Bible (Berean Standard)/Nahum

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The Burden against Nineveh

(Jonah 1:1–3)

This is the burden against Nineveh, the book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite:


 * The LORD is a jealous and avenging God;
 * the LORD is avenging and full of wrath.
 * The LORD takes vengeance on His foes
 * and reserves wrath for His enemies.
 * The LORD is slow to anger
 * and great in power;
 * the LORD will by no means
 * leave the guilty unpunished.
 * His path is in the whirlwind and storm,
 * and clouds are the dust beneath His feet.
 * He rebukes the sea and dries it up;
 * He makes all the rivers run dry.
 * Bashan and Carmel wither,
 * and the flower of Lebanon wilts.
 * The mountains quake before Him,
 * and the hills melt away;
 * the earth trembles at His presence—
 * the world and all its dwellers.
 * Who can withstand His indignation?
 * Who can endure His burning anger?
 * His wrath is poured out like fire;
 * even rocks are shattered before Him.


 * The LORD is good,
 * a stronghold in the day of distress;
 * He cares for those who trust in Him.
 * But with an overwhelming flood
 * He will make an end of Nineveh
 * and pursue His enemies into darkness.


 * Whatever you plot against the LORD,
 * He will bring to an end.
 * Affliction will not rise up
 * a second time.
 * For they will be entangled as with thorns
 * and consumed like the drink of a drunkard—
 * like stubble that is fully dry.
 * From you, O Nineveh, comes forth
 * a plotter of evil against the LORD,
 * a counselor of wickedness.

This is what the LORD says:


 * “Though they are allied and numerous,
 * yet they will be cut down and pass away.
 * Though I have afflicted you, O Judah,
 * I will afflict you no longer.
 * For I will now break their yoke from your neck
 * and tear away your shackles.”

The LORD has issued a command concerning you, O Nineveh:


 * “There will be no descendants
 * to carry on your name.
 * I will cut off the carved image and cast idol
 * from the house of your gods;
 * I will prepare your grave,
 * for you are contemptible.”


 * Look to the mountains—
 * the feet of one who brings good news,
 * who proclaims peace!
 * Celebrate your feasts, O Judah;
 * fulfill your vows.
 * For the wicked will never again march through you;
 * they will be utterly cut off.

The Overthrow of Nineveh


 * One who scatters advances
 * against you, O Nineveh.
 * Guard the fortress!
 * Watch the road!
 * Brace yourselves!
 * Summon all your strength!


 * For the LORD will restore the splendor of Jacob
 * like the splendor of Israel,
 * though destroyers have laid them waste
 * and ruined the branches of their vine.


 * The shields of his mighty men are red;
 * the valiant warriors are dressed in scarlet.
 * The fittings of the chariots flash like fire
 * on the day they are prepared,
 * and the spears of cypress
 * have been brandished.
 * The chariots dash through the streets;
 * they rush around the plazas,
 * appearing like torches,
 * darting about like lightning.
 * He summons his nobles;
 * they stumble as they advance.
 * They race to its wall;
 * the protective shield is set in place.
 * The river gates are thrown open
 * and the palace collapses.


 * It is decreed that the city be exiled
 * and carried away;
 * her maidservants moan like doves,
 * and beat upon their breasts.
 * Nineveh has been like a pool of water
 * throughout her days,
 * but now it is draining away.
 * “Stop! Stop!” they cry,
 * but no one turns back.
 * “Plunder the silver!
 * Plunder the gold!”
 * There is no end to the treasure,
 * an abundance of every precious thing.
 * She is emptied!
 * Yes, she is desolate and laid waste!
 * Hearts melt, knees knock,
 * bodies tremble, and every face grows pale!


 * Where is the lions’ lair
 * or the feeding ground of the young lions,
 * where the lion and lioness prowled with their cubs,
 * with nothing to frighten them away?
 * The lion mauled enough for its cubs
 * and strangled prey for the lioness.
 * It filled its dens with the kill,
 * and its lairs with mauled prey.


 * “Behold, I am against you,”
 * declares the LORD of Hosts.
 * “I will send your chariots up in smoke,
 * and the sword will devour your young lions.
 * I will cut off your prey from the earth,
 * and the voices of your messengers
 * will no longer be heard.”

Judgment on Nineveh


 * Woe to the city of blood,
 * full of lies,
 * full of plunder,
 * never without prey.
 * The crack of the whip,
 * the rumble of the wheel,
 * galloping horse
 * and bounding chariot!
 * Charging horseman,
 * flashing sword,
 * shining spear;
 * heaps of slain,
 * mounds of corpses,
 * dead bodies without end—
 * they stumble over their dead—
 * because of the many harlotries of the harlot,
 * the seductive mistress of sorcery,
 * who betrays nations by her prostitution
 * and clans by her witchcraft.


 * “Behold, I am against you,”
 * declares the LORD of Hosts.
 * “I will lift your skirts over your face.
 * I will show your nakedness to the nations
 * and your shame to the kingdoms.
 * I will pelt you with filth
 * and treat you with contempt;
 * I will make a spectacle of you.
 * Then all who see you
 * will recoil from you and say,
 * ‘Nineveh is devastated;
 * who will grieve for her?’
 * Where can I find
 * comforters for you?”


 * Are you better than Thebes,
 * stationed by the Nile with water around her,
 * whose rampart was the sea,
 * whose wall was the water?
 * Cush and Egypt were her boundless strength;
 * Put and Libya were her allies.
 * Yet she became an exile;
 * she went into captivity.
 * Her infants were dashed to pieces
 * at the head of every street.
 * They cast lots for her dignitaries,
 * and all her nobles were bound in chains.
 * You too will become drunk;
 * you will go into hiding
 * and seek refuge from the enemy.


 * All your fortresses are fig trees
 * with the first ripe figs;
 * when shaken, they fall
 * into the mouth of the eater!


 * Look at your troops—
 * they are like your women!
 * The gates of your land
 * are wide open to your enemies;
 * fire consumes their bars.


 * Draw your water for the siege;
 * strengthen your fortresses.
 * Work the clay and tread the mortar;
 * repair the brick kiln!
 * There the fire will devour you;
 * the sword will cut you down
 * and consume you like a young locust.
 * Make yourself many like the young locust;
 * make yourself many like the swarming locust!
 * You have multiplied your merchants
 * more than the stars of the sky.
 * The young locust strips the land
 * and flies away.
 * Your guards are like the swarming locust,
 * and your scribes like clouds of locusts
 * that settle on the walls on a cold day.
 * When the sun rises, they fly away,
 * and no one knows where.


 * O king of Assyria, your shepherds slumber;
 * your officers sleep.
 * Your people are scattered on the mountains
 * with no one to gather them.
 * There is no healing for your injury;
 * your wound is severe.
 * All who hear the news of you
 * applaud your downfall,
 * for who has not experienced
 * your constant cruelty?