Judgment on Nineveh 1 ULT Woe to the city of bloodshed! All of it{ is} lies, full of plunder; the prey never departs. BSB BSB: Woe to the city of blood, full of lies, full of plunder, never without prey.
2 ULT The sound of a whip and the sound of a rattling wheel and a galloping horse and a bounding chariot! BSB BSB: The crack of the whip, the rumble of the wheel, galloping horse and bounding chariot!
3 ULT A charging horseman and a flash of a sword and a gleam of a spear and many slain and heaps of corpses. There is no end to the dead bodies; they stumble over their dead bodies. BSB BSB: Charging horseman, flashing sword, shining spear; heaps of slain, mounds of corpses, dead bodies without end—they stumble over their dead—
4 ULT From the many harlotries of the prostitute, pleasing in beauty, the mistress of witchcraft, the seller of nations through her prostitution, and peoples through her witchcraft. BSB BSB: 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 ULT “Behold me, against you— the declaration of Yahweh of armies— I will remove your skirt over your face and show the nations your nakedness and the kingdoms your shame. BSB BSB: “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 ULT I will throw filth on you and regard you as vile; I will set you up as a spectacle. BSB BSB: I will pelt you with filth and treat you with contempt; I will make a spectacle of you.
7 ULT It will come about that everyone looking at you will flee from you and say,‘Nineveh is destroyed; who will sympathize with her?’ From where can I find a comforter for you?” BSB BSB: 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 ULT Are you better than Thebes, situated on the Nile River, water all around her, whose defense{ was} the sea, water her wall? BSB BSB: Are you better than Thebes, stationed by the Nile with water around her, whose rampart was the sea, whose wall was the water?
9 ULT Cush and Egypt{ were} her strength, and there was no end; Put and Libya were among your allies. BSB BSB: Cush and Egypt were her boundless strength; Put and Libya were her allies.
10 ULT Yet she as an exile went into captivity; also her young children were dashed in pieces at the head of every street; and for her honored ones they cast lots, and all her great ones were bound in chains. BSB BSB: 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 ULT You also will become drunk; you will be hidden; you also will seek a refuge from your enemy. BSB BSB: You too will become drunk; you will go into hiding and seek refuge from the enemy.
12 ULT All of your fortresses{ are} fig trees with first fruits: if they are shaken, they fall into the mouth of the eater. BSB BSB: All your fortresses are fig trees with the first ripe figs; when shaken, they fall into the mouth of the eater!
13 ULT Behold, your people{ are} women in your midst; the gates of your land opening have been opened to your enemies; fire has devoured your bars. BSB BSB: 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 ULT Draw siege water for yourself; strengthen your fortresses; go into the clay and tread in the mortar; pick up the brick mold. BSB BSB: Draw your water for the siege; strengthen your fortresses. Work the clay and tread the mortar; repair the brick kiln!
15 ULT Fire will devour you there, and the sword will cut you off. It will devour you as the creeping locust. Multiply yourself as the creeping locust; multiply yourself as the swarming locust! BSB BSB: 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 ULT You have multiplied your merchants more than the stars of the heavens; a locust stripped and flew away. BSB BSB: You have multiplied your merchants more than the stars of the sky. The young locust strips the land and flies away.
17 ULT Your guards{ are} like the locust, and your generals, like a swarm of locusts, the ones settling on the walls on a cold day. The sun shines and it flies away and its place is not known where they are. BSB BSB: Your guards are like the swarming locust, and your scribes 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 ULT King of Assyria, your shepherds are asleep; your nobles are lying down. Your people are scattered on the mountains, and there is no one gathering{ them}. BSB BSB: O king of Assyria, your shepherds slumber; your officers sleep. Your people are scattered on the mountains with no one to gather them.
19 ULT There is no relief for your destruction. Your wound is severe. Everyone hearing the news of you will clap{ their} hands over you. For upon whom has not come your endless evil? BSB BSB: 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?