Woe to Nineveh

Nahum 3

1 Woe to the a bloody city!
It is all full of lies and robbery.
Its 1 victim never departs. 2 The noise of a whip
And the noise of rattling wheels,
Of galloping horses,
Of 2 clattering chariots! 3 Horsemen charge with bright sword and glittering spear.
There is a multitude of slain,
A great number of bodies,
Countless corpses -
They stumble over the corpses - 4 Because of the multitude of 3 harlotries of the 4 seductive harlot,
b The mistress of sorceries,
Who sells nations through her harlotries,
And families through her sorceries.

5 "Behold, I am c against you," says the LORD of hosts;
d "I will lift your skirts over your face,
I will show the nations your nakedness,
And the kingdoms your shame. 6 I will cast abominable filth upon you,
Make you e vile, 5
And make you f a spectacle. 7 It shall come to pass that all who look upon you
g Will flee from you, and say,
h 'Nineveh is laid waste!
i Who will bemoan her?'
Where shall I seek comforters for you?"

8 j Are you better than k No 6 Amon 7
That was situated by the 8 River, 9
That had the waters around her,
Whose rampart was the sea,
Whose wall was the sea? 9 Ethiopia and Egypt were her strength,
And it was boundless;
l Put and Lubim were 10 your helpers.

10 Yet she was carried away,
She went into captivity;
m Her young children also were dashed to pieces
n At the head of every street;
They o cast lots for her honorable men,
And all her great men were bound in chains. 11 You also will be p drunk;
You will be hidden;
You also will seek refuge from the enemy. 12 All your strongholds are q fig trees with ripened figs:
If they are shaken,
They fall into the mouth of the eater. 13 Surely, r your people in your midst are women!
The gates of your land are wide open for your enemies;
Fire shall devour the s bars of your gates.

14 Draw your water for the siege!
t Fortify your strongholds!
Go into the clay and tread the mortar!
Make strong the brick kiln! 15 There the fire will devour you,
The sword will cut you off;
It will eat you up like a u locust.
Make yourself many - like the locust!
Make yourself many - like the swarming locusts! 16 You have multiplied your v merchants more than the stars of heaven.
The locust plunders and flies away.

17 w Your commanders are like swarming locusts,
And your generals like great grasshoppers,
Which camp in the hedges on a cold day;
When the sun rises they flee away,
And the place where they are is not known.

18 x Your shepherds slumber, O y king of Assyria;
Your nobles rest in the dust.
Your people are z scattered on the mountains,
And no one gathers them. 19 Your injury has no healing,
a Your wound is severe.
b All who hear news of you
Will clap their hands over you,
For upon whom has not your wickedness passed continually?

  1. Cross References
    Ezekiel 22:2
    Now, son of man, will you judge, will you judge the bloody city? Yes, show her all her abominations!
    Ezekiel 22:3
    Then say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "The city sheds blood in her own midst, that her time may come; and she makes idols within herself to defile herself.
    Ezekiel 24:6 - 9
    Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: "Woe to the bloody city, To the pot whose scum is in it, And whose scum is not gone from it! Bring it out piece by piece, On which no lot has fallen.
    Habakkuk 2:12
    Woe to him who builds a town with bloodshed, Who establishes a city by iniquity!
  2. Cross References
    Isaiah 47:9 - 12
    But these two things shall come to you In a moment, in one day: The loss of children, and widowhood. They shall come upon you in their fullness Because of the multitude of your sorceries, For the great abundance of your enchantments.
    Revelation 18:2
    And he cried mightily with a loud voice, saying, "Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird!
    Revelation 18:3
    "For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury."
  3. Cross References
    Jeremiah 50:31
    Behold, I am against you, O most haughty one!" says the Lord GOD of hosts; "For your day has come, The time that I will punish you.
    Ezekiel 26:3
    Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: 'Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and will cause many nations to come up against you, as the sea causes its waves to come up.
    Nahum 2:13
    "Behold, I am against you," says the LORD of hosts, "I will burn your chariots in smoke, and the sword shall devour your young lions; I will cut off your prey from the earth, and the voice of your messengers shall be heard no more."
  4. Cross References
    Isaiah 47:2
    Take the millstones and grind meal. Remove your veil, Take off the skirt, Uncover the thigh, Pass through the rivers.
    Isaiah 47:3
    Your nakedness shall be uncovered, Yes, your shame will be seen; I will take vengeance, And I will not arbitrate with a man.
    Jeremiah 13:26
    Therefore I will uncover your skirts over your face, That your shame may appear.
  5. Cross References
    Nahum 1:14
    The LORD has given a command concerning you: "Your name shall be perpetuated no longer. Out of the house of your gods I will cut off the carved image and the molded image. I will dig your grave, For you are vile.
  6. Cross References
    Hebrews 10:33
    Partly while you were made a spectacle both by reproaches and tribulations, and partly while you became companions of those who were so treated.
  7. Cross References
    Revelation 18:10
    "standing at a distance for fear of her torment, saying, 'Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! For in one hour your judgment has come.'
  8. Cross References
    Jonah 3:3
    So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a three-day journey in extent.
    Jonah 4:11
    "And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left - and much livestock?"
  9. Cross References
    Isaiah 51:19
    These two things have come to you; Who will be sorry for you? - Desolation and destruction, famine and sword - By whom will I comfort you?
    Jeremiah 15:5
    For who will have pity on you, O Jerusalem? Or who will bemoan you? Or who will turn aside to ask how you are doing?
  10. Cross References
    Amos 6:2
    Go over to Calneh and see; And from there go to Hamath the great; Then go down to Gath of the Philistines. Are you better than these kingdoms? Or is their territory greater than your territory?
  11. Cross References
    Jeremiah 46:25
    The LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, says: "Behold, I will bring punishment on Amon of No, and Pharaoh and Egypt, with their gods and their kings - Pharaoh and those who trust in him.
    Ezekiel 30:14 - 16
    I will make Pathros desolate, Set fire to Zoan, And execute judgments in No.
  12. Cross References
    Genesis 10:6
    The sons of Ham were Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan.
    Jeremiah 46:9
    Come up, O horses, and rage, O chariots! And let the mighty men come forth: The Ethiopians and the Libyans who handle the shield, And the Lydians who handle and bend the bow.
    Ezekiel 27:10
    Those from Persia, Lydia, and Libya Were in your army as men of war; They hung shield and helmet in you; They gave splendor to you.
  13. Cross References
    Psalms 137:9
    Happy the one who takes and dashes Your little ones against the rock!
    Isaiah 13:16
    Their children also will be dashed to pieces before their eyes; Their houses will be plundered And their wives ravished.
    Hosea 13:16
    Samaria is held guilty, For she has rebelled against her God. They shall fall by the sword, Their infants shall be dashed in pieces, And their women with child ripped open.
  14. Cross References
    Lamentations 2:19
    "Arise, cry out in the night, At the beginning of the watches; Pour out your heart like water before the face of the Lord. Lift your hands toward Him For the life of your young children, Who faint from hunger at the head of every street."
  15. Cross References
    Joel 3:3
    They have cast lots for My people, Have given a boy as payment for a harlot, And sold a girl for wine, that they may drink.
  16. Cross References
    Isaiah 49:26
    I will feed those who oppress you with their own flesh, And they shall be drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine. All flesh shall know That I, the LORD, am your Savior, And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.
    Jeremiah 25:27
    "Therefore you shall say to them, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: "Drink, be drunk, and vomit! Fall and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you."'
    Nahum 1:10
    For while tangled like thorns, And while drunken like drunkards, They shall be devoured like stubble fully dried.
  17. Cross References
    Revelation 6:12
    I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood.
    Revelation 6:13
    And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind.
  18. Cross References
    Isaiah 19:16
    In that day Egypt will be like women, and will be afraid and fear because of the waving of the hand of the LORD of hosts, which He waves over it.
    Jeremiah 50:37
    A sword is against their horses, Against their chariots, And against all the mixed peoples who are in her midst; And they will become like women. A sword is against her treasures, and they will be robbed.
    Jeremiah 51:30
    The mighty men of Babylon have ceased fighting, They have remained in their strongholds; Their might has failed, They became like women; They have burned her dwelling places, The bars of her gate are broken.
  19. Cross References
    Psalms 147:13
    For He has strengthened the bars of your gates; He has blessed your children within you.
    Jeremiah 51:30
    The mighty men of Babylon have ceased fighting, They have remained in their strongholds; Their might has failed, They became like women; They have burned her dwelling places, The bars of her gate are broken.
  20. Cross References
    Nahum 2:1
    He who scatters has come up before your face. Man the fort! Watch the road! Strengthen your flanks! Fortify your power mightily.
  21. Cross References
    Joel 1:4
    What the chewing locust left, the swarming locust has eaten; What the swarming locust left, the crawling locust has eaten; And what the crawling locust left, the consuming locust has eaten.
  22. Cross References
    Revelation 18:3
    "For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury."
    Revelation 18:11 - 19
    And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise anymore:
  23. Cross References
    Revelation 9:7
    The shape of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle. On their heads were crowns of something like gold, and their faces were like the faces of men.
  24. Cross References
    Exodus 15:16
    Fear and dread will fall on them; By the greatness of Your arm They will be as still as a stone, Till Your people pass over, O LORD, Till the people pass over Whom You have purchased.
    Psalms 76:5
    The stouthearted were plundered; They have sunk into their sleep; And none of the mighty men have found the use of their hands.
    Psalms 76:6
    At Your rebuke, O God of Jacob, Both the chariot and horse were cast into a dead sleep.
    Isaiah 56:10
    His watchmen are blind, They are all ignorant; They are all dumb dogs, They cannot bark; Sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.
    Jeremiah 51:57
    And I will make drunk Her princes and wise men, Her governors, her deputies, and her mighty men. And they shall sleep a perpetual sleep And not awake," says the King, Whose name is the LORD of hosts.
  25. Cross References
    Jeremiah 50:18
    Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: "Behold, I will punish the king of Babylon and his land, As I have punished the king of Assyria.
    Ezekiel 31:3
    Indeed Assyria was a cedar in Lebanon, With fine branches that shaded the forest, And of high stature; And its top was among the thick boughs.
  26. Cross References
    1 Kings 22:17
    Then he said, "I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd. And the LORD said, 'These have no master. Let each return to his house in peace.'
    Isaiah 13:14
    It shall be as the hunted gazelle, And as a sheep that no man takes up; Every man will turn to his own people, And everyone will flee to his own land.
  27. Cross References
    Jeremiah 46:11
    Go up to Gilead and take balm, O virgin, the daughter of Egypt; In vain you will use many medicines; You shall not be cured.
    Micah 1:9
    For her wounds are incurable. For it has come to Judah; It has come to the gate of My people - To Jerusalem.
  28. Cross References
    Job 27:23
    Men shall clap their hands at him, And shall hiss him out of his place.
    Lamentations 2:15
    All who pass by clap their hands at you; They hiss and shake their heads At the daughter of Jerusalem: " Is this the city that is called 'The perfection of beauty, The joy of the whole earth'?
    Zephaniah 2:15
    This is the rejoicing city That dwelt securely, That said in her heart, "I am it, and there is none besides me." How has she become a desolation, A place for beasts to lie down! Everyone who passes by her Shall hiss and shake his fist.
New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
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