1 I t is bad for the city of blood, full of lies and stolen riches! There is no end of her prizes of war!

Woe to the bloody city! It is all full of lies violence; the prey departeth not.

2 T he noise of the whip, the noise of the wheel, running horses and rolling war-wagons!

The crack of the whip, and the noise of the rattling of the wheels, and of the prancing horses, and of the bounding chariots!

3 H orsemen rushing to battle, swords and spears shining, many dead, too many dead bodies to number! They fall over the dead bodies!

The horseman springing up, and the glitter of the sword, and the flash of the spear, and a multitude of slain, and a mass of carcases, and no end of corpses: they stumble over their corpses.

4 A ll this is because of the many sins of the woman who sells the use of her body. She tempts with her beauty and uses witchcraft. She sells nations by her sinful acts, and families by her witchcraft.

—Because of the multitude of the fornications of the well-favoured harlot, mistress of sorceries, that selleth nations through her fornications, and families through her sorceries,

5 “ I am against you,” says the Lord of All. “I will lift up your clothing over your face and let the nations see your body. The nations will see your shame.

behold, I am against thee, saith Jehovah of hosts; and I will uncover thy skirts upon thy face, and I will shew the nations thy nakedness, and the kingdoms thy shame.

6 I will throw dirt on you and make you unclean. People will look at you and see how bad you are.

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

7 A ll who see you will leave you and say, ‘Nineveh is destroyed! Who will have sorrow for her?’ Where can I find anyone to comfort you?”

And it shall come to pass, all they that see thee shall flee from thee, and shall say, Nineveh is laid waste! Who will bemoan her? whence shall I seek comforters for thee?

8 A re you better than Thebes, which is by the Nile River? Water was all around her. The sea kept her safe, for the water was her wall.

Art thou better than No-Amon, that was situate among the rivers, the waters round about her, whose rampart was the sea, of the sea was her wall?

9 E thiopia and Egypt were her strength, with too many to number. Put and Lubim were among her helpers.

Ethiopia was her strength, and Egypt, and it was infinite; Phut and the Libyans were her helpers.

10 Y et she was taken away to a strange land. She was taken away in chains. Her small children were beaten to death at every street corner. They drew names to see who would get her men of honor. And all her great men were put in chains.

She too was carried away, she went into captivity: her infants 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 with chains.

11 Y ou also will become drunk. You will be hidden. You will look for a safe place from those who hate you.

Thou also shalt be drunken: thou shalt be hid; thou also shalt seek a refuge from the enemy.

12 A ll your strong towers are like fig trees with first-fruits. When they are shaken, they fall into the mouth of the one who eats them.

All thy strongholds are fig-trees with the first-ripe figs: if they be shaken, they even fall into the mouth of the eater.

13 Y our soldiers are all women. The gates of your land are opened wide to those who hate you. Fire destroys your gates.

Behold, thy people in the midst of thee are women: the gates of thy land are set wide open unto thine enemies; the fire devoureth thy bars.

14 S tore up water to drink when you are shut in by armies! Make your walls stronger! Go into the clay to make more clay blocks for building!

Draw thee water for the siege, strengthen thy fortresses; go into the clay, and tread the mortar, make strong the brick-kiln.

15 T here the fire will destroy you. The sword will kill you. It will destroy you like the locust. Make yourselves as many as the locusts, as many as the flying locusts.

There shall the fire devour thee; the sword shall cut thee off; it shall devour thee like the cankerworm. Make thyself many as the cankerworm, make thyself many as the locust.

16 Y ou have more traders than the stars of heaven. The locust destroys everything from the land and flies away.

Thou hast multiplied thy merchants more than the stars of the heavens; the cankerworm spreadeth himself out and flieth away.

17 Y our watchmen are like the flying locusts. Your leaders are like clouds of locusts. They stay in the stone walls on a cold day. When the sun rises they fly away and no one knows where they are.

Thy chosen men are as the locusts, and thy captains as swarms of grasshoppers, which camp in the hedges in the cold day: when the sun ariseth they flee away, and their place is not known where they are.

18 Y our shepherds are sleeping, O king of Assyria. Your leaders are lying down. Your people have gone everywhere on the mountains. And there is no one to gather them together again.

Thy shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria; thy nobles lie still; thy people are scattered upon the mountains, and no man gathereth them.

19 N othing can heal your hurt. Your sore cannot be cured. All who hear about you will clap their hands over you. For who has not suffered under your sinful ways again and again?

There is no healing of thy breach; thy wound is grievous; all that hear the report of thee clap the hands over thee; for upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually?