| 1 | Woe to the bloody city! It is all full of lies and robbery. Its victim never departs. | |
| 2 | The noise of a whip And the noise of rattling wheels, Of galloping horses, Of clattering chariots! | |
| 3 | Horsemen charge with bright sword and glittering spear. There is a multitude of slain, A great number of bodies, Countless corpses--They stumble over the corpses-- | |
| 4 | Because of the multitude of harlotries of the seductive harlot, The mistress of sorceries, Who sells nations through her harlotries, And families through her sorceries. | |
| 5 | "Behold, I am against you," says the LORD of hosts; "I will lift your skirts over your face, I will show the nations your nakedness, And the kingdoms your shame. | |
| 6 | I will cast abominable filth upon you, Make you vile, And make you a spectacle. | |
| 7 | It shall come to pass that all who look upon you Will flee from you, and say, 'Nineveh is laid waste! Who will bemoan her?' Where shall I seek comforters for you?" | |
| 8 | Are you better than No Amon That was situated by the River, That had the waters around her, Whose rampart was the sea, Whose wall was the sea? | |
| 9 | Ethiopia and Egypt were her strength, And it was boundless; Put and Lubim were your helpers. | |
| 10 | Yet she was carried away, She went into captivity; Her young children also were dashed to pieces At the head of every street; They cast lots for her honorable men, And all her great men were bound in chains. | |
| 11 | You also will be drunk; You will be hidden; You also will seek refuge from the enemy. | |
| 12 | All your strongholds are fig trees with ripened figs: If they are shaken, They fall into the mouth of the eater. | |
| 13 | Surely, your people in your midst are women! The gates of your land are wide open for your enemies; Fire shall devour the bars of your gates. | |
| 14 | Draw your water for the siege! Fortify your strongholds! Go into the clay and tread the mortar! Make strong the brick kiln! | |
| 15 | There the fire will devour you, The sword will cut you off; It will eat you up like a locust. Make yourself many--like the locust! Make yourself many--like the swarming locusts! | |
| 16 | You have multiplied your merchants more than the stars of heaven. The locust plunders and flies away. | |
| 17 | Your commanders are like swarming locusts, And your generals like great grasshoppers, Which camp in the hedges on a cold day; When the sun rises they flee away, And the place where they are is not known. | |
| 18 | Your shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria; Your nobles rest in the dust. Your people are scattered on the mountains, And no one gathers them. | |
| 19 | Your injury has no healing, Your wound is severe. All who hear news of you Will clap their hands over you, For upon whom has not your wickedness passed continually? | |