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¹ O bloody citie, stuffed throughout with falsehood, with extreme dealing, nor wilbe brought from spoyling.² The noyse of the whippe, the noyse of ratling of wheales, the praunsing of horses, and the iumping of charets:³ The horseman lifting vp both the glistering blade of the sword & also the shining speare, many wounded, many corpses, and no end of carcasses, they shall stumble at dead bodies.⁴ Because of the manyfolde fornication of the beautifull harlot, ful of charmes, that selles nations by the meanes of her whordome, and the people through her charminges.⁵ Lo I against thee sayth the Lorde of hoastes, and will turne vp thy skirtes ouer thy face, and wil shewe the gentiles thy fylth, and kingdomes thy shame:⁶ And will cast vpon thee abominable filth, and wil bring thee downe, and wil make thee as vile as doung.⁷ And it shall come to passe that all that shall behold thee, shall flee from thee, and shall say, Niniue is destroyed, and who is greeued therwith? from whence shall I seke out comforters for thee?

⁸ Wilt thou count thy selfe better then Alexandria the great, that was scituate amonges the riuers, compassed round about with water, whose fortresse was the sea [and had] her wall from the sea?⁹ Ethiopia and Egypt [were thy] strength, and there was none end [of ayde,] Phut and Lubim were thy helpers.¹⁰ Notwithstanding she passed away, she went into captiuitie, her children also were dashed in peeces in the top of all the streetes: for her horrible men they cast lottes, and all her great states they chayned in fetters.¹¹ And thou [also] shalt be drunke [with trouble] thou shalt be hyd: thou also shalt seke after strength against thine enemie.¹² All thy strong aydes [are as] figge trees with the first ripe figges: if they be stirred, they fal into the mouth of the eater.¹³ Behold thy men [are as baren] women in the middest of thee, the gates of thy lande shalbe set wyde open to thine enemies, fire hath deuoured thy barres.¹⁴ Drawe thee water for the siege, strengthen thy fortes, go into the clay, treade the morter, make strong the brickyll.¹⁵ There the fire shall deuoure thee, the sword shall cut thee of, shall deuoure as the locust, though [thou] be multiplied as the locust, though thou be as many as the grashopper.¹⁶ Thou hast increased thy marchauntes as the starres of heauen, the locust spoyleth, and fleeth away.¹⁷ Thy princes are as grashoppers, and thy rulers as great locustes, they swarme in hedges in cold weather, the sunne ariseth and they flee, and the place where they were is not knowen.¹⁸ Thy sheepheardes O king of Assur slumber, thy noble men shall dwell [in death] thy people is scattered vpon the mountaynes, & there is none to gather them together.¹⁹ Thy wound [shall] not be healed, thy plague is great, all that heare of thee, clap their handes: For to whom hath not thy euil dealing pearsed continually?