¹ Woe to the city of bloods^*! All of her is full of denial^* and rapine; the prey departs not;

² the voice of a whip, and the voice of the quaking of the wheels, and of the trotting horses, and of the skipping chariots.

³ The horseman makes both the flame of the sword and the lightning of the spear to go·​·up; and there is a multitude of slain, and a heavy heap of corpses, and no end of bodies—they stumble on^◦ their bodies—

⁴ from the multitude of the harlotries of the harlot of good grace^*, the mistress^◦ of sorceries, who sells nations by her harlotries, and families by her sorceries.

⁵ Behold, I^◦ am against^▵ thee, says^◦ Jehovah of Armies; and I will reveal thy skirts on thy faces, and I will cause nations to see thy nakedness, and kingdoms thy disgrace.

⁶ And I will cast detestable things on thee, and disparage thee, and will set thee as something to·​·see.

⁷ And it shall be, that all they who see thee shall flee·​·away from thee, and say, Nineveh is devastated; who will be·​·sorry for her? Whence^◦ shall I seek comforters for thee?

⁸ Art· thou ·better than No of Amon, that was sitting on^◦ the rivers^◦, with the waters all around her, whose rampart was the sea, and her wall was from the sea?

⁹ Cush was her strength^*, and Egypt, and there was no end of them; Put and Lubim were thy help.

¹⁰ Yet even she^◦ was exiled, she went^◦ into captivity; even her babes were dashed at the head of all the streets; and they cast^▵ lots upon her honored^◦ ones, and all her great ones were chained^◦ in shackles.

¹¹ Thou^◦ also shalt be·​·drunken; thou shalt be hidden^◦; thou^◦ also shalt seek a stronghold away from the enemy.

¹² All thy fortresses shall be like fig·​·trees with the firstfruits: if swayed, then they shall fall on the mouth of the eater.

¹³ Behold, thy people in the midst·​·of thee are women; the gates of thy land opening shall be opened to thine enemies; the fire shall eat·​·up thy bars.

¹⁴ Draw^◦ for thyself waters for the siege; make·​·firm thy fortifications; come into the mud and trample the clay; repair the brickkiln.

¹⁵ There shall the fire eat· thee ·up; the sword shall cut· thee ·off; it shall eat· thee ·up as the grub. Multiply thyself as the grub! Multiply thyself as the locust!

¹⁶ Thou hast multiplied thy merchants more than the stars of the heavens; the grub strips, and flies away.^*

¹⁷ Thy crowned^◦ are as the locust, and thine emperors as the locust^◦ of locusts^◦, which camp in the fences in the day of cold, but the sun rises^◦ and they flee·​·away, and their place is not known where^◦ they are.

¹⁸ Thy shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria; thy magnificent ones shall inhabit the dust; thy people are spread·​·out on the mountains, and no·​·one brings· them ·together.

¹⁹ There is no scar for healing^* thy breaking; thy blow^◦ is desperate^*; all who hear the rumor of thee shall clap^◦ the palm of the hands against thee, for upon whom has not thine evil passed continually?

⁸ Art thou better than populous No, that was situate among the rivers, that had the waters round about it, whose rampart was the sea, and her wall was from the sea?

⁹ Ethiopia and Egypt were her strength, and it was infinite; Put and Lubim were thy helpers.

¹⁰ Yet was she carried away, she went into captivity: her young children also were dashed in pieces at the top of all the streets: and they cast lots for her honourable men, and all her great men were bound in chains.

¹¹ Thou also shalt be drunken: thou shalt be hid, thou also shalt seek strength because of the enemy.

¹² All thy strong holds shall be like fig trees with the firstripe figs: if they be shaken, they shall even fall into the mouth of the eater.

¹³ Behold, thy people in the midst of thee are women: the gates of thy land shall be set wide open unto thine enemies: the fire shall devour thy bars.

¹⁴ Draw thee waters for the siege, fortify thy strong holds: go into clay, and tread the morter, make strong the brickkiln.

¹⁵ There shall the fire devour thee; the sword shall cut thee off, it shall eat thee up like the cankerworm: make thyself many as the cankerworm, make thyself many as the locusts.

¹⁶ Thou hast multiplied thy merchants above the stars of heaven: the cankerworm spoileth, and flieth away.

¹⁷ Thy crowned are as the locusts, and thy captains as the great grasshoppers, which camp in the hedges in the cold day, but when the sun ariseth they flee away, and their place is not known where they are.