3What sorrow awaits Nineveh, the city of murder and lies! She is crammed with wealth and is never without victims.H1945H1818H5892H4392H3585H6563H2964H41852Hear the crack of whips, the rumble of wheels! Horses’ hooves pound, and chariots clatter wildly.H6963H7752H6963H7494H212H1725H5483H7540H48183See the flashing swords and glittering spears as the charioteers charge past! There are countless casualties, heaps of bodies—so many bodies that people stumble over them.H6571H5927H3851H2719H1300H2595H7230H2491H3514H6297H7097H1472H3782H3782H14724All this because Nineveh, the beautiful and faithless city, mistress of deadly charms, enticed the nations with her beauty. She taught them all her magic, enchanting people everywhere.H7230H2183H2896H2580H2181H1172H3785H4376H1471H2183H4940H37855“I am your enemy!” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “And now I will lift your skirts and show all the earth your nakedness and shame.H5002H3068H6635H1540H7757H6440H7200H1471H4626H4467H70366I will cover you with filth and show the world how vile you really are.H7993H8251H5034H7760H72107All who see you will shrink back and say, ‘Nineveh lies in ruins. Where are the mourners?’ Does anyone regret your destruction?”H7200H5074H559H5210H7703H5110H370H1245H51628Are you any better than the city of Thebes, situated on the Nile River, surrounded by water? She was protected by the river on all sides, walled in by water.H3190H527H528H4996H3427H2975H4325H5439H2426H3220H2346H32209Ethiopia and the land of Egypt gave unlimited assistance. The nations of Put and Libya were among her allies.H3568H4714H6109H369H7097H6316H3864H583310Yet Thebes fell, and her people were led away as captives. Her babies were dashed to death against the stones of the streets. Soldiers threw dice to get Egyptian officers as servants. All their leaders were bound in chains.H1473H1980H7628H5768H7376H7218H2351H3032H1486H3513H1419H7576H213111And you, Nineveh, will also stagger like a drunkard. You will hide for fear of the attacking enemy.H7937H5956H1245H4581H34112All your fortresses will fall. They will be devoured like the ripe figs that fall into the mouths of those who shake the trees.H4013H8384H1061H5128H5307H6310H39813Your troops will be as weak and helpless as women. The gates of your land will be opened wide to the enemy and set on fire and burned.H5971H7130H802H8179H776H6605H6605H341H784H398H128014Get ready for the siege! Store up water! Strengthen the defenses! Go into the pits to trample clay, and pack it into molds, making bricks to repair the walls.H7579H4325H4692H2388H4013H935H2916H7429H2563H2388H440415But the fire will devour you; the sword will cut you down. The enemy will consume you like locusts, devouring everything they see. There will be no escape, even if you multiply like swarming locusts.H784H398H2719H3772H398H3218H3513H3218H3513H69716Your merchants have multiplied until they outnumber the stars. But like a swarm of locusts, they strip the land and fly away.H7235H7402H3556H8064H3218H6584H577417Your guards and officials are also like swarming locusts that crowd together in the hedges on a cold day. But like locusts that fly away when the sun comes up, all of them will fly away and disappear.H4502H697H2951H1462H2583H1448H7135H3117H8121H2224H5074H4725H3045H33518Your shepherds are asleep, O Assyrian king; your princes lie dead in the dust. Your people are scattered across the mountains with no one to gather them together.H7462H5123H4428H804H117H7931H5971H6335H2022H690819There is no healing for your wound; your injury is fatal. All who hear of your destruction will clap their hands for joy. Where can anyone be found who has not suffered from your continual cruelty?H3545H7667H4347H2470H8085H8088H8628H3709H7451H5674H8548
, situated on the Nile River, surrounded by water? She was protected by the river on all sides, walled in by water.H3190
