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Nahum 3
New International Version

### Woe to Nineveh

3 Woe to the city of blood,(A)
full of lies,(B)
full of plunder,
never without victims!
2 The crack of whips,
the clatter of wheels,
galloping horses
and jolting chariots!
3 Charging cavalry,
flashing swords
and glittering spears!
Many casualties,
piles of dead,
bodies without number,
people stumbling over the corpses(C)—
4 all because of the wanton lust of a prostitute,
alluring, the mistress of sorceries,(D)
who enslaved nations by her prostitution(E)
and peoples by her witchcraft.

5 “I am against(F) you,” declares the Lord Almighty.
“I will lift your skirts(G) over your face.
I will show the nations your nakedness(H)
and the kingdoms your shame.
6 I will pelt you with filth,(I)
I will treat you with contempt(J)
and make you a spectacle.(K)
7 All who see you will flee(L) from you and say,
‘Nineveh(M) is in ruins(N)—who will mourn for her?’(O)
Where can I find anyone to comfort(P) you?”

8 Are you better than(Q) Thebes,(R)
situated on the Nile,(S)
with water around her?
The river was her defense,
the waters her wall.
9 Cush[a](T) and Egypt were her boundless strength;
Put(U) and Libya(V) were among her allies.
10 Yet she was taken captive(W)
and went into exile.
Her infants were dashed(X) to pieces
at every street corner.
Lots(Y) were cast for her nobles,
and all her great men were put in chains.(Z)
11 You too will become drunk;(AA)
you will go into hiding(AB)
and seek refuge from the enemy.

12 All your fortresses are like fig trees
with their first ripe fruit;(AC)
when they are shaken,
the figs(AD) fall into the mouth of the eater.
13 Look at your troops—
they are all weaklings.(AE)
The gates(AF) of your land
are wide open to your enemies;
fire has consumed the bars of your gates.(AG)

14 Draw water for the siege,(AH)
strengthen your defenses!(AI)
Work the clay,
tread the mortar,
repair the brickwork!
15 There the fire(AJ) will consume you;
the sword(AK) will cut you down—
they will devour you like a swarm of locusts.
Multiply like grasshoppers,
multiply like locusts!(AL)
16 You have increased the number of your merchants
till they are more numerous than the stars in the sky,
but like locusts(AM) they strip the land
and then fly away.
17 Your guards are like locusts,(AN)
your officials like swarms of locusts
that settle in the walls on a cold day—
but when the sun appears they fly away,
and no one knows where.

18 King of Assyria, your shepherds[b] slumber;(AO)
your nobles lie down to rest.(AP)
Your people are scattered(AQ) on the mountains
with no one to gather them.
19 Nothing can heal you;(AR)
your wound is fatal.
All who hear the news about you
clap their hands(AS) at your fall,
for who has not felt
your endless cruelty?(AT)

#### Footnotes

1. Nahum 3:9 That is, the upper Nile region
2. Nahum 3:18 That is, rulers

#### Cross references

1. Nahum 3:1 : S Eze 22:2; S Mic 3:10
2. Nahum 3:1 : Ps 12:2
3. Nahum 3:3 : 2Ki 19:35; Isa 34:3; Jer 47:3
4. Nahum 3:4 : S Isa 47:9
5. Nahum 3:4 : S Isa 23:17; Eze 16:25-29
6. Nahum 3:5 : S Na 2:13
7. Nahum 3:5 : S Isa 20:4; Jer 13:22
8. Nahum 3:5 : S Isa 47:3
9. Nahum 3:6 : S Ex 29:14; S Job 9:31
10. Nahum 3:6 : S 1Sa 2:30; S Jer 51:37
11. Nahum 3:6 : Isa 14:16
12. Nahum 3:7 : S Isa 13:14; S 31:9
13. Nahum 3:7 : S Na 1:1
14. Nahum 3:7 : S Job 3:14
15. Nahum 3:7 : S Jer 15:5
16. Nahum 3:7 : S Isa 51:19
17. Nahum 3:8 : Am 6:2
18. Nahum 3:8 : S Jer 46:25
19. Nahum 3:8 : Isa 19:6-9
20. Nahum 3:9 : S Ge 10:6; S 2Ch 12:3
21. Nahum 3:9 : S Eze 27:10
22. Nahum 3:9 : Eze 30:5
23. Nahum 3:10 : S Isa 20:4
24. Nahum 3:10 : S 2Ki 8:12; S Isa 13:16; Hos 13:16
25. Nahum 3:10 : S Job 6:27; S Eze 24:6
26. Nahum 3:10 : S Jer 40:1
27. Nahum 3:11 : S Isa 49:26
28. Nahum 3:11 : S Isa 2:10
29. Nahum 3:12 : S SS 2:13
30. Nahum 3:12 : S Isa 28:4
31. Nahum 3:13 : S Isa 19:16
32. Nahum 3:13 : S Na 2:6
33. Nahum 3:13 : S Isa 45:2
34. Nahum 3:14 : S 2Ch 32:4
35. Nahum 3:14 : Na 2:1
36. Nahum 3:15 : S Isa 27:1
37. Nahum 3:15 : S 2Sa 2:26
38. Nahum 3:15 : S Jer 51:14; S Joel 1:4
39. Nahum 3:16 : S Ex 10:13
40. Nahum 3:17 : Jer 51:27
41. Nahum 3:18 : Ps 76:5-6; S Jer 25:27
42. Nahum 3:18 : Isa 56:10
43. Nahum 3:18 : S 1Ki 22:17
44. Nahum 3:19 : S Jer 30:13; S Mic 1:9
45. Nahum 3:19 : S Job 27:23; S La 2:15; Zep 2:15
46. Nahum 3:19 : Isa 37:18

New International Version (NIV)

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