeps wrath for his enemies.
3 fThe Lord is slow to anger and ggreat in power,
and hthe Lord will by no means clear the guilty.
iHis way is in whirlwind and storm,
and the clouds are the dust of his feet.
4 jHe rebukes the sea and makes it dry;
the bloom of kLebanon withers.
5 mThe mountains quake before him;
nthe hills melt;
othe world and all who dwell in it.
6 pWho can stand before his indignation?
Who can endure the heat of his anger?
His wrath qis poured out like fire,
and rthe rocks are broken into pieces by him.
7 sThe Lord is good,
ta stronghold in the day of trouble;
uhe knows those who take refuge in him.
8 But vwith an overflowing flood
he will make a complete end of the adversaries,1
and wwill pursue his enemies into darkness.
9 What xdo you plot against the Lord?
yHe will make a complete end;
trouble will not rise up a second time.
10 For they are zlike entangled thorns,
athey are consumed like stubble fully dried.
bwho plotted evil against the Lord,
“Though they are at full strength and many,
cthey will be cut down and pass away.
dThough I have afflicted you,
13 And now eI will break his yoke from off you
and will burst your bonds apart.”
14 The Lord has given commandment about you:
f“No more shall your name be perpetuated;
from gthe house of your gods I will cut off
the carved image and the metal image.
hI will make your grave, ifor you are vile.”
15 2 jBehold, upon the mountains, kthe feet of him
lKeep your feasts, O Judah;
mfulfill your vows,
nfor never again shall the worthless pass through you;
2 oThe scatterer has come up against you.
pMan the ramparts;
dress for battle;3
2 For qthe Lord is restoring the majesty of Jacob
for plunderers have plundered them
and rruined their branches.
3 The shield of his mighty men is red;
shis soldiers are clothed in scarlet.
The chariots come with flashing metal
the cypress spears are brandished.
4 tThe chariots race madly through the streets;
they rush to and fro through the squares;
5 He remembers uhis officers;
vthey stumble as they go,
the siege tower4 is set up.
6 wThe river gates are opened;
the palace xmelts away;
7 its mistress5 is ystripped;6 she is carried off,
her slave girls zlamenting,
8 bNineveh is like a pool
whose waters run away.7
but cnone turns back.
There is no end of the treasure
or of the wealth of all precious things.
10 dDesolate! Desolation and ruin!
eHearts melt and fknees tremble;
ganguish is in all loins;
hall faces grow pale!
the feeding place of ithe young lions,
where the lion and lioness went,
where his cubs were, with jnone to disturb?
12 kThe lion tore enough for his cubs
and lstrangled prey for his lionesses;
13 mBehold, I am against you, declares the Lord of hosts, and nI will burn your8 chariots in smoke, and the sword shall devour your young lions. I will cut off your prey from the earth, and othe voice of your messengers shall no longer be heard.
3 Woe to pthe bloody city,
qno end to the prey!
2 The crack of the whip, and rrumble of the wheel,
sgalloping horse and tbounding chariot!
flashing sword and uglittering spear,
vhosts of slain,
4 And all for the countless whorings of the wprostitute,
xgraceful and of deadly charms,
who betrays nations with her whorings,
5 mBehold, I am against you,
and ywill lift up your skirts over your face;
and I will make nations look at zyour nakedness
and atreat you with contempt
and make you ba spectacle.
7 And all who look at you cwill shrink from you and say,
“Wasted is dNineveh; ewho will grieve for her?”
fWhere shall I seek comforters for you?
8 gAre you better than hThebes9
that sat iby the Nile,
9 jCush was her strength;
Egypt too, and that without limit;
kPut and the lLibyans were her10 helpers.
10 mYet she became an exile;
nher infants were dashed in pieces
for her honored men olots were cast,
pand all her great men were bound in chains.
11 qYou also will be drunken;
ryou will seek a refuge from the enemy.
12 All your fortresses are slike fig trees
tare women in your midst.
are wide open to your enemies;
14 uDraw water for the siege;
rstrengthen your forts;
15 There will the fire devour you;
It will vdevour you wlike the locust.
Multiply yourselves wlike the locust;
multiply wlike the grasshopper!
16 You increased xyour merchants
more than the stars of the heavens.
wThe locust spreads its wings and flies away.
17 Your zprinces are wlike grasshoppers,
ayour scribes11 like clouds of locusts
when the sun rises, they fly away;
18 Your shepherds bare asleep,
cyour nobles slumber.
Your people dare scattered on the mountains
19 There is no easing your hurt;
eyour wound is grievous.
All who hear the news about you
fclap their hands over you.
For gupon whom has not come
[1] 1:8
[2] 1:15
[3] 2:1
[4] 2:5
[5] 2:7
[6] 2:7
[7] 2:8
[8] 2:13
[9] 3:8
[10] 3:9
[11] 3:17