1Woe to the bloody city ! it is all full of lies and rapine; the prey departeth not . 2The noise of the whip , and the noise of the rattling of wheels, and prancing horses , and bounding chariots , 3the horseman mounting, and the flashing sword , and the glittering spear , and a multitude of slain , and a great heap of corpses , and there is no end of the bodies ; they stumble upon their bodies ;— 4because of the multitude of the whoredoms of the well-favored harlot , the mistress of witchcrafts , that selleth nations through her whoredoms , and families through her witchcrafts .
The Siege and Fall of Nineveh
5Behold , I am against thee , saith Jehovah of hosts , and I will uncover thy skirts upon thy face ; and I will show the nations thy nakedness , and the kingdoms thy shame . 6And I will cast abominable filth upon thee , and make thee vile , and will set thee as a gazing-stock. 7And it shall come to pass , that all they that look upon thee shall flee from thee , and say, Nineveh is laid waste : who will bemoan her ? whence shall I seek comforters for thee ?
The Comparison to Thebes
8Art thou better than No-amon , that was situate among the rivers , that had the waters round about her ; whose rampart was the sea , and her wall was of the sea ? 9Ethiopia and Egypt were her strength , and it was infinite; Put and Lubim were thy helpers . 10Yet was she carried away , she went into captivity ; her young children also were dashed in pieces at the head of all the streets ; and they cast lots for her honorable men , and all her great men were bound in chains .
The Certainty of Judgment
11Thou also shalt be drunken ; thou shalt be hid ; thou also shalt seek a stronghold because of the enemy. 12All thy fortresses shall be like fig-trees with the first-ripe figs : if they be shaken , they fall into the mouth of the eater. 13Behold , thy people in the midst of thee are women; the gates of thy land are set wide open unto thine enemies: the fire hath devoured thy bars . 14Draw thee water for the siege ; strengthen thy fortresses ; go into the clay , and tread the mortar ; make strong the brickkiln . 15There shall the fire devour thee ; the sword shall cut thee off ; it shall devour thee like the canker-worm: make thyself many as the canker-worm; make thyself many as the locust . 16Thou hast multiplied thy merchants above the stars of heaven : the canker-worm ravageth, and fleeth away . 17Thy princes are as the locusts , and thy marshals as the swarms of grasshoppers , which encamp in the hedges in the cold day , but when the sun ariseth they flee away , and their place is not known where they are . 18Thy shepherds slumber , O king of Assyria; thy nobles are at rest ; thy people are scattered upon the mountains , and there is none to gather them . 19There is no assuaging of thy hurt ; thy wound is grievous : all that hear the report of thee clap their hands over thee ; for upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually ?