| New International Version | New American Standard Bible 1995 |
| 1Woe to the city of blood, full of lies, full of plunder, never without victims! | 1Woe to the bloody city, completely full of lies and pillage; Her prey never departs. |
| 2The crack of whips, the clatter of wheels, galloping horses and jolting chariots! | 2The noise of the whip, The noise of the rattling of the wheel, Galloping horses And bounding chariots! |
| 3Charging cavalry, flashing swords and glittering spears! Many casualties, piles of dead, bodies without number, people stumbling over the corpses-- | 3Horsemen charging, Swords flashing, spears gleaming, Many slain, a mass of corpses, And countless dead bodies-- They stumble over the dead bodies! |
| 4all because of the wanton lust of a prostitute, alluring, the mistress of sorceries, who enslaved nations by her prostitution and peoples by her witchcraft. | 4All 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. |
| 5"I am against you," declares the LORD Almighty. "I will lift your skirts over your face. I will show the nations your nakedness and the kingdoms your shame. | 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. |
| 6I will pelt you with filth, I will treat you with contempt and make you a spectacle. | 6"I will throw filth on you And make you vile, And set you up as a spectacle. |
| 7All who see you will flee from you and say, 'Nineveh is in ruins--who will mourn for her?' Where can I find anyone to comfort you?" | 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?" |
| 8Are you better than Thebes, situated on the Nile, with water around her? The river was her defense, the waters her wall. | 8Are 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? |
| 9Cush and Egypt were her boundless strength; Put and Libya were among her allies. | 9Ethiopia was her might, And Egypt too, without limits. Put and Lubim were among her helpers. |
| 10Yet she was taken captive and went into exile. Her infants were dashed to pieces at every street corner. Lots were cast for her nobles, and all her great men were put in chains. | 10Yet 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. |
| 11You too will become drunk; you will go into hiding and seek refuge from the enemy. | 11You too will become drunk, You will be hidden. You too will search for a refuge from the enemy. |
| 12All your fortresses are like fig trees with their first ripe fruit; when they are shaken, the figs fall into the mouth of the eater. | 12All your fortifications are fig trees with ripe fruit-- When shaken, they fall into the eater's mouth. |
| 13Look at your troops-- they are all weaklings. The gates of your land are wide open to your enemies; fire has consumed the bars of your gates. | 13Behold, your people are women in your midst! The gates of your land are opened wide to your enemies; Fire consumes your gate bars. |
| 14Draw water for the siege, strengthen your defenses! Work the clay, tread the mortar, repair the brickwork! | 14Draw for yourself water for the siege! Strengthen your fortifications! Go into the clay and tread the mortar! Take hold of the brick mold! |
| 15There the fire will consume you; the sword will cut you down-- they will devour you like a swarm of locusts. Multiply like grasshoppers, multiply like locusts! | 15There 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. |
| 16You have increased the number of your merchants till they are more numerous than the stars in the sky, but like locusts they strip the land and then fly away. | 16You have increased your traders more than the stars of heaven-- The creeping locust strips and flies away. |
| 17Your guards are like locusts, 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. | 17Your 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. |
| 18King of Assyria, your shepherds slumber; your nobles lie down to rest. Your people are scattered on the mountains with no one to gather them. | 18Your 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. |
| 19Nothing can heal you; your wound is fatal. All who hear the news about you clap their hands at your fall, for who has not felt your endless cruelty? | 19There 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? |
| New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. | New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org |
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