Judgment against Nineveh
1Woe to the bloody city! it is all full of lies and robbery; the prey departeth not;
2The noise of a whip, and the noise of the rattling of the wheels, and of the pransing horses, and of the jumping chariots.
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.
5Behold, 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.
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?
9Ethiopia and Egypt were her strength, and it was infinite; Put and Lubim were thy helpers.
10Yet 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.
11Thou also shalt be drunken: thou shalt be hid, thou also shalt seek strength because of the enemy.
12All 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.
13Behold, 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.
14Draw thee waters for the siege, fortify thy strong holds: go into clay, and tread the morter, make strong the brickkiln.
15There 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.
16Thou hast multiplied thy merchants above the stars of heaven: the cankerworm spoileth, and flieth away.
17Thy 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.
18Thy 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.
19There 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?
King James Bible
Text courtesy of BibleProtector.com.
Judgment on Nineveh
1 Woe to the bloody city! It is all full of lies and robbery. The prey doesn’t depart.
2 The noise of the whip, the noise of the rattling of wheels, prancing horses, and bounding chariots,
3 the horseman mounting, and the flashing sword, the glittering spear, and a multitude of slain, and a great heap of corpses, and there is no end of the bodies. They stumble on their bodies,
4 because of the multitude of the prostitution of the alluring prostitute, the mistress of witchcraft, who sells nations through her prostitution, and families through her witchcraft.
5 “Behold, I am against you,” says Yahweh of Armies, “and I will lift your skirts over your face. I will show the nations your nakedness, and the kingdoms your shame.
6 I will throw abominable filth on you, and make you vile, and will set you a spectacle.
7 It will happen that all those who look at you will flee from you, and say, ‘Nineveh is laid waste! Who will mourn for her?’ Where will I seek comforters for you?”
8 Are you better than No-Amon, who was situated among the rivers, who had the waters around her; whose rampart was the sea, and her wall was of the sea?
9 Cush and Egypt were her boundless strength. Put and Libya were her helpers.
10 Yet was she carried away. She went into captivity. Her young children also were dashed in pieces at the head of all the streets, and they cast lots for her honorable men, and all her great men were bound in chains.
11 You also will be drunken. You will be hidden. You also will seek a stronghold because of the enemy.
12 All your fortresses will be like fig trees with the first-ripe figs: if they are shaken, they fall into the mouth of the eater.
13 Behold, your troops in your midst are women. The gates of your land are set wide open to your enemies. The fire has devoured your bars.
14 Draw water for the siege. Strengthen your fortresses. Go into the clay, and tread the mortar. Make the brick kiln strong.
15 There the fire will devour you. The sword will cut you off. It will devour you like the grasshopper. Multiply like grasshoppers. Multiply like the locust.
16 You have increased your merchants more than the stars of the skies. The grasshopper strips, and flees away.
17 Your guards are like the locusts, and your officials like the swarms of locusts, which settle on the walls on a cold day, but when the sun appears, they flee away, and their place is not known where they are.
18 Your shepherds slumber, king of Assyria. Your nobles lie down. Your people are scattered on the mountains, and there is no one to gather them.
19 There is no healing your wound, for your injury is fatal. All who hear the report of you clap their hands over you; for who hasn’t felt your endless cruelty?
Judgment on Nineveh
1 Woe to the city of blood,
full of lies,
full of plunder,
never without prey.
2 The crack of the whip,
the rumble of the wheel,
galloping horse
and bounding chariot!
3 Charging horseman,
flashing sword,
shining spear;
heaps of slain,
mounds of corpses,
dead bodies without end—
they stumble over their dead—
4 because of the many harlotries of the harlot,
the seductive mistress of sorcery,
who betrays nations by her prostitution
and clans by her witchcraft.
5 “Behold, I am against you,”
declares the LORD of Hosts.
“I will lift your skirts over your face.
I will show your nakedness to the nations
and your shame to the kingdoms.
6 I will pelt you with filth
and treat you with contempt;
I will make a spectacle of you.
7 Then all who see you
will recoil from you and say,
‘Nineveh is devastated;
who will grieve for her?’
Where can I find
comforters for you?”
8 Are you better than Thebes, a
stationed by the Nile with water around her,
whose rampart was the sea,
whose wall was the water?
9 Cush b and Egypt were her boundless strength;
Put and Libya were her allies.
10 Yet she became an exile;
she went into captivity.
Her infants were dashed to pieces
at the head of every street.
They cast lots for her dignitaries,
and all her nobles were bound in chains.
11 You too will become drunk;
you will go into hiding
and seek refuge from the enemy.
12 All your fortresses are fig trees
with the first ripe figs;
when shaken, they fall
into the mouth of the eater!
13 Look at your troops—
they are like your women!
The gates of your land
are wide open to your enemies;
fire consumes their bars.
14 Draw your water for the siege;
strengthen your fortresses.
Work the clay and tread the mortar;
repair the brick kiln!
15 There the fire will devour you;
the sword will cut you down
and consume you like a young locust.
Make yourself many like the young locust;
make yourself many like the swarming locust!
16 You have multiplied your merchants
more than the stars of the sky.
The young locust strips the land
and flies away.
17 Your guards c are like the swarming locust,
and your scribes d like clouds of locusts
that settle on the walls on a cold day.
When the sun rises, they fly away,
and no one knows where.
18 O king of Assyria, your shepherds slumber;
your officers sleep.
Your people are scattered on the mountains
with no one to gather them.
19 There is no healing for your injury;
your wound is severe.
All who hear the news of you
applaud your downfall,
for who has not experienced
your constant cruelty?
Footnotes:
8 a Hebrew No-amon
9 b That is, the upper Nile region
17 c Or princes
17 d Or marshals
Judgment against Nineveh
1Woe to the city of blood, She is all with lies -- burglary -- full, Prey doth not depart.
2The sound of a whip, And the sound of the rattling of a wheel, And of a prancing horse, and of a bounding chariot, Of a horseman mounting.
3And the flame of a sword, and the lightning of a spear, And the abundance of the wounded, And the weight of carcases, Yea, there is no end to the bodies, They stumble over their bodies.
4Because of the abundance of the fornications of an harlot, The goodness of the grace of the lady of witchcrafts, Who is selling nations by her fornications, And families by her witchcrafts.
5Lo, I am against thee, An affirmation of Jehovah of Hosts, And have removed thy skirts before thy face, And have shewed nations thy nakedness, And kingdoms thy shame,
6And I have cast upon thee abominations, And dishonoured thee, and made thee as a sight.
7And it hath come to pass, Each of thy beholders fleeth from thee, And hath said: 'Spoiled is Nineveh, Who doth bemoan for her?' Whence do I seek comforters for thee?
8Art thou better than No-Ammon, That is dwelling among brooks? Waters she hath round about her, Whose bulwark is the sea, waters her wall.
9Cush her might, and Egypt, and there is no end. Put and Lubim have been for thy help.
10Even she doth become an exile, She hath gone into captivity, Even her sucklings are dashed to pieces At the top of all out-places, And for her honoured ones they cast a lot, And all her great ones have been bound in fetters.
11Even thou art drunken, thou art hidden, Even thou dost seek a strong place, because of an enemy.
12All thy fortresses are fig-trees with first-fruits, If they are shaken, They have fallen into the mouth of the eater.
13Lo, thy people are women in thy midst, To thine enemies thoroughly opened Have been the gates of thy land, Consumed hath fire thy bars.
14Waters of a siege draw for thyself, Strengthen thy fortresses, Enter into mire, and tread on clay, Make strong a brick-kiln.
15There consume thee doth a fire, Cut thee off doth a sword, It doth consume thee as a cankerworm! Make thyself heavy as the cankerworm, Make thyself heavy as the locust.
16Multiply thy merchants above the stars of the heavens, The cankerworm hath stripped off, and doth flee away.
17Thy crowned ones are as a locust, And thy princes as great grasshoppers, That encamp in hedges in a day of cold, The sun hath risen, and it doth flee away, And not known is its place where they are.
18Slumbered have thy friends, king of Asshur, Rest do thine honourable ones, Scattered have been thy people on the mountains, And there is none gathering.
19There is no weakening of thy destruction, Grievous is thy smiting, All hearing thy fame have clapped the hand at thee, For over whom did not thy wickedness pass continually?
