Resource icon

BibleStudyIt Nahum 3

  • Nahum Chapter 3

Nahum 3's Chapter Tabs
Scroll past these tabs to continue or click on one of them to navigate out of this webpage.

Read Chapter

Your Private Notes

Proxy widget

Submit Art

Threads
0
Messages
0
Threads
0
Messages
0
None

Submit Notes

Threads
0
Messages
0
Threads
0
Messages
0
None

Nineveh has done many bad things

3 Terrible things will happen to you, Nineveh. Your people are murderers and they love to tell lies. The city is full of valuable things that they have taken from other people. 2 Listen to the loud noises of the whips, the chariots, the wheels and the feet of the horses. The chariots are moving fast towards Nineveh. 3 See the bright swords and spears in the hands of the horses' riders. There are dead bodies that are lying in the streets. It is like mountains of dead bodies everywhere. There are so many dead bodies that men fall over the bodies. 4 This is because Nineveh has sold herself to the enemies of God. She is like a beautiful prostitute. She uses her body and her bad magic to make all the people in other countries her slaves.

5 This is why I am against you, says the Lord Almighty. I will make you like a woman whose skirt is up over her face. I will show the countries that you are like that woman. You will be like a woman who is not wearing any clothes. 6 I will throw dirt at you. I will do with you like you were nothing. And I will make everyone ashamed of you. 7 When people see you, they will run away. And they will say, ‘They have destroyed Nineveh. Nobody will be sad.’ There will be nobody to help you.

8 Remember the city of Thebes that was near the River Nile. It had water all round it. The river kept it safe, like a wall. Nineveh is not better than Thebes was. 9 The countries of Ethiopia and Egypt were strong friends. And Put and Libya were strong friends too.

10 But the enemies of Thebes took its people away and they made them slaves. They cut their babies to pieces in every street. They played games with the great men from Thebes and they put them in iron chains. 11 You will be like a man who has drunk too much alcohol. And you will try to hide. You will try to get help from your enemy. 12 All your strong places are like fig trees. They will fall very easily when the enemies shake them. And your valuable things will be like figs that fall into people's mouths. 13 Look at your soldiers, they are all like women! Your enemies have burned your gates and they have pushed them wide open.

14 Take as much water as you can for the attack. Make your walls strong. Do repairs to your buildings. 15 The fire will burn you. The sword will cut you and it will kill you like grasshoppers. Grow in number like the grasshoppers and locusts.

16 You welcomed traders into your city until there were more than all the stars in the sky. But they are like locusts. They take everything from the land and then they fly away. 17 Your army and officers are so many that they are like locusts. Locusts stay on the walls on a cold day. But when the sun comes out, they fly away. And then nobody knows where they go.

18 King of Assyria, the people who keep your people safe are asleep. Also, your powerful men are lying down to rest. Your people have run away to the mountains with nobody to get them together.

19 You have received a bad wound and nobody can make it better. People have heard about what happened to you. All of them are very happy and they clap their hands. That is because you have done cruel things to all of them.

Bad News for Nineveh

3 It will be very bad for that city of murderers.
Nineveh is a city full of lies.
It is filled with things taken from other countries.
It is filled with plenty of people that it hunted and killed.
2 You can hear the sounds of whips
and the noise of wheels.
You can hear horses galloping
and chariots bouncing along!
3 Soldiers on horses are attacking,
their swords are shining,
their spears are gleaming!
There are many dead people.
Dead bodies are piled up—too many bodies to count.
People are tripping over the dead bodies.
4 All this happened because of Nineveh.
Nineveh is like a prostitute who could never get enough.
She wanted more and more.
She sold herself to many nations,
and she used her magic to make them her slaves.

5 The Lord All-Powerful says,
“I am against you, Nineveh.
I will pull your dress [ a ] up over your face.
I will let the nations see your naked body.
The kingdoms will see your shame.
6 I will throw dirty things on you
and treat you in a hateful way.
People will look at you and laugh.
7 Everyone who sees you will be shocked.
They will say, ‘Nineveh is destroyed.
Who will cry for her?’
I know I cannot find anyone to comfort you, Nineveh.”

8 Nineveh, are you better than Thebes [ b ] on the Nile River? Thebes also had water all around her to protect herself from enemies. She used that water like a wall too. 9 Ethiopia and Egypt made Thebes strong. Libya and the Sudan supported her, 10 but Thebes was defeated. Her people were taken away as prisoners to a foreign country. Soldiers beat her small children to death at every street corner. They threw lots to see who got to keep the important people as slaves. They put chains on all the important men of Thebes.

11 So, Nineveh, you will also fall like a drunk. You will try to hide. You will look for a safe place away from the enemy. 12 But Nineveh, all your strong places will be like fig trees. When new figs become ripe, people come and shake the tree. The figs fall into their mouths. They eat them, and the figs are gone.

13 Nineveh, your people are all like women—and the enemy soldiers are ready to take them. The gates of your land are open wide for your enemies to come in. Fire has destroyed the wooden bars across the gates.

14 Get water and store it inside your city, because the enemy soldiers will surround your city. Make your defenses strong! Get clay to make more bricks and mix the mortar. Get the molds for making bricks. 15 You can do all these things, but the fire will still destroy you completely. And the sword will kill you. Your land will look like a swarm of grasshoppers came and ate everything.

Nineveh, you grew and grew. You became like a swarm of grasshoppers. You were like a swarm of locusts. 16 You have many traders who go places and buy things. They are as many as the stars in the sky. They are like locusts that come and eat until everything is gone and then leave. 17 And your government officials are also like locusts that settle on a stone wall on a cold day. But when the sun comes up, the rocks become warm, and the locusts all fly away. And no one knows where.

18 King of Assyria, your shepherds fell asleep. These powerful men are sleeping. And now your sheep have wandered away on the mountains. There is no one to bring them back. 19 Nineveh, you have been hurt badly, and nothing can heal your wound. Everyone who hears the news of your destruction claps their hands. They are all happy, because they all felt the pain you caused again and again.

Footnotes

  1. Nahum 3:5 pull your dress This is a wordplay in Hebrew. The Hebrew word also means “to destroy a country and take its people away as prisoners to other nations.”
  2. Nahum 3:8 Thebes A great city in Egypt. It was destroyed in 663 B.C. by the Assyrian army.

3 Woe to the bloody city! it is all full of lies and robbery; the prey departeth not;

2 The noise of a whip, and the noise of the rattling of the wheels, and of the pransing horses, and of the jumping chariots.

3 The horseman lifteth up both the bright sword and the glittering spear: and there is a multitude of slain, and a great number of carcases; and there is none end of their corpses; they stumble upon their corpses:

4 Because of the multitude of the whoredoms of the wellfavoured harlot, the mistress of witchcrafts, that selleth nations through her whoredoms, and families through her witchcrafts.

5 Behold, I am against thee, saith the Lord of hosts; and I will discover thy skirts upon thy face, and I will shew the nations thy nakedness, and the kingdoms thy shame.

6 And I will cast abominable filth upon thee, and make thee vile, and will set thee as a gazingstock.

7 And it shall come to pass, that all they that look upon thee shall flee from thee, and say, Nineveh is laid waste: who will bemoan her? whence shall I seek comforters for thee?

8 Art thou better than populous No, that was situate among the rivers, that had the waters round about it, whose rampart was the sea, and her wall was from the sea?

9 Ethiopia and Egypt were her strength, and it was infinite; Put and Lubim were thy helpers.

10 Yet was she carried away, she went into captivity: her young children also were dashed in pieces at the top of all the streets: and they cast lots for her honourable men, and all her great men were bound in chains.

11 Thou also shalt be drunken: thou shalt be hid, thou also shalt seek strength because of the enemy.

12 All thy strong holds shall be like fig trees with the firstripe figs: if they be shaken, they shall even fall into the mouth of the eater.

13 Behold, thy people in the midst of thee are women: the gates of thy land shall be set wide open unto thine enemies: the fire shall devour thy bars.

14 Draw thee waters for the siege, fortify thy strong holds: go into clay, and tread the morter, make strong the brickkiln.

15 There shall the fire devour thee; the sword shall cut thee off, it shall eat thee up like the cankerworm: make thyself many as the cankerworm, make thyself many as the locusts.

16 Thou hast multiplied thy merchants above the stars of heaven: the cankerworm spoileth, and fleeth away.

17 Thy crowned are as the locusts, and thy captains as the great grasshoppers, which camp in the hedges in the cold day, but when the sun ariseth they flee away, and their place is not known where they are.

18 Thy shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria: thy nobles shall dwell in the dust: thy people is scattered upon the mountains, and no man gathereth them.

19 There is no healing of thy bruise; thy wound is grievous: all that hear the bruit of thee shall clap the hands over thee: for upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually?

Nineveh’s Complete Ruin

3 ( A ) Woe to the bloody city, completely full of lies and pillage;
Her prey does not leave.
2 The ( B ) sound of the whip,
The sound of the roar of the wheel,
Galloping horses
And [ a ] bounding chariots!
3 Horsemen charging,
Swords flashing, ( C ) spears gleaming,
( D ) Many killed, a mass of corpses,
And there is ( E ) no end to the dead bodies—
They stumble over [ b ] the dead bodies!
4 All because of the ( F ) many sexual acts of the prostitute,
The charming one, the ( G ) mistress of sorceries,
Who ( H ) sells nations by her sexual acts,
And families by her sorceries.
5 “Behold, ( I ) I am against you,” declares the Lord of armies;
“And I will [ c ] ( J ) lift up your skirts over your face,
And ( K ) show the nations your nakedness,
And the kingdoms your shame.
6 I will ( L ) throw filth on you
And ( M ) declare you worthless,
And set you up as a ( N ) spectacle.
7 And it will come about that all who see you
Will [ d ] shrink from you and say,
‘Nineveh is devastated!
( O ) Who will have sympathy for her?’
Where shall I seek comforters for you?”

8 Are you better than [ e ] ( P ) No-amon,
Which was situated by the ( Q ) canals of the Nile,
With water surrounding her,
Whose rampart was [ f ] the sea,
Whose wall consisted of [ g ] the sea?
9 ( R ) Ethiopia was her might,
Egypt too, without limits.
( S ) Put and ( T ) Lubim were among [ h ] her helpers.
10 Yet she ( U ) became an exile,
She went into captivity;
Also her ( V ) small children were smashed to pieces
( W ) At the head of every street;
They ( X ) cast lots for her honorable men,
And all her great men were bound with shackles.
11 You too will become ( Y ) drunk,
You will be ( Z ) hidden.
You too will search for a refuge from the enemy.
12 All your fortifications are ( AA ) fig trees with [ i ] ( AB ) ripe fruit—
When shaken, they fall into the eater’s mouth.
13 Behold, your people are ( AC ) women in your midst!
The gates of your land are ( AD ) opened wide to your enemies;
Fire consumes your gate bars.
14 ( AE ) Draw for yourself water for a siege!
( AF ) Strengthen your fortifications!
Go into the clay and tread the mortar!
Take hold of the brick mold!
15 There ( AG ) fire will consume you,
The sword will cut you down;
It will ( AH ) consume you as the creeping locust consumes a crop .
Multiply yourself like the creeping locust,
Multiply yourself like the migratory locust.
16 You have made your ( AI ) traders more numerous than the stars of heaven—
The creeping locust sheds its skin and flies away .
17 Your ( AJ ) courtiers are like the migratory locust.
Your ( AK ) officials are like a swarm of locusts
Settling in the stone shelters on a cold day.
The sun rises and they flee,
And the place where they are is not known.
18 Your shepherds are ( AL ) sleeping, O ( AM ) king of Assyria;
Your ( AN ) officers are lying down.
Your people are ( AO ) scattered on the mountains
And there is no one to gather them .
19 There is ( AP ) no relief for your collapse,
Your ( AQ ) wound is incurable.
All who hear [ j ] about you
Will ( AR ) clap their hands over you,
For upon whom has your evil not come continually?

Footnotes

  1. Nahum 3:2 Lit leaping
  2. Nahum 3:3 Lit their
  3. Nahum 3:5 Lit uncover your private parts
  4. Nahum 3:7 Lit flee
  5. Nahum 3:8 I.e., the city of Amon: Thebes
  6. Nahum 3:8 I.e., the Nile
  7. Nahum 3:8 I.e., the Nile
  8. Nahum 3:9 Lit your
  9. Nahum 3:12 Lit first fruits
  10. Nahum 3:19 Lit your report

Woe to Nineveh

3 Woe to the city of blood, ( A )
full of lies, ( B )
full of plunder,
never without victims!
2 The crack of whips,
the clatter of wheels,
galloping horses
and jolting chariots!
3 Charging cavalry,
flashing swords
and glittering spears!
Many casualties,
piles of dead,
bodies without number,
people stumbling over the corpses ( C ) —
4 all because of the wanton lust of a prostitute,
alluring, the mistress of sorceries, ( D )
who enslaved nations by her prostitution ( E )
and peoples by her witchcraft.

5 “I am against ( F ) you,” declares the Lord Almighty.
“I will lift your skirts ( G ) over your face.
I will show the nations your nakedness ( H )
and the kingdoms your shame.
6 I will pelt you with filth, ( I )
I will treat you with contempt ( J )
and make you a spectacle. ( K )
7 All who see you will flee ( L ) from you and say,
‘Nineveh ( M ) is in ruins ( N ) —who will mourn for her?’ ( O )
Where can I find anyone to comfort ( P ) you?”

8 Are you better than ( Q ) Thebes, ( R )
situated on the Nile, ( S )
with water around her?
The river was her defense,
the waters her wall.
9 Cush [ a ] ( T ) and Egypt were her boundless strength;
Put ( U ) and Libya ( V ) were among her allies.
10 Yet she was taken captive ( W )
and went into exile.
Her infants were dashed ( X ) to pieces
at every street corner.
Lots ( Y ) were cast for her nobles,
and all her great men were put in chains. ( Z )
11 You too will become drunk; ( AA )
you will go into hiding ( AB )
and seek refuge from the enemy.

12 All your fortresses are like fig trees
with their first ripe fruit; ( AC )
when they are shaken,
the figs ( AD ) fall into the mouth of the eater.
13 Look at your troops—
they are all weaklings. ( AE )
The gates ( AF ) of your land
are wide open to your enemies;
fire has consumed the bars of your gates. ( AG )

14 Draw water for the siege, ( AH )
strengthen your defenses! ( AI )
Work the clay,
tread the mortar,
repair the brickwork!
15 There the fire ( AJ ) will consume you;
the sword ( AK ) will cut you down—
they will devour you like a swarm of locusts.
Multiply like grasshoppers,
multiply like locusts! ( AL )
16 You have increased the number of your merchants
till they are more numerous than the stars in the sky,
but like locusts ( AM ) they strip the land
and then fly away.
17 Your guards are like locusts, ( AN )
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.

18 King of Assyria, your shepherds [ b ] slumber; ( AO )
your nobles lie down to rest. ( AP )
Your people are scattered ( AQ ) on the mountains
with no one to gather them.
19 Nothing can heal you; ( AR )
your wound is fatal.
All who hear the news about you
clap their hands ( AS ) at your fall,
for who has not felt
your endless cruelty? ( AT )

Footnotes

  1. Nahum 3:9 That is, the upper Nile region
  2. Nahum 3:18 That is, rulers
Next Chapter
Book Manager
BSI_Poster
View Chapter Tabs Leave Good Review

Share this page

Day/Night Mode: Day or Night Theme
Your Bookmarks: View your bookmarks.
Table of Contents: Button above scripture.
Private Notes: Add private notes per chapter.