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Nahum 3:8-19
New International Version
Nahum 3:8-19
New International Version
8 Are you better than(A) Thebes,(B)
situated on the Nile,(C)
with water around her?
The river was her defense,
the waters her wall.
9 Cush[a](D) and Egypt were her boundless strength;
Put(E) and Libya(F) were among her allies.
10 Yet she was taken captive(G)
and went into exile.
Her infants were dashed(H) to pieces
at every street corner.
Lots(I) were cast for her nobles,
and all her great men were put in chains.(J)
11 You too will become drunk;(K)
you will go into hiding(L)
and seek refuge from the enemy.
12 All your fortresses are like fig trees
with their first ripe fruit;(M)
when they are shaken,
the figs(N) fall into the mouth of the eater.
13 Look at your troops—
they are all weaklings.(O)
The gates(P) of your land
are wide open to your enemies;
fire has consumed the bars of your gates.(Q)
14 Draw water for the siege,(R)
strengthen your defenses!(S)
Work the clay,
tread the mortar,
repair the brickwork!
15 There the fire(T) will consume you;
the sword(U) will cut you down—
they will devour you like a swarm of locusts.
Multiply like grasshoppers,
multiply like locusts!(V)
16 You have increased the number of your merchants
till they are more numerous than the stars in the sky,
but like locusts(W) they strip the land
and then fly away.
17 Your guards are like locusts,(X)
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;(Y)
your nobles lie down to rest.(Z)
Your people are scattered(AA) on the mountains
with no one to gather them.
19 Nothing can heal you;(AB)
your wound is fatal.
All who hear the news about you
clap their hands(AC) at your fall,
for who has not felt
your endless cruelty?(AD)
Footnotes
- Nahum 3:9 That is, the upper Nile region
- Nahum 3:18 That is, rulers
Nahum 3:8-19
King James Version
Nahum 3:8-19
King James Version
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?
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