Nahum 3

NEW JERUSALEM	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 Disaster to the city of blood, packed throughout with lies, stuffed with booty, where plundering has noend!	1 Woe to the city of blood, filled with all manner of lies and violence. Crime shall not depart from you:
2 The crack of the whip! The rumble of wheels! Gal oping horse, jolting chariot,	2 the voice of the whip, and the voice of the turning wheels, and of the neighing horse, and the burning chariot, and the horsemen who ride,
3 charging cavalry, flashing swords, gleaming spears, a mass of wounded, hosts of dead, countlesscorpses; they stumble over corpses-	3 and of the flashing sword and the shining spear, and of a multitude executed and a grievous ruination. Neither is there an end to the dead bodies, and they will fall down upon their dead bodies.
4 because of the countless whorings of the harlot, the graceful beauty, the cunning witch, who enslavednations by her harlotries and tribes by her spells.	4 Because of the multitude of fornications of the kept woman, beautiful and pleasing and practicing evil deeds, who sold nations by her fornications, and families by her evil doing:
5 Look, I am against you!- declares Yahweh Sabaoth- I shal lift your skirts as high as your face and showyour nakedness to the nations, your shame to the kingdoms.	5 behold, I will come to you, says the Lord of hosts, and I will reveal your shame to your face, and I will show your nakedness to the Gentiles, and your disgrace to kingdoms.
6 I shal pelt you with filth, I shal shame you and put you in the pil ory.	6 And I will cast abominations over you, and I will afflict you with abuse, and I will make an example of you.
7 Then al who look at you wil shrink from you and say, 'Nineveh has been ruined!' Who wil mourn forher? Where would I find people to comfort you?	7 And this shall be: everyone who sees you, will recoil from you, and he will say: “Nineveh has been devastated.” Who will shake his head over you? Where might I seek consolation for you?
8 Are you better off than No-Amon situated among rivers, her defences the seas, her rampart the waters?	8 Are you better than the populous Alexandria, which dwells along the rivers? Waters encircle it: the sea, with its riches. The waters are its walls.
9 In Ethiopia and Egypt lay her strength, and it was boundless; Put and the Libyans served in her army.	9 Ethiopia and Egypt were its strength, and there is no limit. Africa and Northern Africa have been your helpers.
10 But she too went into exile, into captivity; her little ones too were dashed to pieces at every crossroad;lots were drawn for her nobles, al her great men were put in chains.	10 Nevertheless, she has been led away with the transmigration into captivity. Her little ones have been dashed in pieces at the top of every street, and they have cast lots over her celebrities, and all her elite have been fastened together in shackles.
11 You too wil become drunk, you wil go into hiding; you too will have to search for a refuge from theenemy.	11 Therefore, you also will become inebriated, and you will be despised, and you will seek help from the opposition.
12 Your fortifications are all fig trees, with early ripening figs: as soon as they are shaken, they fall intothe mouth of the eater.	12 All your fortresses will be like fig trees with their green figs. If they are shaken violently, they will fall into the mouth of the one who devours.
13 Look at your people: you are a nation of women! The gates of your country gape open to yourenemies; fire has devoured their bars!	13 Behold, women are at the center of your people. The gates of your land will be opened wide for your enemies; fire will devour your bars.
14 Draw yourselves water for the siege, strengthen your fortifications! Into the mud with you, puddle theclay, repair the brick-kiln!	14 Draw in water because of the blockade; build up your fortresses. Go into the clay and tread; work it to make brick.
15 There the fire wil burn you up, the sword wil cut you down. Make yourselves as numerous as locusts,make yourselves as numerous as the hoppers,	15 There, fire will devour you. You will perish by the sword; it will devour you like the beetle. Gather together like the beetle. Multiply like the locust.
16 let your commercial agents outnumber the stars of heaven,	16 You have made more negotiations than there are stars in the sky. The beetle has spread out and flown away.
17 your garrisons, like locusts, and your marshals, like swarms of hoppers! They settle on the wal s whenthe day is cold. The sun appears, the locusts spread their wings, they fly away,away they fly, no one knowswhere. Alas,	17 Your guardians are like locusts, and your little ones are like locusts among locusts, which alight on hedges on a cold day. The sun rose up, and they flew away, and there was no way to know the place where they had been.
18 your shepherds are asleep, king of Assyria, your bravest men slumber; your people are scattered onthe mountains with no one to gather them.	18 Your shepherds have become drowsy, king Assur. Your princes will be buried. Your people have remained hidden in the mountains, and there is no one to gather them.
19 There is no remedy for your wound, your injury is past healing. All who hear the news of you clap theirhands at your downfal . For who has not felt your unrelenting cruelty?	19 Your destruction is not hidden; your wound is grievous. All who have heard of your fame have clenched their hands over you, because over whom has your wickedness not trampled continually?