Woe to Nineveh

¹Woe to pthe bloody city,

all full of lies and plunder—

qno end to the prey!

²The crack of the whip, and rrumble of the wheel,

sgalloping horse and tbounding chariot!

³Horsemen charging,

flashing sword and uglittering spear,

vhosts of slain,

heaps of corpses,

dead bodies without end—

they stumble over the bodies!

⁴And all for the countless whorings of the wprostitute,

xgraceful and of deadly charms,

who betrays nations with her whorings,

and peoples with her charms.

⁵mBehold, I am against you,

declares the Lord of hosts,

and ywill lift up your skirts over your face;

and I will make nations look at zyour nakedness

and kingdoms at your shame.

⁶I will throw filth at you

and atreat you with contempt

and make you ba spectacle.

⁷And all who look at you cwill shrink from you and say,

“Wasted is dNineveh; ewho will grieve for her?”

fWhere shall I seek comforters for you?

⁸gAre you better than hThebes1

that sat iby the Nile,

with water around her,

her rampart a sea,

and water her wall?

⁹jCush was her strength;

Egypt too, and that without limit;

kPut and the lLibyans were her2 helpers.

¹⁰mYet she became an exile;

she went into captivity;

nher infants were dashed in pieces

at the head of every street;

for her honored men olots were cast,

pand all her great men were bound in chains.

¹¹qYou also will be drunken;

you will go into hiding;

ryou will seek a refuge from the enemy.

¹²All your fortresses are slike fig trees

with first-ripe figs—

if shaken they fall

into the mouth of the eater.

¹³Behold, your troops

tare women in your midst.

The gates of your land

are wide open to your enemies;

fire has devoured your bars.

¹⁴uDraw water for the siege;

rstrengthen your forts;

go into the clay;

tread the mortar;

take hold of the brick mold!

¹⁵There will the fire devour you;

the sword will cut you off.

It will vdevour you wlike the locust.

Multiply yourselves wlike the locust;

multiply wlike the grasshopper!

¹⁶You increased xyour merchants

more than the stars of the heavens.

wThe locust spreads its wings and flies away.

¹⁷Your zprinces are wlike grasshoppers,

ayour scribes3 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 bare asleep,

O king of Assyria;

cyour nobles slumber.

Your people dare scattered on the mountains

with none to gather them.

¹⁹There is no easing your hurt;

eyour wound is grievous.

All who hear the news about you

fclap their hands over you.

For gupon whom has not come

your unceasing evil?