{"1":{"verses":{"1":"This is the burden against Nineveh, the book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite:","2":"The LORD is a jealous and avenging God; the LORD is avenging and full of wrath. The LORD takes vengeance on His foes and reserves wrath for His enemies.","3":"The LORD is slow to anger and great in power; the LORD will by no means leave the guilty unpunished. His path is in the whirlwind and storm, and clouds are the dust beneath His feet.","4":"He rebukes the sea and dries it up; He makes all the rivers run dry. Bashan and Carmel wither, and the flower of Lebanon wilts.","5":"The mountains quake before Him, and the hills melt away; the earth trembles at His presence — the world and all its dwellers.","6":"Who can withstand His indignation? Who can endure His burning anger? His wrath is poured out like fire; even rocks are shattered before Him.","7":"The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of distress; He cares for those who trust in Him.","8":"But with an overwhelming flood He will make an end of Nineveh and pursue His enemies into darkness.","9":"Whatever you plot against the LORD, He will bring to an end. Affliction will not rise up a second time.","10":"For they will be entangled as with thorns and consumed like the drink of a drunkard — like stubble that is fully dry.","11":"From you, O Nineveh, comes forth a plotter of evil against the LORD, a counselor of wickedness.","12":"This is what the LORD says: Though they are allied and numerous, yet they will be cut down and pass away. Though I have afflicted you, O Judah, I will afflict you no longer.","13":"For I will now break their yoke from your neck and tear away your shackles.","14":"The LORD has issued a command concerning you, O Nineveh: There will be no descendants to carry on your name. I will cut off the carved image and cast idol from the house of your gods; I will prepare your grave, for you are contemptible.","15":"Look to the mountains — the feet of one who brings good news, who proclaims peace! Celebrate your feasts, O Judah; fulfill your vows. For the wicked will never again march through you; they will be utterly cut off."},"superscription":null,"stanza":[]},"2":{"verses":{"1":"One who scatters advances against you, O Nineveh. Guard the fortress! Watch the road! Brace yourselves! Summon all your strength!","2":"For the LORD will restore the splendor of Jacob like the splendor of Israel, though destroyers have laid them waste and ruined the branches of their vine.","3":"The shields of his mighty men are red; the valiant warriors are dressed in scarlet. The fittings of the chariots flash like fire on the day they are prepared, and the spears of cypress have been brandished.","4":"The chariots dash through the streets; they rush around the plazas, appearing like torches, darting about like lightning.","5":"He summons his nobles; they stumble as they advance. They race to its wall; the protective shield is set in place.","6":"The river gates are thrown open and the palace collapses.","7":"It is decreed that the city be exiled and carried away; her maidservants moan like doves, and beat upon their breasts.","8":"Nineveh has been like a pool of water throughout her days, but now it is draining away. Stop! Stop!” they cry, but no one turns back.","9":"Plunder the silver! Plunder the gold! There is no end to the treasure, an abundance of every precious thing.","10":"She is emptied! Yes, she is desolate and laid waste! Hearts melt, knees knock, bodies tremble, and every face grows pale!","11":"Where is the lions’ lair or the feeding ground of the young lions, where the lion and lioness prowled with their cubs, with nothing to frighten them away?","12":"The lion mauled enough for its cubs and strangled prey for the lioness. It filled its dens with the kill, and its lairs with mauled prey.","13":"Behold, I am against you, declares the LORD of Hosts. I will reduce your chariots to cinders, and the sword will devour your young lions. I will cut off your prey from the earth, and the voices of your messengers will no longer be heard."},"superscription":null,"stanza":[]},"3":{"verses":{"1":"Woe to the city of blood, full of lies, full of plunder, never without prey.","2":"The crack of the whip, the rumble of the wheel, galloping horse and bounding chariot!","3":"Charging horseman, flashing sword, shining spear; heaps of slain, mounds of corpses, dead bodies without end — they stumble over their dead —","4":"because of the many harlotries of the harlot, the seductive mistress of sorcery, who betrays nations by her prostitution and clans by her witchcraft.","5":"Behold, I am against you, declares the LORD of Hosts. I will lift your skirts over your face. I will show your nakedness to the nations and your shame to the kingdoms.","6":"I will pelt you with filth and treat you with contempt; I will make a spectacle of you.","7":"Then all who see you will recoil from you and say, Nineveh is devastated; who will grieve for her? Where can I find comforters for you?","8":"Are you better than Thebes, stationed by the Nile with water around her, whose rampart was the sea, whose wall was the water?","9":"Cush and Egypt were her boundless strength; Put and Libya were her allies.","10":"Yet she became an exile; she went into captivity. Her infants were dashed to pieces at the head of every street. They cast lots for her dignitaries, and all her nobles were bound in chains.","11":"You too will become drunk; you will go into hiding and seek refuge from the enemy.","12":"All your fortresses are fig trees with the first ripe figs; when shaken, they fall into the mouth of the eater!","13":"Look at your troops — they are like your women! The gates of your land are wide open to your enemies; fire consumes their bars.","14":"Draw your water for the siege; strengthen your fortresses. Work the clay and tread the mortar; repair the brick kiln!","15":"There the fire will devour you; the sword will cut you down and consume you like a young locust. Make yourself many like the young locust; make yourself many like the swarming locust!","16":"You have multiplied your merchants more than the stars of the sky. The young locust strips the land and flies away.","17":"Your guards are like the swarming locust, and your scribes like clouds of locusts that settle on the walls on a cold day. When the sun rises, they fly away, and no one knows where.","18":"O king of Assyria, your shepherds slumber; your officers sleep. Your people are scattered on the mountains with no one to gather them.","19":"There is no healing for your injury; your wound is severe. All who hear the news of you applaud your downfall, for who has not experienced your constant cruelty?"},"superscription":null,"stanza":[]}}