New King James Version | Berean Study Bible |
1Woe to the bloody city! It is all full of lies and robbery. Its victim never departs. | 1Woe to the city of blood, full of lies, full of plunder, never without prey. |
2The noise of a whip And the noise of rattling wheels, Of galloping horses, Of clattering chariots! | 2The crack of the whip, the rumble of the wheel, galloping horse and bounding chariot! |
3Horsemen charge with bright sword and glittering spear. There is a multitude of slain, A great number of bodies, Countless corpses— They stumble over the corpses— | 3Charging horseman, flashing sword, shining spear; heaps of slain, mounds of corpses, dead bodies without end—they stumble over their dead— |
4Because of the multitude of harlotries of the seductive harlot, The mistress of sorceries, Who sells nations through her harlotries, And families through her sorceries. | 4because of the many harlotries of the harlot, the seductive mistress of sorcery, who betrays nations by her prostitution and clans by her witchcraft. |
5“Behold, I am against you,” says the LORD of hosts; “I will lift your skirts over your face, I will show the nations your nakedness, And the kingdoms your shame. | 5“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. |
6I will cast abominable filth upon you, Make you vile, And make you a spectacle. | 6I will pelt you with filth and treat you with contempt; I will make a spectacle of you. |
7It shall come to pass that all who look upon you Will flee from you, and say, ‘Nineveh is laid waste! Who will bemoan her?’ Where shall I seek comforters for you?” | 7Then 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?” |
8Are you better than No Amon That was situated by the River, That had the waters around her, Whose rampart was the sea, Whose wall was the sea? | 8Are you better than Thebes, stationed by the Nile with water around her, whose rampart was the sea, whose wall was the water? |
9Ethiopia and Egypt were her strength, And it was boundless; Put and Lubim were your helpers. | 9Cush and Egypt were her boundless strength; Put and Libya were her allies. |
10Yet she was carried away, She went into captivity; Her young children also were dashed to pieces At the head of every street; They cast lots for her honorable men, And all her great men were bound in chains. | 10Yet 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. |
11You also will be drunk; You will be hidden; You also will seek refuge from the enemy. | 11You too will become drunk; you will go into hiding and seek refuge from the enemy. |
12All your strongholds are fig trees with ripened figs: If they are shaken, They fall into the mouth of the eater. | 12All your fortresses are fig trees with the first ripe figs; when shaken, they fall into the mouth of the eater! |
13Surely, your people in your midst are women! The gates of your land are wide open for your enemies; Fire shall devour the bars of your gates. | 13Look at your troops—they are like your women! The gates of your land are wide open to your enemies; fire consumes their bars. |
14Draw your water for the siege! Fortify your strongholds! Go into the clay and tread the mortar! Make strong the brick kiln! | 14Draw your water for the siege; strengthen your fortresses. Work the clay and tread the mortar; repair the brick kiln! |
15There the fire will devour you, The sword will cut you off; It will eat you up like a locust. Make yourself many—like the locust! Make yourself many—like the swarming locusts! | 15There 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! |
16You have multiplied your merchants more than the stars of heaven. The locust plunders and flies away. | 16You have multiplied your merchants more than the stars of the sky. The young locust strips the land and flies away. |
17Your commanders are like swarming locusts, And your generals like great grasshoppers, Which camp in the hedges on a cold day; When the sun rises they flee away, And the place where they are is not known. | 17Your 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. |
18Your shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria; Your nobles rest in the dust. Your people are scattered on the mountains, And no one gathers them. | 18O king of Assyria, your shepherds slumber; your officers sleep. Your people are scattered on the mountains with no one to gather them. |
19Your injury has no healing, Your wound is severe. All who hear news of you Will clap their hands over you, For upon whom has not your wickedness passed continually? | 19There 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? |
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