This book contains the account of Nahum foretelling about Nineveh and the Assyrian people being destroyed. We call this book

Nahum

1

1I am Nahum, from Elkosh village. This is a message about Nineveh city, the capital of Assyria that was given to me in a vision by Yahweh.

Yahweh is angry with the people of Nineveh

2Yahweh our God ◄is jealous/does not want people to worship any other god►.

He is very angry with those who worship other gods,

and he gets revenge [DOU] on all those who oppose him [DOU].

3Yahweh does not quickly become angry;

but he is very powerful,

and he will certainly punish [LIT] those who have done evil things [MTY].

He shows his power by sending whirlwinds and storms,

and clouds are like [MET] the dust stirred up by his feet.

4When he commands oceans and rivers to become dry,

they dry up.

He causes the grass in the fields in the Bashan region and on the slopes of Carmel Mountain to wither,

and causes the flowers in Lebanon to fade.

5When he appears, it is as though the mountains shake and the hills melt;

the earth quakes and the people on the earth tremble.

6There is no one [RHQ] who can resist him when he becomes extremely angry;

there is no one [RHQ] who can survive when his anger is very hot.

When he is very angry, it is as though his anger is like [SIM] a blazing fire,

and it is as though mountains are shattered into pieces.

7But he is good;

he protects us his people when we experience troubles.

He takes care of those who trust in him.

8But he will get rid of his enemies;

he will be to them like [MET] a flood that destroys everything.

He will chase his enemies

into the darkness of the place where the dead are.

9So, it is useless [RHQ] for you people of Nineveh to plot against Yahweh.

He will not need to strike you two times to destroy you;

he will destroy you by striking you only once.

10It will be as though his enemies are tangled in thorns,

and they will stagger like people who have drunk a lot of wine.

They will be burned up like [SIM] a fire completely burns up stubble/straw.

11In Nineveh city there was a man who advised people to do very wicked things to Yahweh.

12But this is what Yahweh says about you Israeli people:

“Although the people of Assyria have very many people and their army is very powerful,

they will be destroyed and will disappear.

I say to my people in Judah,

’I have already punished you,

but I will not punish you again.

13Now I will cause the people of Assyria to no longer control/oppress you [MET];

it will be as though I will tear off the shackles/chains on your hands and feet.”

14And this is what Yahweh also declares about you people of Nineveh:

“You will not have any descendants who will continue to have your family names.

And I will destroy all the statues of your gods

that were carved or formed in molds.

I will cause you to be killed and sent to your graves,

because you are vile/despicable!”

15You people of Judah, look! A messenger will be coming across the mountains,

and he [SYN] will be bringing good news to you.

He will be declaring that you will now have peace because Assyria will have been conquered.

So, celebrate your festivals,

and do what you solemnly promised to do when your enemies were threatening to attack you,

because your wicked enemies will not invade your country again,

because they will be completely destroyed.

2

Nineveh will be destroyed

1You people of [APO] Nineveh,

your enemies are coming to attack you.

So place guards on the tops of the walls around the city!

Guard the roads into the city!

Get ready to fight!

Gather your troops/soldiers [MTY] together!

2Even though enemy soldiers have destroyed the descendants of [MTY] Jacob,

Yahweh will cause them to be honored again.

Israel is like a grapevine that has been ruined,

but Israel will prosper again.

3The shields of the enemy soldiers who are coming to attack you will shine red as the sun shines on them,

and they will wear bright red uniforms.

The metal of their chariot wheels will flash when they line up before the battle,

and their soldiers will lift up their cypress/pine spears and wave them.

4Their chariots will dash through the streets of Nineveh

and rush furiously through the plazas.

Going as quick as lightning,

they will resemble flaming torches.

5Meanwhile, your king will summon his officers

who will stumble as they try to come quickly.

They will dash to the city wall,

holding their shields to protect themselves.

6But, the gates of the dams on the rivers will be thrown open by enemy soldiers,

and the flood will cause the palace to collapse.

7The queen will have her clothes stripped off her by enemy soldiers,

and her slave girls will moan like doves

and beat their breasts to show that they are very sad.

8The people will rush from Nineveh

like [SIM] water rushes from a broken dam.

The officials will shout, “Stop! Stop!”

but the people will not even look back as they run away.

9The enemy attackers say to each other, “Seize the silver!

Grab the gold!

There is a huge amount of very valuable things in this city,

more valuable things than anyone can count!”

10Soon everything valuable in the city will be seized or ruined.

People will be trembling, with the result that they will not be able to fight.

Their faces will all become pale.

11After that happens, people will say,

“What happened to [RHQ] that great city of Nineveh?

It was like [MET] a den full of young lions,

where the male and female lions lived and fed the young ones.

12The soldiers in Nineveh were like [MET] lions that killed or strangled other animals

and brought the meat to their dens.”

13The Commander of the armies of angels says to the people of Nineveh,

“I am opposed to you;

I will cause your chariots to be burned in fires and go up in smoke.

Your young men will be killed with swords.

Your soldiers will never again conquer other nations

and seize their valuable possessions.

Your messengers will never again take messages to other nations, demanding that their armies surrender to them.”

3

Nineveh will be punished

1Terrible things will happen to Nineveh,

that city that is full of people who murder [MTY] and lie.

The city is full of things that were seized from other countries by their soldiers;

their armies continually [LIT] have acted brutally towards people whom they conquered.

2But now listen to the enemy soldiers coming to attack Nineveh;

listen to them cracking their whips,

and listen to the rattle of their chariot wheels!

Listen to their galloping horses

and their chariots as they bounce along!

3Look at their flashing swords and glittering spears

as the horsemen race forward!

Many people of Nineveh will be killed;

there will be piles of corpses,

with the result that people will stumble over them.

4All that will happen because Nineveh is like [MET] a beautiful prostitute

who lures men to where they will be ruined;

Nineveh is a beautiful city

which has attracted/enticed people of other nations to come there.

The people of Nineveh taught those people of other nations rituals of magic,

and caused them to become their slaves.

5So the Commander of the armies of angels says to the people of Nineveh:

“I am your enemy,

and I will cause the people in other nations to see you completely humiliated

like [MET] women who have committed adultery are humiliated by having their skirts lifted high,

with the result that people can see their naked bodies.

6I will cause rubbish/garbage to be thrown at you;

I will show others that I despise you very much,

and I will cause you to be publicly ridiculed.

7All those who see you will turn their backs to you and say,

‘Nineveh is ruined,

but absolutely no one [RHQ] will mourn for it.’

No one will regret Nineveh being destroyed!”

The people of Nineveh will not be able to defend themselves

8Your city is certainly [RHQ] no safer than Thebes city was.

Thebes was an important city beside the Nile River;

the river was like [SIM] a wall that protected the city [DOU].

9The rulers of Ethiopia and Egypt helped Thebes;

there was no limit to their power.

The governments of the nearby countries of Put and Libya were also allies of Thebes.

10But Thebes was captured,

and its people were ◄exiled/forced to go to other countries►.

Their babies were dashed to pieces in the streets of the city.

Enemy soldiers ◄cast lots/threw small marked stones► to decide who would get each official in Thebes to become his slave.

All the leaders of Thebes were fastened/tied by chains.

11You people of Nineveh will similarly become dazed and drunk,

and you will search for places to hide

to escape from your enemies.

12Your enemies will cause the walls around your city to fall down

like [SIM] the first figs that fall from fig trees each year.

Your city will be captured easily, like [MET] figs that fall into the mouths [HYP] of those who shake the fig trees.

13Look at your soldiers!

They will be as weak/helpless as [MET] women!

The gates of your city will be opened wide

to allow your enemies to enter them,

and then the bars of those gates will be burned.

14Store up water now to use when your enemies surround the city!

Repair the forts!

Dig up clay and trample it to make it soft,

and put it into molds to make bricks to repair the walls!

15Nevertheless, your enemies will burn your city;

they will kill you with their swords;

they will kill you like [SIM] locusts destroy crops.

16In your city there are now very many merchants;

it seems that there are more of them than there are stars.

But when your city is being destroyed, those merchants will take the valuable things and disappear

like [SIM] locusts that strip the leaves from plants and then fly away.

17Your leaders are also like a swarm of [SIM] locusts [DOU]

that crowd together on the stone fences/walls on a cold day,

and then fly away when the sun comes up,

and no one knows where they have gone.

18O King of Assyria, your officials will all be dead [EUP];

your important people will lie down and rest forever.

Your people will be scattered over the mountains,

and there will no one to gather them together.

19You are like someone who has a wound that cannot be healed;

it will be a wound that causes him to die.

And all those who hear about what has happened to you will clap their hands joyfully.

They will say, “Everyone has [RHQ] suffered because he continually was very cruel to us.”