{i1:1} Introduction
{1:1} The oracle against Nineveh; the book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite: 
{i1:2} God Takes Vengeance against His Enemies
{1:2} The Lord is a zealous and avenging God; the Lord is avenging and very angry. The Lord takes vengeance against his foes; he sustains his rage against his enemies.
{i1:3} The Divine Warrior Destroys His Enemies but Protects His People
{1:3} The Lord is slow to anger but great in power; the Lord will certainly not allow the wicked to go unpunished. He marches out in the whirlwind and the raging storm; dark storm clouds billow like dust under his feet.
{1:4} He shouts a battle cry against the sea and makes it dry up; he makes all the rivers run dry. Bashan and Carmel wither; the blossom of Lebanon withers.
{1:5} The mountains tremble before him, the hills convulse; the earth is laid waste before him, the world and all its inhabitants are laid waste.
{1:6} No one can withstand his indignation! No one can resist his fierce anger! His wrath is poured out like volcanic fire, boulders are broken up as he approaches.
{1:7} The Lord is good— indeed, he is a fortress in time of distress, and he protects those who seek refuge in him.
{1:8} But with an overwhelming flood he will make a complete end of Nineveh; he will drive his enemies into darkness. 
{i1:9} Denunciation and Destruction of Nineveh
{1:9} Whatever you plot against the Lord, he will completely destroy! Distress will not arise a second time.
{1:10} Surely they will be totally consumed like entangled thorn bushes, like the drink of drunkards, like very dry stubble.
{1:11} From you, O Nineveh, one has marched forth who plots evil against the Lord, a wicked military strategist. 
{i1:12} Oracle of Deliverance to Judah
{1:12} This is what the Lord says: “Even though they are powerful— and what is more, even though their army is numerous— nevertheless, they will be destroyed and trickle away! Although I afflicted you, I will afflict you no more.
{1:13} And now, I will break Assyria’s yoke bar from your neck; I will tear apart the shackles that are on you.” 
{i1:14} Oracle of Judgment against the King of Nineveh
{1:14} The Lord has issued a decree against you: “Your dynasty will come to an end. I will destroy the idols and images in the temples of your gods. I will desecrate your grave — because you are accursed!” 
{i1:15} Proclamation of the Deliverance of Judah
{1:15} (2:1) Look! A herald is running on the mountains! A messenger is proclaiming deliverance: “Celebrate your sacred festivals, O Judah! Fulfill your sacred vows to praise God! For never again will the wicked Assyrians invade you, they have been completely destroyed.”
{i2:1} Proclamation of the Destruction of Nineveh
{2:1} (2:2) The watchmen of Nineveh shout: “An enemy who will scatter you is marching out to attack you!” “Guard the rampart! Watch the road! Prepare yourselves for battle! Muster your mighty strength!”
{2:2} For the Lord will restore the majesty of Jacob, as well as the majesty of Israel, though their enemies have plundered them and have destroyed their fields. 
{i2:3} Prophetic Vision of the Fall of Nineveh
{2:3} The shields of his warriors are dyed red; the mighty soldiers are dressed in scarlet garments. The metal fittings of the chariots shine like fire on the day of battle; the soldiers brandish their spears.
{2:4} The chariots race madly through the streets, they rush back and forth in the broad plazas; they look like lightning bolts, they dash here and there like flashes of lightning.
{2:5} The commander orders his officers; they stumble as they advance; they rush to the city wall and they set up the covered siege tower.
{2:6} The sluice gates are opened; the royal palace is deluged and dissolves.
{2:7} Nineveh is taken into exile and is led away; her slave girls moan like doves while they beat their breasts.
{2:8} Nineveh was like a pool of water throughout her days, but now her people are running away; she cries out: “Stop! Stop!”— but no one turns back.
{2:9} Her conquerors cry out: “Plunder the silver! Plunder the gold!” There is no end to the treasure; riches of every kind of precious thing.
{2:10} Destruction, devastation, and desolation! Their hearts faint, their knees tremble, each stomach churns, each face turns pale! 
{i2:11} Taunt against the Once-Mighty Lion
{2:11} Where now is the den of the lions, the feeding place of the young lions, where the lion, lioness, and lion cub once prowled and no one disturbed them?
{2:12} The lion tore apart as much prey as his cubs needed and strangled prey to provide food for his lionesses; he filled his lairs with prey and his dens with torn flesh. 
{i2:13} Battle Cry of the Divine Warrior
{2:13} “I am against you!” declares the Lord who commands armies: “I will burn your chariots with fire; the sword will devour your young lions; you will no longer prey upon the land; the voices of your messengers will no longer be heard.”
{i3:1} Reason for Judgment: Sins of Nineveh
{3:1} Woe to the city guilty of bloodshed! She is full of lies; she is filled with plunder; she has hoarded her spoil! 
{i3:2} Portrayal of the Destruction of Nineveh
{3:2} The chariot drivers will crack their whips; the chariot wheels will shake the ground; the chariot horses will gallop; the war chariots will bolt forward!
{3:3} The charioteers will charge ahead; their swords will flash and their spears will glimmer! There will be many people slain; there will be piles of the dead, and countless casualties— so many that people will stumble over the corpses. 
{i3:4} Taunt against the Harlot City
{3:4} “Because you have acted like a wanton prostitute— a seductive mistress who practices sorcery, who enslaves nations by her harlotry, and entices peoples by her sorcery—
{3:5} I am against you,” declares the Lord who commands armies. “I will strip off your clothes! I will show your nakedness to the nations and your shame to the kingdoms;
{3:6} I will pelt you with filth; I will treat you with contempt; I will make you a public spectacle.
{3:7} Everyone who sees you will turn away from you in disgust; they will say, ‘Nineveh has been devastated! Who will lament for her?’ There will be no one to comfort you!” 
{i3:8} Nineveh Will Suffer the Same Fate as Thebes
{3:8} You are no more secure than Thebes— she was located on the banks of the Nile; the waters surrounded her, her rampart was the sea, the water was her wall.
{3:9} Cush and Egypt had limitless strength; Put and the Libyans were among her allies.
{3:10} Yet she went into captivity as an exile; even her infants were smashed to pieces at the head of every street. They cast lots for her nobility; all her dignitaries were bound with chains.
{3:11} You too will act like drunkards; you will go into hiding; you too will seek refuge from the enemy. 
{i3:12} The Assyrian Defenses Will Fail
{3:12} All your fortifications will be like fig trees with first-ripe fruit: If they are shaken, their figs will fall into the mouth of the eater!
{3:13} Your warriors will be like women in your midst; the gates of your land will be wide open to your enemies; fire will consume the bars of your gates.
{3:14} Draw yourselves water for a siege! Strengthen your fortifications! Trample the mud and tread the clay! Make mud bricks to strengthen your walls!
{i3:15} The Assyrian Defenders Will Flee
{3:15} There the fire will consume you; the sword will cut you down; it will devour you like the young locust would. Multiply yourself like the young locust; multiply yourself like the flying locust!
{3:16} Increase your merchants more than the stars of heaven! They are like the young locust which sheds its skin and flies away.
{3:17} Your courtiers are like locusts, your officials are like a swarm of locusts! They encamp in the walls on a cold day, yet when the sun rises, they fly away; and no one knows where they are. 
{i3:18} Concluding Dirge
{3:18} Your shepherds are sleeping, O king of Assyria! Your officers are slumbering! Your people are scattered like sheep on the mountains and there is no one to regather them!
{3:19} Your destruction is like an incurable wound; your demise is like a fatal injury! All who hear what has happened to you will clap their hands for joy, for no one ever escaped your endless cruelty!