Judgment on Nineveh 1 WBS Woe to the bloody city! it is all full of lies and robberies; the prey departeth not; BSB BSB: Woe to the city of blood, full of lies, full of plunder, never without prey.
2 WBS The noise of a whip, and the noise of the rattling of the wheels, and of the prancing horses, and of the bounding chariots. BSB BSB: The crack of the whip, the rumble of the wheel, galloping horse and bounding chariot!
3 WBS The horseman lifteth up both the bright sword, and the glittering spear: and there is a multitude of slain, and a great number of carcasses; and there is no end of their corpses; they stumble upon their corpses: BSB BSB: Charging horseman, flashing sword, shining spear; heaps of slain, mounds of corpses, dead bodies without end—they stumble over their dead—
4 WBS Because of the multitude of the lewd deeds of the well-favored harlot, the mistress of witchcrafts, that selleth nations through her lewd deeds, and families through her witchcrafts. 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 WBS Behold, I am against thee, saith the LORD of hosts; and I will remove thy skirts upon thy face, and I will show the nations thy nakedness, and the kingdoms thy 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 WBS And I will cast abominable filth upon thee, and make thee vile, and will set thee as a gazing-stock. BSB BSB: I will pelt you with filth and treat you with contempt; I will make a spectacle of you.
7 WBS 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? 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 WBS Art thou better than populous No, that was situated among the rivers, that had the waters around it, whose rampart was the sea, and her wall was from the sea? 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 WBS Cush and Egypt were her strength, and it was infinite; Put and Lubim were thy helpers. BSB BSB: Cush and Egypt were her boundless strength; Put and Libya were her allies.
10 WBS 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. 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 WBS Thou also shalt be drunken: thou shalt be hid, thou also shalt seek strength because of the enemy. BSB BSB: You too will become drunk; you will go into hiding and seek refuge from the enemy.
12 WBS All thy strong holds shall be like fig-trees with the first ripe figs: if they be shaken, they shall even 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 WBS Behold, thy people in the midst of thee are women: the gates of thy land shall be set wide open to thy enemies: the fire shall devour thy 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 WBS Draw thee waters for the siege, fortify thy strong holds: go into clay, and tread the mortar, make strong the brick-kiln. BSB BSB: Draw your water for the siege; strengthen your fortresses. Work the clay and tread the mortar; repair the brick kiln!
15 WBS There shall the fire devour thee; the sword shall cut thee off, it shall eat thee up like the canker-worm: make thyself many as the canker-worm, make thyself many as the locusts. 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 WBS Thou hast multiplied thy merchants above the stars of heaven: the canker-worm spoileth, and flieth 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 WBS Thy crowned are as the locusts, and thy captains as the great grasshoppers, which settle in the hedges in the cold day, but when the sun ariseth they flee away, and their 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 WBS Thy shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria: thy nobles shall dwell in the dust : thy people are scattered upon the mountains, and no man gathereth 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 WBS There is no healing of thy bruise; thy wound is grievous: all that hear the fame of thee shall clap the hands over thee: for upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually?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?