Read the Bible

¹ Doom to the crime capital!
Nineveh, city of murder
    and treachery,
² here is your fate—
cracking whips,
    churning wheels;
galloping horses,
    roaring chariots;
³ cavalry attacking,
    swords and spears flashing;
soldiers stumbling
    over piles of dead bodies.
⁴ You were nothing more
    than a prostitute
using your magical charms
and witchcraft
    to attract and trap nations.

⁵ But I, the Lord All-Powerful,
    am now your enemy.
I will pull up your skirt
and let nations and kingdoms
    stare at your nakedness.
⁶ I will cover you with garbage,
treat you like trash,
    and rub you in the dirt.
⁷ Everyone who sees you
    will turn away and shout,
"Nineveh is done for!
Is anyone willing to mourn
    or to give her comfort?"

⁸ Nineveh, do you feel safer
    than the city of Thebes?^[a]
The Nile River
    was its wall of defense.^[b]
9 Thebes trusted the mighty power
    of Ethiopia^[c] and Egypt;
the nations of Put^[d] and Libya
    were her allies.
¹⁰ But she was captured and taken
    to a foreign country.
Her children were murdered
    at every street corner.
The members of her royal family
    were auctioned off,
and her high officials
    were bound in chains.

¹¹ Nineveh, now it's your turn!
You will get drunk and try to hide
    from your enemy.
¹² Your fortresses are fig trees
    with ripe figs.
Merely shake the trees,
and fruit will fall
    into every open mouth.
¹³ Your army is weak.
Fire has destroyed the crossbars
    on your city gates;
now they stand wide open
    to your enemy.

¹⁴ Your city is under attack.
Haul in extra water!
    Strengthen your defenses!
Start making bricks!
    Stir the mortar!
¹⁵ You will still go up in flames
    and be cut down by swords
that will wipe you out
like wheat
    attacked by grasshoppers.
So, go ahead and increase
    like a swarm of locusts!^[e]

¹⁶ More merchants are in your city
than there are stars
    in the sky—
but they are like locusts
that eat everything,
    then fly away.
¹⁷ Your guards and your officials
    are swarms of locusts.
On a chilly day
    they settle on a fence,
but when the sun comes out,
they take off
    to who-knows-where.

¹⁸ King of Assyria,
your officials and leaders
    sleep the eternal sleep,
while your people are scattered
    in the mountains.
Yes, your people are sheep
    without a shepherd.
¹⁹ You're fatally wounded.
    There's no hope for you.
But everyone claps
    when they hear this news,
because your constant cruelty
    has caused them pain.