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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?[a]
The Nile River
    was its wall of defense.[b]
Thebes trusted the mighty power
    of Ethiopia[c] and Egypt;
the nations of Put[d] 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![e]

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. 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.
  2. 3.8 was its … defense: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  3. 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.
  4. 3.9 Put: A region in Africa, possibly part of the present country of Libya.
  5. 3.15 locusts: A type of grasshopper that comes in swarms and causes great damage to plant life.

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