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(A) I am Nahum from Elkosh.[a] And this is the message[b] that I wrote down about Nineveh.[c]

The Fierce Anger of the Lord

The Lord God demands loyalty.
In his anger, he takes revenge
    on his enemies.
The Lord is powerful,
    yet patient;
he makes sure that the guilty
    are always punished.
He can be seen in storms
    and in whirlwinds;
clouds are the dust from his feet.

At the Lord's command,
    oceans and rivers dry up.
Bashan, Mount Carmel,
and Lebanon[d] wither,
    and their flowers fade.
At the sight of the Lord,
mountains and hills
    tremble and melt;
the earth and its people
    shudder and shake.
Who can stand the heat
    of his furious anger?
It flashes out like fire
    and shatters stones.

The Power of Assyria Will Be Broken

The Lord is good.
He protects those who trust him
    in times of trouble.
But like a roaring flood,
the Lord chases his enemies
    into dark places
    and destroys them.[e]
So don't plot against the Lord!
He wipes out his enemies,
    and they never revive.
10 They are like drunkards
    overcome by wine,
or like twisted thornbushes
    burning in a fire.[f]
11 Assyria, one of your rulers
has made evil plans
    against the Lord.

12 But the Lord says, “Assyria,
no matter how strong you are,
    you will be cut down!
My people Judah,
I have troubled you before,
    but I won't do it again.
13 I'll snap your chains
and set you free
    from the Assyrians.”

14 Assyria, this is what else
    the Lord says to you:
“Your name will be forgotten.
I will destroy every idol
    in your temple,
and I will send you to the grave,
    because you are worthless.”

15 (B) Look toward the mountains,
    people of Judah!
Here comes a messenger
    with good news of peace.
Celebrate your festivals.
    Keep your promises to God.
Your evil enemies are destroyed
and will never again
    invade your country.

Nineveh Will Fall

Nineveh, someone is coming
    to attack and scatter you.
Guard your fortresses!
Watch the road! Be brave!
    Prepare for battle!
Judah and Israel are like trees
with branches broken
    by their enemies.
But the Lord is going to restore
    their power and glory.

* Nineveh, on this day of attack,
your enemies' shields are red;
    their uniforms are crimson.
Their horses[g] prance,
    and their armored[h] chariots
dart around like lightning
    or flaming torches.
An officer gives a command.
But his soldiers stumble,
    as they hasten to build
a shelter to protect themselves
against rocks thrown down
    from the city wall.[i]

The river gates[j] fly open,
    and panic floods the palace.
Nineveh is disgraced.
    The queen is dragged off.
Her servant women mourn;
    they moan like doves,
and they beat their breasts
    in sorrow.[k]
Nineveh is like a pond
    with leaking water.
Shouts of “Stop! Don't go!”
can be heard everywhere.
    But everyone is leaving.

Enemy soldiers shout,
“The city is full of treasure
    and all kinds of wealth.
Steal her silver! Grab her gold!”

10 Nineveh is doomed! Destroyed!
Her people tremble with fear;
    their faces turn pale.[l]
11 What happened to this city?
    They were safer there
than powerful lions in a den,
    with no one to disturb them.
12 These are the same lions
that ferociously attacked
    their victims,
then dragged away the flesh
    to feed their young.

13 The Lord All-Powerful
    is against you, Nineveh.
God will burn your chariots
and send an army to kill
    those young lions of yours.
You will never again
    make victims of others
or send messengers to threaten
    everyone on this earth.

Punishment for Nineveh

The Lord said:

Doom to the crime capital!
Nineveh, city of murder
    and treachery,
here is your fate—
cracking whips,
    churning wheels;
galloping horses,
    roaring chariots;
cavalry attacking,
    swords and spears flashing;
soldiers stumbling
    over piles of dead bodies.
You were nothing more
    than a prostitute
using your magical charms
and witchcraft
    to attract and trap nations.

But I, the Lord All-Powerful,
    am now your enemy.
I will pull up your skirt
and let nations and kingdoms
    stare at your nakedness.
I will cover you with garbage,
treat you like trash,
    and rub you in the dirt.
Everyone who sees you
    will turn away and shout,
“Nineveh is done for!
Is anyone willing to mourn
    or to give her comfort?”

Nineveh's Fate Is Sealed

Nineveh, do you feel safer
    than the city of Thebes?[m]
The Nile River
    was its wall of defense.[n]
Thebes trusted the mighty power
    of Ethiopia[o] and Egypt;
the nations of Put[p] and Libya
    were her allies.
10 But she was captured and taken
    to a foreign country.
Her children were murdered
    at every street corner.
The members of her royal family
    were auctioned off,
and her high officials
    were bound in chains.

11 Nineveh, now it's your turn!
You will get drunk and try to hide
    from your enemy.
12 Your fortresses are fig trees
    with ripe figs.
Merely shake the trees,
and fruit will fall
    into every open mouth.
13 Your army is weak.
Fire has destroyed the crossbars
    on your city gates;
now they stand wide open
    to your enemy.

14 Your city is under attack.
Haul in extra water!
    Strengthen your defenses!
Start making bricks!
    Stir the mortar!
15 You will still go up in flames
    and be cut down by swords
that will wipe you out like a field
    attacked by grasshoppers.
So, go ahead and increase
    like a swarm of locusts![q]

16 More merchants are in your city
than there are stars
    in the sky—
but they are like locusts
that eat everything,
    then fly away.
17 Your guards and your officials
    are swarms of locusts.
On a chilly day
    they settle on a fence,
but when the sun comes out,
they take off
    to who-knows-where.

18 King of Assyria,
your officials and leaders
    are sound asleep,
while your people are scattered
    in the mountains.
Yes, your people are sheep
    without a shepherd.
19 You're fatally wounded.
    There's no hope for you.
But everyone claps
    when they hear this news,
because your constant cruelty
    has caused them pain.

Footnotes

  1. 1.1 Elkosh: The location of Elkosh is not known.
  2. 1.1 message: Or “vision.”
  3. 1.1 Nineveh: The capital of Assyria, the hated enemy of Israel.
  4. 1.4 Bashan, Mount Carmel, and Lebanon: Three regions noted for their trees and flowers.
  5. 1.8 the Lord chases his enemies … and destroys them: Or “the Lord chases Nineveh … and destroys her.”
  6. 1.10 fire: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 10.
  7. 2.4 horses: Two ancient translations; Hebrew “spears.”
  8. 2.4 armored: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  9. 2.5 to build … city wall: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  10. 2.6 river gates: Nineveh was protected by a moat filled with water from the nearby Tigris River.
  11. 2.7 sorrow: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 7.
  12. 2.10 faces turn pale: Or “ashes cover their faces.”
  13. 3.8 Thebes: In 663 b.c., the Assyrian King Ashurbanipal captured this Egyptian city, which seems to have been built with protection similar to that of Nineveh.
  14. 3.8 was its … defense: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  15. 3.9 Ethiopia: The Hebrew text has “Cush,” which was a region south of Egypt that included parts of the present countries of Ethiopia and Sudan.
  16. 3.9 Put: A region in Africa, possibly part of the present country of Libya.
  17. 3.15 locusts: A type of grasshopper that comes in swarms and causes great damage to plant life.

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