Online Bible

Woe to Nineveh

^aWoe to the city of ¹bloodshed, completely full of deception and pillage;Her prey never departs.2 The ^asound of the whip,And the sound of the rumbling of the wheel,Galloping horses,And ¹bounding chariots!3 Horsemen charging,And swords flaming, and ^aspears flashing,^bMany slain, a mass of corpses,And ^cthere is no end to dead bodies—They stumble over ¹the dead bodies!4 All because of the ^amany harlotries of the harlot,The charming one, the ^bmistress of sorceries,Who ^csells nations by her harlotriesAnd families by her sorceries.5 “Behold, ^aI am against you,” declares Yahweh of hosts;“And I will ^buncover your skirts over your faceAnd ^cshow to the nations your nakednessAnd to the kingdoms your disgrace.6 “I will ^athrow detestable filth on youAnd ^bdisplay you as a wicked foolAnd set you up as a ^cspectacle.7 “And it will be that all who see youWill flee from you and say,‘Nineveh is devastated!^aWho will console her?’Where will I seek comforters for you?”

8 Are you better than ¹^aNo-amon,Which sits along the ^bwaters of the Nile,With water surrounding her,Whose rampart was ²the sea,Whose wall consisted of ³the sea?9 ¹^aEthiopia was her might,And Egypt too, without end.^bPut and ^cLubim were among ²her helpers.10 Yet she ^abecame an exile;She went into captivity;Also her ^binfants were dashed to pieces^cAt the head of every street;They ^dcast lots for her honorable men,And all her great men were bound with fetters.11 You too will become ^adrunk;You will be ^bhidden.You too will search for a strong defense from the enemy.12 All your fortifications are ^afig trees with ¹^bripe fruit—When shaken, they fall into the eater’s mouth.13 Behold, your people are ^awomen in your midst!The gates of your land are ^bopened wide to your enemies;Fire consumes your gate bars.14 ^aDraw for yourself water for the siege!^bStrengthen your fortifications!Go into the clay and tread the mortar!¹Take hold of the brick mold!15 There, ^afire will consume you;The sword will cut you down;It will ^bconsume you as the locust does.

Multiply yourself like the creeping locust,Multiply yourself like the swarming locust.16 You have increased your ^atraders more than the stars of heaven—The creeping locust ¹strips and flies away.17 Your ¹^aguardsmen are like the swarming locust.Your ^bmarshals are like a locust-swarmEncamping in the stone walls on a cold day.The sun rises, and they flee,And the place where they are is not known.18 Your shepherds are ^asleeping, O ^bking of Assyria;Your ^cmighty ones are ¹lying down.Your people are ^dscattered on the mountains,And there is no one to regather them.19 There is ^ano relief for your breakdown,Your ^bwound is incurable.All who hear the report about youWill ^cclap their hands over you,For on whom has not your evil passed continually?

Nineveh’s Complete Ruin

^aWoe to the bloody city, completely full of lies and pillage;Her prey does not leave.2 The ^asound of the whip,The sound of the roar of the wheel,Galloping horsesAnd ¹bounding chariots!3 Horsemen charging,Swords flashing, ^aspears gleaming,^bMany killed, a mass of corpses,And there is ^cno end to the dead bodies—They stumble over ¹the dead bodies!4 All because of the ^amany sexual acts of the prostitute,The charming one, the ^bmistress of sorceries,Who ^csells nations by her sexual acts,And families by her sorceries.5 “Behold, ^aI am against you,” declares the LORD of armies;“And I will ¹^blift up your skirts over your face,And ^cshow the nations your nakedness,And the kingdoms your shame.6 “I will ^athrow filth on youAnd ^bdeclare you worthless,And set you up as a ^cspectacle.7 “And it will come about that all who see youWill ¹shrink from you and say,‘Nineveh is devastated!^aWho will have sympathy for her?’Where shall I seek comforters for you?”

8 Are you better than ¹^aNo-amon,Which was situated by the ^bcanals of the Nile,With water surrounding her,Whose rampart was ²the sea,Whose wall consisted of ³the sea?9 ^aEthiopia was her might,Egypt too, without limits.^bPut and ^cLubim were among ¹her helpers.10 Yet she ^abecame an exile,She went into captivity;Also her ^bsmall children were smashed to pieces^cAt the head of every street;They ^dcast lots for her honorable men,And all her great men were bound with shackles.11 You too will become ^adrunk,You will be ^bhidden.You too will search for a refuge from the enemy.12 All your fortifications are ^afig trees with ¹^bripe fruit—When shaken, they fall into the eater’s mouth.13 Behold, your people are ^awomen in your midst!The gates of your land are ^bopened wide to your enemies;Fire consumes your gate bars.14 ^aDraw for yourself water for a siege!^bStrengthen your fortifications!Go into the clay and tread the mortar!Take hold of the brick mold!15 There ^afire will consume you,The sword will cut you down;It will ^bconsume you as the creeping locust consumes a crop.

Multiply yourself like the creeping locust,Multiply yourself like the migratory locust.16 You have made your ^atraders more numerous than the stars of heaven—The creeping locust sheds its skin and flies away.17 Your ^acourtiers are like the migratory locust.Your ^bofficials are like a swarm of locustsSettling in the stone shelters on a cold day.The sun rises and they flee,And the place where they are is not known.18 Your shepherds are ^asleeping, O ^bking of Assyria;Your ^cofficers are lying down.Your people are ^dscattered on the mountainsAnd there is no one to gather them.19 There is ^ano relief for your collapse,Your ^bwound is incurable.All who hear ¹about youWill ^cclap their hands over you,For upon whom has your evil not come continually?