| New King James Version | English Standard Version |
| 1Woe to the bloody city! It is all full of lies and robbery. Its victim never departs. | 1Woe to the bloody city, all full of lies and plunder— no end to the prey! |
| 2The noise of a whip And the noise of rattling wheels, Of galloping horses, Of clattering chariots! | 2The crack of the whip, and 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— | 3Horsemen charging, flashing sword and glittering spear, hosts of slain, heaps of corpses, dead bodies without end— they stumble over the bodies! |
| 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. | 4And all for the countless whorings of the prostitute, graceful and of deadly charms, who betrays nations with her whorings, and peoples with her charms. |
| 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. | 5Behold, 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. |
| 6I will cast abominable filth upon you, Make you vile, And make you a spectacle. | 6I will throw filth at you and treat you with contempt and make you a spectacle. |
| 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?” | 7And 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? |
| 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 that sat by the Nile, with water around her, her rampart a sea, and water her wall? |
| 9Ethiopia and Egypt were her strength, And it was boundless; Put and Lubim were your helpers. | 9Cush was her strength; Egypt too, and that without limit; Put and the Libyans were her helpers. |
| 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 in pieces at the head of every street; for her honored men lots were cast, and all her great men were bound in chains. |
| 11You also will be drunk; You will be hidden; You also will seek refuge from the enemy. | 11You also will be drunken; you will go into hiding; you will seek a 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 like fig trees with first-ripe figs— if 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. | 13Behold, your troops are women in your midst. The gates of your land are wide open to your enemies; fire has devoured your bars. |
| 14Draw your water for the siege! Fortify your strongholds! Go into the clay and tread the mortar! Make strong the brick kiln! | 14Draw water for the siege; strengthen your forts; go into the clay; tread the mortar; take hold of the brick mold! |
| 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 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! |
| 16You have multiplied your merchants more than the stars of heaven. The locust plunders and flies away. | 16You increased your merchants more than the stars of the heavens. The locust spreads its wings 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 princes are like grasshoppers, your scribes 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. |
| 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. | 18Your shepherds are asleep, O king of Assyria; your nobles slumber. Your people are scattered on the mountains with none 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 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? |
| The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved. |
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