NAH 1:1 The
oracle of Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum
the Elkoshite.
NAH 1:2 A jealous and avenging God is the
Lord; The Lord is avenging and wrathful. The Lord
takes vengeance on His adversaries, And He reserves
wrath for His enemies.
NAH 1:3 The Lord is slow to anger and great
in power, And the Lord will by no means leave the
guilty unpunished. In whirlwind and storm is His
way, And clouds are the dust beneath His feet.
NAH 1:4 He rebukes the sea and makes it dry;
He dries up all the rivers. Bashan and Carmel
wither; The blossoms of Lebanon wither.
NAH 1:5 Mountains quake because of Him, And
the hills dissolve; Indeed the earth is upheaved by
His presence, The world and all the inhabitants in
it.
NAH 1:6 Who can stand before His indignation?
Who can endure the burning of His anger? His wrath
is poured out like fire, And the rocks are broken up
by Him.
NAH 1:7 The Lord is good, A stronghold in the
day of trouble, And He knows those who take refuge
in Him.
NAH 1:8 But with an overflowing flood He will
make a complete end of its site, And will pursue His
enemies into darkness.
NAH 1:9 Whatever you devise against the Lord,
He will make a complete end of it. Distress will not
rise up twice.
NAH 1:10 Like tangled thorns, And like those
who are drunken with their drink, They are consumed
As stubble completely withered.
NAH 1:11 From you has gone forth One who
plotted evil against the Lord, A wicked counselor.
NAH 1:12 Thus says the Lord, "Though they are
at full strength and likewise many, Even so, they
will be cut off and pass away. Though I have
afflicted you, I will afflict you no longer.
NAH 1:13 "So now, I will break his yoke bar
from upon you, And I will tear off your shackles."
NAH 1:14 The Lord has issued a command
concerning you: "Your name will no longer be
perpetuated. I will cut off idol and image From the
house of your gods. I will prepare your grave, For
you are contemptible."
NAH 1:15 Behold, on the mountains the feet of
him who brings good news, Who announces peace!
Celebrate your feasts, O Judah; Pay your vows. For
never again will the wicked one pass through you; He
is cut off completely.
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NAH 2:1 The one
who scatters has come up against you. Man the
fortress, watch the road; Strengthen your back,
summon all your strength.
NAH 2:2 For the Lord will restore the
splendor of Jacob Like the splendor of Israel, Even
though devastators have devastated them And
destroyed their vine branches.
NAH 2:3 The shields of his mighty men are
colored red, The warriors are dressed in scarlet,
The chariots are enveloped in flashing steel When he
is prepared to march, And the cypress spears are
brandished.
NAH 2:4 The chariots race madly in the
streets, They rush wildly in the squares, Their
appearance is like torches, They dash to and fro
like lightning flashes.
NAH 2:5 He remembers his nobles; They stumble
in their march, They hurry to her wall, And the
mantelet is set up.
NAH 2:6 The gates of the rivers are opened,
And the palace is dissolved.
NAH 2:7 And it is fixed: She is stripped, she
is carried away, And her handmaids are moaning like
the sound of doves, Beating on their breasts.
NAH 2:8 Though Nineveh was like a pool of
water throughout her days, Now they are fleeing;
"Stop, stop," But no one turns back.
NAH 2:9 Plunder the silver! Plunder the gold!
For there is no limit to the treasure - - Wealth
from every kind of desirable object.
NAH 2:10 She is emptied! Yes, she is desolate
and waste! Hearts are melting and knees knocking!
Also anguish is in the whole body, And all their
faces are grown pale!
NAH 2:11 Where is the den of the lions And
the feeding place of the young lions, Where the
lion, lioness, and lion's cub prowled, With nothing
to disturb them?
NAH 2:12 The lion tore enough for his cubs,
Killed enough for his lionesses, And filled his
lairs with prey And his dens with torn flesh.
NAH 2:13 "Behold, I am against you," declares
the Lord of hosts."I will burn up her chariots in
smoke, a sword will devour your young lions, I will
cut off your prey from the land, and no longer will
the voice of your messengers be heard."
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NAH 3:1 Woe to
the bloody city, completely full of lies and
pillage; Her prey never departs.
NAH 3:2 The noise of the whip, The noise of
the rattling of the wheel, Galloping horses, And
bounding chariots!
NAH 3:3 Horsemen charging, Swords flashing,
spears gleaming, Many slain, a mass of corpses, And
countless dead bodies - - They stumble over the dead
bodies!
NAH 3:4 All because of the many harlotries of
the harlot, The charming one, the mistress of
sorceries, Who sells nations by her harlotries And
families by her sorceries.
NAH 3:5 "Behold, I am against you," declares
the Lord of hosts; "And I will lift up your skirts
over your face, And show to the nations your
nakedness And to the kingdoms your disgrace.
NAH 3:6 "I will throw filth on you And make
you vile, And set you up as a spectacle.
NAH 3:7 "And it will come about that all who
see you Will shrink from you and say, 'Nineveh is
devastated! Who will grieve for her?' Where will I
seek comforters for you?"
NAH 3:8 Are you better than No-amon, Which
was situated by the waters of the Nile, With water
surrounding her, Whose rampart was the sea, Whose
wall consisted of the sea?
NAH 3:9 Ethiopia was her might, And Egypt
too, without limits. Put and Lubim were among her
helpers.
NAH 3:10 Yet she became an exile, She went
into captivity; Also her small children were dashed
to pieces At the head of every street; They cast
lots for her honorable men, And all her great men
were bound with fetters.
NAH 3:11 You too will become drunk, You will
be hidden. You too will search for a refuge from the
enemy.
NAH 3:12 All your fortifications are fig
trees with ripe fruit - - When shaken, they fall
into the eater's mouth.
NAH 3:13 Behold, your people are women in
your midst! The gates of your land are opened wide
to your enemies; Fire consumes your gate bars.
NAH 3:14 Draw for yourself water for the
siege! Strengthen your fortifications! Go into the
clay and tread the mortar! Take hold of the brick
mold!
NAH 3:15 There fire will consume you, The
sword will cut you down; It will consume you as the
locust does. Multiply yourself like the creeping
locust, Multiply yourself like the swarming locust.
NAH 3:16 You have increased your traders more
than the stars of heaven - - The creeping locust
strips and flies away.
NAH 3:17 Your guardsmen are like the swarming
locust. Your marshals are like hordes of
grasshoppers Settling in the stone walls on a cold
day. The sun rises and they flee, And the place
where they are is not known.
NAH 3:18 Your shepherds are sleeping, O king
of Assyria; Your nobles are lying down. Your people
are scattered on the mountains, And there is no one
to regather them.
NAH 3:19 There is no relief for your
breakdown, Your wound is incurable. All who hear
about you Will clap their hands over you, For on
whom has not your evil passed continually?
