116 lines
2.7 KiB
Markdown
116 lines
2.7 KiB
Markdown
Nineveh's Downfall
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# Chapter 3
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1. Woe to the city of blood,
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totally deceitful,
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full of plunder,
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never without prey.
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2. The crack of the whip
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and rumble of the wheel,
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galloping horse
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and jolting chariot!
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3. Charging horseman,
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flashing sword,
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shining spear;
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heaps of slain,
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mounds of corpses,
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dead bodies without end--
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they stumble over their dead.
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4. Because of the continual prostitution of the prostitute,
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the attractive mistress of sorcery,
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who treats nations and clans like merchandise
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by her prostitution and sorcery,
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5. I am against you.
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This is the declaration of the Lord of Armies.
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I will lift your skirts over your face
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and display your nakedness to nations,
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your shame to kingdoms.
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6. I will throw filth on you
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and treat you with contempt;
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I will make a spectacle of you.
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7. Then all who see you will recoil from you, saying,
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"Nineveh is devastated;
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who will show sympathy to her?"
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Where can I find anyone to comfort you?
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8. Are you better than Thebes
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that sat along the Nile
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with water surrounding her,
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whose rampart was the sea,
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the river her wall?
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9. Cush and Egypt were her endless source of strength;
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Put and Libya
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were among her allies.
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10. Yet she became an exile;
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she went into captivity.
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Her children were also dashed to pieces
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at the head of every street.
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They cast lots for her dignitaries,
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and all her nobles were bound in chains.
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11. You also will become drunk;
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you will hide.
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You also will seek refuge from the enemy.
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12. All your fortresses are fig trees
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with figs that ripened first;
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when shaken, they fall--
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right into the mouth of the eater!
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13. Look, your troops are like women among you;
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your land's city gates
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are wide open to your enemies.
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Fire will devour the bars of your gates.
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14. Draw water for the siege;
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strengthen your fortresses.
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Step into the clay and tread the mortar;
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take hold of the brick-mold!
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15. The fire will devour you there;
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the sword will cut you down.
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It will devour you like the young locust.
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Multiply yourselves like the young locust;
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multiply like the swarming locust!
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16. You have made your merchants
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more numerous than the stars of the sky.
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The young locust strips the land
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and flies away.
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17. Your court officials are like the swarming locust,
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and your scribes like clouds of locusts,
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which settle on the walls on a cold day;
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when the sun rises, they take off,
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and no one knows where they are.
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18. King of Assyria, your shepherds slumber;
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your officers sleep.
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Your people are scattered across the mountains
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with no one to gather them together.
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19. There is no remedy for your injury;
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your wound is severe.
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All who hear the news about you
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will clap their hands because of you,
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for who has not experienced
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your constant cruelty?
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