3:1 | Woe to the bloody city! It [is] all full of lies [and] robbery. [Its] victim never departs. |
3:2 | The noise of a whip And the noise of rattling wheels, Of galloping horses, Of clattering chariots! |
3:3 | Horsemen charge with bright sword and glittering spear. [There is] a multitude of slain, A great number of bodies, Countless corpsesThey stumble over the corpses |
3:4 | Because of the multitude of harlotries of the seductive harlot, The mistress of sorceries, Who sells nations through her harlotries, And families through her sorceries. |
3:5 | "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. |
3:6 | I will cast abominable filth upon you, Make you vile, And make you a spectacle. |
3:7 | It 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?" |
3:8 | Are 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? |
3:9 | Ethiopia and Egypt [were] her strength, And [it was] boundless; Put and Lubim were your helpers. |
3:10 | Yet 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. |
3:11 | You also will be drunk; You will be hidden; You also will seek refuge from the enemy. |
3:12 | All your strongholds [are] fig trees with ripened figs: If they are shaken, They fall into the mouth of the eater. |
3:13 | Surely, 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]. |
3:14 | Draw your water for the siege! Fortify your strongholds! Go into the clay and tread the mortar! Make strong the brick kiln! |
3:15 | There the fire will devour you, The sword will cut you off; It will eat you up like a locust. Make yourself manylike the locust! Make yourself manylike the [swarming] locusts! |
3:16 | You have multiplied your merchants more than the stars of heaven. The locust plunders and flies away. |
3:17 | Your 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. |
3:18 | Your shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria; Your nobles rest [in the dust]. Your people are scattered on the mountains, And no one gathers them. |
3:19 | Your 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? |