Nahum 3

Woe to the bloody city! it is all full of lies and robbery; the prey departeth not;

Alas, for the violent city! It's drowning in deceit and theft; the victims never find escape.

The noise of a whip, and the noise of the rattling of the wheels, and of the pransing horses, and of the jumping chariots.

The crack of a whip echoes, wheels clatter loudly, horses prance nervously, and chariots leap forward.

The 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:

The warrior raises his gleaming sword and shimmering spear, amidst a sea of fallen bodies. The dead are countless, their bodies littering the ground, tripping those who remain.

Because 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.

Due to the countless sins of the attractive seductress, a master of dark arts, who trades nations with her immorality and destroys families with her sorcery.

Behold, 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.

Listen, I, the Lord of all, am against you. I will lift your skirts over your face and show your nakedness to the nations and your shame to all kingdoms.

And I will cast abominable filth upon thee, and make thee vile, and will set thee as a gazingstock.

I will shower you with disgrace, make you repugnant, and turn you into an object of scorn.

And 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?

Everyone who sees you will run away, saying, "Nineveh is destroyed! Who will mourn for her? Where can we find anyone to comfort her?"

Art 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?

Do you really think you're superior to the bustling city of No, surrounded by rivers and protected by the sea as its wall and defense?

Ethiopia and Egypt were her strength, and it was infinite; Put and Lubim were thy helpers.

Ethiopia and Egypt were her unending pillars of support, while Put and Lubim stood by her side as faithful allies.

Yet 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.

She was taken away, forced into captivity. Her innocent children were cruelly shattered in the streets. Her respected men were gambled away, and her powerful men were shackled in chains.

Thou also shalt be drunken: thou shalt be hid, thou also shalt seek strength because of the enemy.

You too will lose yourself in confusion; you'll be concealed. You'll desperately search for power to face your adversary.

All 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.

Your defenses will be as fragile as ripe figs on a tree; a mere shake will cause them to fall, ready to be devoured.

Behold, 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.

Look around, your people are vulnerable like women, your land's defenses are wide open to your foes, and the consuming fire will destroy your barriers.

Draw thee waters for the siege, fortify thy strong holds: go into clay, and tread the morter, make strong the brickkiln.

Prepare for the battle, strengthen your defenses. Dive into the clay, shape it, and strengthen your walls.

There 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.

Fire will consume you, the sword will end you, just as a worm devours a leaf. Multiply like worms, swarm like locusts, but it won't save you.

Thou hast multiplied thy merchants above the stars of heaven: the cankerworm spoileth, and fleeth away.

You've increased your traders more than the stars in the sky: but just like a pest destroys and then disappears, so will they.

Thy 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.

Your leaders are like locusts, and your commanders like massive grasshoppers. They hide in the bushes on chilly days, but at the first sign of sunlight, they scatter, leaving no trace of where they've gone.

Thy 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.

Your leaders are asleep, O Assyrian king, your nobles will lie in the dust. Your people are lost in the mountains, with no one to bring them together.

There 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?

Your pain is deep and beyond cure. Your wound is severe. Everyone who hears of your suffering will applaud, for who hasn't been affected by your constant wrongdoings?