English Standard Version

King James Bible

Woe to Nineveh

Woe to the bloody city,
all full of lies and plunder —
no end to the prey!

Judgment against Nineveh

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

The crack of the whip, and rumble of the wheel,
galloping horse and bounding chariot!

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

3

Horsemen charging,
flashing sword and glittering spear,
hosts of slain,
heaps of corpses,
dead bodies without end —
they stumble over the bodies!

3

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:

4

And all for the countless whorings of the prostitute,
graceful and of deadly charms,
who betrays nations with her whorings,
and peoples with her charms.

4

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.

5

Behold, I am against you,
declares the Lord of hosts,
and will lift up your skirts over your face;
and I will make nations look at your nakedness
and kingdoms at your shame.

5

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.

6

I will throw filth at you
and treat you with contempt
and make you a spectacle.

6

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

7

And all who look at you will shrink from you and say,
“Wasted is Nineveh; who will grieve for her?”
Where shall I seek comforters for you?

7

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?

8

Are you better than Thebesa
that sat by the Nile,
with water around her,
her rampart a sea,
and water her wall?

8

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?

9

Cush was her strength;
Egypt too, and that without limit;
Put and the Libyans were herb helpers.

9

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

10

Yet she became an exile;
she went into captivity;
her infants were dashed in pieces
at the head of every street;
for her honored men lots were cast,
and all her great men were bound in chains.

10

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.

11

You also will be drunken;
you will go into hiding;
you will seek a refuge from the enemy.

11

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

12

All your fortresses are like fig trees
with first-ripe figs —
if shaken they fall
into the mouth of the eater.

12

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.

13

Behold, your troops
are women in your midst.
The gates of your land
are wide open to your enemies;
fire has devoured your bars.

13

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.

14

Draw water for the siege;
strengthen your forts;
go into the clay;
tread the mortar;
take hold of the brick mold!

14

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

15

There will the fire devour you;
the sword will cut you off.
It will devour you like the locust.
Multiply yourselves like the locust;
multiply like the grasshopper!

15

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.

16

You increased your merchants
more than the stars of the heavens.
The locust spreads its wings and flies away.

16

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

17

Your princes are like grasshoppers,
your scribesc like clouds of locusts
settling on the fences
in a day of cold —
when the sun rises, they fly away;
no one knows where they are.

17

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.

18

Your shepherds are asleep,
O king of Assyria;
your nobles slumber.
Your people are scattered on the mountains
with none to gather them.

18

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.

19

There is no easing your hurt;
your wound is grievous.
All who hear the news about you
clap their hands over you.
For upon whom has not come
your unceasing evil?

19

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?

Parallel

English Standard Version

King James Bible

Nahum 3

Nahum 3