1 The burden concerning Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.
2 Jehovah is a jealous God and One who avenges; Jehovah avenges and is full of wrath; Jehovah takes vengeance on His adversaries, And reserves wrath for His enemies.
3 Jehovah is long-suffering and great in power And will by no means clear the guilty. Jehovah - His way is in the whirlwind and in the storm, And the clouds are the dust of His feet.
4 He rebukes the sea and makes it dry, And He dries up all the rivers. Bashan and Carmel languish, And the sprout of Lebanon languishes.
5 The mountains quake because of Him, And the hills melt, And the earth is heaved up at His presence, Indeed the world, and all that inhabit it.
6 Who can stand before His indignation, And who can maintain himself in the fierceness of His anger? His wrath is poured out like fire, And the rocks are broken down by Him.
7 Jehovah is good, A stronghold in a day of distress; And He knows those who take refuge in Him.
8 But with an overflowing flood He will make a full end of her place, And He will pursue His enemies into darkness.
9 What do you devise against Jehovah? He will make a full end; Distress will not arise a second time.
10 For though they are entangled like thorns And like those drunken with their drink, They will be consumed as fully as dry stubble.
11 One went forth from you Who devises evil against Jehovah, Who counsels wickedness.
12 Thus says Jehovah, Though they are complete in number and even numerous, Even so they will be cut down; and they will pass away. And though I have afflicted you, I will afflict you no more.
13 And now I will break his yoke from off you And will snap your bonds asunder.
14 And Jehovah has commanded concerning you:No more of your name will be sown; Out of the house of your gods I will cut off The graven idol and the molten idol; I will make your grave, for you are worthless.
15 See, upon the mountains The feet of him who bears the glad news, Who announces peace! Keep your feasts, O Judah; Complete your vows; For the wicked one will never again Pass through you; He will be completely cut off.
1 He who scatters has come up before you:Keep the fortress, Watch the way, Strengthen the loins, Fortify the power greatly.
2 For Jehovah restores The excellency of Jacob As the excellency of Israel; For the emptiers have emptied them out And destroyed their vine branches.
3 The shield of His mighty men is red; The valiant men are clad in scarlet; The chariots flash with the shining of steel In the day of His preparation, And the spears are brandished.
4 In the streets the chariots rush madly; They dash to and fro in the open squares; Their appearance is like that of torches; They dart like lightning.
5 The Assyrian king remembers his glorious ones:They stumble in their march; They hasten to the wall of the city, But the besiegers' shelter is prepared.
6 The gates of the rivers are opened, And the palace is dissolved.
7 And it is determined:She is uncovered; she is carried away; And her maidens moan, As with the sound of doves, Beating their breasts.
8 Though Nineveh has been like a pool of water all her days, Now they are fleeing. Stand! Stand! But no one turns back.
9 Plunder the silver! Plunder the gold! And there is no end to what has been prepared. Oh, the glory of all the desirable vessels!
10 Emptiness and void and waste! And the heart melts, and the knees knock, And anguish is in all the loins, And the faces of all of them become pale.
11 Where is the den of lions And the feeding place of young lions, Where the lion and the lioness walked, And the lion's whelp; and no one frightened them?
12 The lion tore in pieces, enough for his whelps, And strangled for his lioness And filled his caves with torn prey And his dens with torn animals.
13 Indeed I am against you, Declares Jehovah of hosts; And I will burn your chariots in smoke, And the sword will devour your young lions; And I will cut off your prey from the earth; And the voice of your messengers will no longer be heard.
1 Woe to the bloody city! She is all full of lies and pillage; The prey does not depart.
2 The sound of the whip, And the sound of the rattling wheel; And the horse galloping, And the chariot jolting by,
3 The horseman making the horse to rear up, And the sword flashing, And the spear glittering; And a multitude of the slain, And a mass of corpses, And no end to the bodies - They stumble among their bodies.
4 This because of the multitude of harlotries Of the well-favored harlot, The mistress of sorceries, Who sells nations by her harlotries And families by her sorceries.
5 Indeed I am against you, declares Jehovah of hosts; And I will throw open your skirts upon your face, And I will show the nations your nakedness, And the kingdoms your shame.
6 And I will cast abominable filth upon you And make you appear foolish and make you like a spectacle.
7 And everyone who sees you Will flee from you and say, Nineveh is laid waste. Who will lament for her? Where will I seek Some to comfort you?
8 Are you better than No-amon, Who sat beside the canals With waters all around her, Whose bulwark was the sea And water was her wall?
9 Cush was her strength, As well as Egypt, and it was without end; Put and the Libyans Were among her helpers.
10 She too was carried away; She went into captivity; Her little ones too were dashed to pieces At the head of every street, And for her nobles They cast lots, And all her great men Were bound in chains.
11 You too will be drunken; You will be hidden. You too will seek A stronghold from the enemy.
12 All your fortresses will be like fig trees With first ripe figs:If they are shaken, they will fall Into the mouth of the eater.
13 Indeed your people are like women In the midst of you; Unto your enemies the gates of your land Are wide open; Fire devours your bars.
14 Draw for yourself water for the siege! Strengthen your fortresses! Go into the clay, And tread in the mortar! Make the brick kiln ready!
15 There will the fire devour you; The sword will cut you off; It will devour you like the locust. Enlarge yourself like the locust; Enlarge yourself like the locust swarm.
16 You have multiplied your merchants Like the stars of heaven; The locust strips everything and flies away.
17 Your princes are like the locust swarm, And your officials are like hordes of locusts, Which camp in the hedges On a cold day, But when the sun arises, they flee away, And the place where they are is unknown.
18 Your shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria; Your nobles sleep. Your people are scattered upon the mountains, And there is no one to gather them.
19 There is no alleviating of your injury; Your wound is grievous. All who hear the report of you Clap their hands over you; For upon whom has your wickedness Not passed continually?