Study Desk

^(C1)Woe to the bloody city, completely full of lies and pillage; Her prey does not leave.

The ^(C1)sound of the whip, The sound of the roar of the wheel, Galloping horses And ^(F1)bounding chariots!

Horsemen charging, Swords flashing, ^(C1)spears gleaming, ^(C2)Many killed, a mass of corpses, And there is ^(C3)no end to the dead bodies— They stumble over ^(F1)the dead bodies!

All because of the ^(C1)many sexual acts of the prostitute, The charming one, the ^(C2)mistress of sorceries, Who ^(C3)sells nations by her sexual acts, And families by her sorceries.

"Behold, ^(C1)I am against you," declares the LORD of armies; "And I will ^(F1)(C2)lift up your skirts over your face, And ^(C3)show the nations your nakedness, And the kingdoms your shame.

-"I will ^(C1)throw filth on you And ^(C2)declare you worthless, And set you up as a ^(C3)spectacle.

-"And it will come about that all who see you Will ^(F1)shrink from you and say, 'Nineveh is devastated! ^(C1)Who will have sympathy for her?' Where shall I seek comforters for you?"

Are you better than ^(F1)(C1)No-amon, Which was situated by the ^(C2)canals of the Nile, With water surrounding her, Whose rampart was ^(F2)the sea, Whose wall consisted of ^(F2)the sea?

^(C1)Ethiopia was her might, Egypt too, without limits. ^(C2)Put and ^(C3)Lubim were among ^(F1)her helpers.

Yet she ^(C1)became an exile, She went into captivity; Also her ^(C2)small children were smashed to pieces ^(C3)At the head of every street; They ^(C4)cast lots for her honorable men, And all her great men were bound with shackles.

You too will become ^(C1)drunk, You will be ^(C2)hidden. You too will search for a refuge from the enemy.

All your fortifications are ^(C1)fig trees with ^(F1)(C2)ripe fruit— When shaken, they fall into the eater's mouth.

Behold, your people are ^(C1)women in your midst! The gates of your land are ^(C2)opened wide to your enemies; Fire consumes your gate bars.

^(C1)Draw for yourself water for a siege! ^(C2)Strengthen your fortifications! Go into the clay and tread the mortar! Take hold of the brick mold!

There ^(C1)fire will consume you, The sword will cut you down; It will ^(C2)consume you as the creeping locust consumes a crop. Multiply yourself like the creeping locust, Multiply yourself like the migratory locust.

You have made your ^(C1)traders more numerous than the stars of heaven— The creeping locust sheds its skin and flies away.

Your ^(C1)courtiers are like the migratory locust. Your ^(C2)officials are like a swarm of locusts Settling in the stone shelters on a cold day. The sun rises and they flee, And the place where they are is not known.

Your shepherds are ^(C1)sleeping, O ^(C2)king of Assyria; Your ^(C3)officers are lying down. Your people are ^(C4)scattered on the mountains And there is no one to gather them.

There is ^(C1)no relief for your collapse, Your ^(C2)wound is incurable. All who hear ^(F1)about you Will ^(C3)clap their hands over you, For upon whom has your evil not come continually?