2  ^cThe Lord is a jealous and avenging God;

the Lord is avenging and wrathful;

^dthe Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries

and ^ekeeps wrath for his enemies.

3  ^fThe Lord is slow to anger and ^ggreat in power,

and ^hthe Lord will by no means clear the guilty.

ⁱHis way is in whirlwind and storm,

and the clouds are the dust of his feet.

4  ^jHe rebukes the sea and makes it dry;

he dries up all the rivers;

^kBashan and ^lCarmel wither;

the bloom of ^kLebanon withers.

5  ^mThe mountains quake before him;

ⁿthe hills melt;

the earth heaves before him,

^othe world and all who dwell in it.

6  ^pWho can stand before his indignation?

Who can endure the heat of his anger?

His wrath ^qis poured out like fire,

and ^rthe rocks are broken into pieces by him.

7  ^sThe Lord is good,

^ta stronghold in the day of trouble;

^uhe knows those who take refuge in him.

8  But ^vwith an overflowing flood

he will make a complete end of the adversaries,¹

and ^wwill pursue his enemies into darkness.

9  What ^xdo you plot against the Lord?

^yHe will make a complete end;

trouble will not rise up a second time.

10  For they are ^zlike entangled thorns,

like drunkards as they drink;

^athey are consumed like stubble fully dried.

11  From you came one

^bwho plotted evil against the Lord,

a worthless counselor.

12  Thus says the Lord,

“Though they are at full strength and many,

^cthey will be cut down and pass away.

^dThough I have afflicted you,

I will afflict you no more.

13  And now ^eI will break his yoke from off you

and will burst your bonds apart.”

14  The Lord has given commandment about you:

^f“No more shall your name be perpetuated;

from ^gthe house of your gods I will cut off

the carved image and the metal image.

^hI will make your grave, ⁱfor you are vile.”

15  ^{2 j}Behold, upon the mountains, ^kthe feet of him

who brings good news,

who publishes peace!

^lKeep your feasts, O Judah;

^mfulfill your vows,

ⁿfor never again shall the worthless pass through you;

he is utterly cut off.

1  ^oThe scatterer has come up against you.

^pMan the ramparts;

watch the road;

dress for battle;³

collect all your strength.

2  For ^qthe Lord is restoring the majesty of Jacob

as the majesty of Israel,

for plunderers have plundered them

and ^rruined their branches.

3  The shield of his mighty men is red;

^shis soldiers are clothed in scarlet.

The chariots come with flashing metal

on the day he musters them;

the cypress spears are brandished.

4  ^tThe chariots race madly through the streets;

they rush to and fro through the squares;

they gleam like torches;

they dart like lightning.

5  He remembers ^uhis officers;

^vthey stumble as they go,

they hasten to the wall;

the siege tower⁴ is set up.

6  ^wThe river gates are opened;

the palace ^xmelts away;

7  its mistress⁵ is ^ystripped;⁶ she is carried off,

her slave girls ^zlamenting,

moaning like doves

and beating their breasts.

8  ^bNineveh is like a pool

whose waters run away.⁷

“Halt! Halt!” they cry,

but ^cnone turns back.

9  Plunder the silver,

plunder the gold!

There is no end of the treasure

or of the wealth of all precious things.

10  ^dDesolate! Desolation and ruin!

^eHearts melt and ^fknees tremble;

^ganguish is in all loins;

^hall faces grow pale!

11  Where is the lions’ den,

the feeding place of ⁱthe young lions,

where the lion and lioness went,

where his cubs were, with ^jnone to disturb?

12  ^kThe lion tore enough for his cubs

and ^lstrangled prey for his lionesses;

he filled his caves with prey

and his dens with torn flesh.

1  Woe to ^pthe bloody city,

all full of lies and plunder—

^qno end to the prey!

2  The crack of the whip, and ^rrumble of the wheel,

^sgalloping horse and ^tbounding chariot!

3  Horsemen charging,

flashing sword and ^uglittering spear,

^vhosts of slain,

heaps of corpses,

dead bodies without end—

they stumble over the bodies!

4  And all for the countless whorings of the ^wprostitute,

^xgraceful and of deadly charms,

who betrays nations with her whorings,

and peoples with her charms.

5  ^mBehold, I am against you,

declares the Lord of hosts,

and ^ywill lift up your skirts over your face;

and I will make nations look at ^zyour nakedness

and kingdoms at your shame.

6  I will throw filth at you

and ^atreat you with contempt

and make you ^ba spectacle.

7  And all who look at you ^cwill shrink from you and say,

“Wasted is ^dNineveh; ^ewho will grieve for her?”

^fWhere shall I seek comforters for you?

8  ^gAre you better than ^hThebes⁹

that sat ⁱby the Nile,

with water around her,

her rampart a sea,

and water her wall?

9  ^jCush was her strength;

Egypt too, and that without limit;

^kPut and the ^lLibyans were her¹⁰ helpers.

10  ^mYet she became an exile;

she went into captivity;

ⁿher infants were dashed in pieces

at the head of every street;

for her honored men ^olots were cast,

^pand all her great men were bound in chains.

11  ^qYou also will be drunken;

you will go into hiding;

^ryou will seek a refuge from the enemy.

12  All your fortresses are ^slike fig trees

with first-ripe figs—

if shaken they fall

into the mouth of the eater.

13  Behold, your troops

^tare women in your midst.

The gates of your land

are wide open to your enemies;

fire has devoured your bars.

14  ^uDraw water for the siege;

^rstrengthen your forts;

go into the clay;

tread the mortar;

take hold of the brick mold!

15  There will the fire devour you;

the sword will cut you off.

It will ^vdevour you ^wlike the locust.

Multiply yourselves ^wlike the locust;

multiply ^wlike the grasshopper!

16  You increased ^xyour merchants

more than the stars of the heavens.

^wThe locust spreads its wings and flies away.

17  Your ^zprinces are ^wlike grasshoppers,

^ayour scribes¹¹ like clouds of locusts

settling on the fences

in a day of cold—

when the sun rises, they fly away;

no one knows where they are.

18  Your shepherds ^bare asleep,

O king of Assyria;

^cyour nobles slumber.

Your people ^dare scattered on the mountains

with none to gather them.

19  There is no easing your hurt;

^eyour wound is grievous.

All who hear the news about you

^fclap their hands over you.

For ^gupon whom has not come

your unceasing evil?