| 1Woe to the city guilty of bloodshed! She is full of lies; she is filled with plunder; she has hoarded her spoil! | 1Woe to the city guilty of bloodshed! She is full of lies; she is filled with plunder; she has hoarded her spoil! |
| 2The chariot drivers will crack their whips; the chariot wheels will shake the ground; the chariot horses will gallop; the war chariots will bolt forward! | 2The chariot drivers will crack their whips; the chariot wheels will shake the ground; the chariot horses will gallop; the war chariots will bolt forward! |
| 3The charioteers will charge ahead; their swords will flash and their spears will glimmer! There will be many people slain; there will be piles of the dead, and countless casualties--so many that people will stumble over the corpses. | 3The charioteers will charge ahead; their swords will flash and their spears will glimmer! There will be many people slain; there will be piles of the dead, and countless casualties--so many that people will stumble over the corpses. |
| 4"Because you have acted like a wanton prostitute--a seductive mistress who practices sorcery, who enslaves nations by her harlotry, and entices peoples by her sorcery-- | 4"Because you have acted like a wanton prostitute--a seductive mistress who practices sorcery, who enslaves nations by her harlotry, and entices peoples by her sorcery-- |
| 5I am against you," declares the LORD who commands armies. "I will strip off your clothes! I will show your nakedness to the nations and your shame to the kingdoms; | 5I am against you," declares the LORD who commands armies. "I will strip off your clothes! I will show your nakedness to the nations and your shame to the kingdoms; |
| 6I will pelt you with filth; I will treat you with contempt; I will make you a public spectacle. | 6I will pelt you with filth; I will treat you with contempt; I will make you a public spectacle. |
| 7Everyone who sees you will turn away from you in disgust; they will say, 'Nineveh has been devastated! Who will lament for her?' There will be no one to comfort you!" | 7Everyone who sees you will turn away from you in disgust; they will say, 'Nineveh has been devastated! Who will lament for her?' There will be no one to comfort you!" |
| 8You are no more secure than Thebes--she was located on the banks of the Nile; the waters surrounded her, her rampart was the sea, the water was her wall. | 8You are no more secure than Thebes--she was located on the banks of the Nile; the waters surrounded her, her rampart was the sea, the water was her wall. |
| 9Cush and Egypt had limitless strength; Put and the Libyans were among her allies. | 9Cush and Egypt had limitless strength; Put and the Libyans were among her allies. |
| 10Yet she went into captivity as an exile; even her infants were smashed to pieces at the head of every street. They cast lots for her nobility; all her dignitaries were bound with chains. | 10Yet she went into captivity as an exile; even her infants were smashed to pieces at the head of every street. They cast lots for her nobility; all her dignitaries were bound with chains. |
| 11You too will act like drunkards; you will go into hiding; you too will seek refuge from the enemy. | 11You too will act like drunkards; you will go into hiding; you too will seek refuge from the enemy. |
| 12All your fortifications will be like fig trees with first-ripe fruit: If they are shaken, their figs will fall into the mouth of the eater! | 12All your fortifications will be like fig trees with first-ripe fruit: If they are shaken, their figs will fall into the mouth of the eater! |
| 13Your warriors will be like women in your midst; the gates of your land will be wide open to your enemies; fire will consume the bars of your gates. | 13Your warriors will be like women in your midst; the gates of your land will be wide open to your enemies; fire will consume the bars of your gates. |
| 14Draw yourselves water for a siege! Strengthen your fortifications! Trample the mud and tread the clay! Make mud bricks to strengthen your walls! | 14Draw yourselves water for a siege! Strengthen your fortifications! Trample the mud and tread the clay! Make mud bricks to strengthen your walls! |
| 15There the fire will consume you; the sword will cut you down; it will devour you like the young locust would. The Assyrian Defenders Will Flee Multiply yourself like the young locust; multiply yourself like the flying locust! | 15There the fire will consume you; the sword will cut you down; it will devour you like the young locust would. The Assyrian Defenders Will Flee Multiply yourself like the young locust; multiply yourself like the flying locust! |
| 16Increase your merchants more than the stars of heaven! They are like the young locust which sheds its skin and flies away. | 16Increase your merchants more than the stars of heaven! They are like the young locust which sheds its skin and flies away. |
| 17Your courtiers are like locusts, your officials are like a swarm of locusts! They encamp in the walls on a cold day, yet when the sun rises, they fly away; and no one knows where they are. | 17Your courtiers are like locusts, your officials are like a swarm of locusts! They encamp in the walls on a cold day, yet when the sun rises, they fly away; and no one knows where they are. |
| 18Your shepherds are sleeping, O king of Assyria! Your officers are slumbering! Your people are scattered like sheep on the mountains and there is no one to regather them! | 18Your shepherds are sleeping, O king of Assyria! Your officers are slumbering! Your people are scattered like sheep on the mountains and there is no one to regather them! |
| 19Your destruction is like an incurable wound; your demise is like a fatal injury! All who hear what has happened to you will clap their hands for joy, for no one ever escaped your endless cruelty! | 19Your destruction is like an incurable wound; your demise is like a fatal injury! All who hear what has happened to you will clap their hands for joy, for no one ever escaped your endless cruelty! |
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