The oracle against Nineveh; ¹  the book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite: ² 

Her conquerors cry out: ¹  “Plunder the silver! Plunder the gold!” There is no end to the treasure; riches of every kind of precious thing.

Woe to the city guilty of bloodshed! ¹  She is full of lies; ²  she is filled with plunder; ³  she has hoarded her spoil! ⁴ 

For the Lord will restore ¹  the majesty ²  of Jacob, as well as ³  the majesty of Israel, though ⁴  their enemies have plundered them ⁵  and have destroyed their fields. ⁶ 

The shields of his warriors are dyed red; ¹  the mighty soldiers are dressed in scarlet garments. ²  The metal fittings ³  of the chariots ⁴  shine like ⁵  fire ⁶  on the day of battle; ⁷  the soldiers brandish ⁸  their spears. ⁹ 

Your warriors will be like women in your midst; the gates of your land will be wide open ¹  to your enemies; fire will consume ²  the bars of your gates. ³ 

Where now is the den of the lions, ¹  the feeding place ²  of the young lions, where ³  the lion, lioness, ⁴  and lion cub once prowled ⁵  and no one disturbed them? ⁶ 

But with an overwhelming flood ¹  he will make a complete end of Nineveh; ²  he will drive ³  his enemies into darkness.

The Lord is good ¹  – indeed, ²  he is a fortress ³  in time of distress, ⁴  and he protects ⁵  those who seek refuge ⁶  in him.

Increase ¹  your merchants more than the stars of heaven! They are like ²  the young locust which sheds ³  its skin and flies away.

Surely they will be totally consumed ¹  like ²  entangled thorn bushes, ³  like the drink of drunkards, ⁴  like very ⁵  dry stubble.

The charioteers ¹  will charge ahead; ²  their swords ³  will flash ⁴  and their spears ⁵  will glimmer! ⁶  There will be many people slain; ⁷  there will be piles of the dead, and countless casualties ⁸  – so many that people ⁹  will stumble over the corpses.

All your fortifications will be like fig trees ¹  with first-ripe fruit: ²  If they are shaken, ³  their figs ⁴  will fall ⁵  into the mouth of the eater! ⁶ 

Nineveh was like a pool ¹  of water ²  throughout her days, ³  but now ⁴  her people ⁵  are running away; ⁶  she cries out: ⁷  “Stop! Stop!” – but no one turns back. ⁸ 

He shouts a battle cry ¹  against the sea ²  and makes it dry up; ³  he makes all the rivers ⁴  run dry. Bashan and Carmel wither; ⁵  the blossom of Lebanon withers.

Your shepherds ¹  are sleeping, O king of Assyria! Your officers ²  are slumbering! ³  Your people are scattered like sheep ⁴  on the mountains and there is no one to regather them!

The Lord has issued a decree against you: ¹  “Your dynasty will come to an end. ²  I will destroy the idols and images in the temples of your gods. I will desecrate ³  your grave – because you are accursed!” ⁴ 

Yet she went into captivity as an exile; ¹  even her infants were smashed to pieces ²  at the head of every street. They cast lots ³  for her nobility; ⁴  all her dignitaries were bound with chains.

Your courtiers ¹  are like locusts, your officials ²  are like a swarm of locusts! They encamp in the walls on a cold day, yet when the sun rises, they ³  fly away; ⁴  and no one knows where they ⁵  are. ⁶ 

You are no more secure ¹  than Thebes ²  – she was located on the banks of the Nile; the waters surrounded her, her ³  rampart ⁴  was the sea, the water ⁵  was her wall.