1 Woe to the bloody city! It is all full of lies {and} violence; the prey departeth not.2 The crack of the whip, and the noise of the rattling of the wheels, and of the prancing horses, and of the bounding chariots!3 The horseman springing up, and the glitter of the sword, and the flash of the spear, and a multitude of slain, and a mass of carcases, and no end of corpses: they stumble over their corpses.4 -Because of the multitude of the fornications of the well-favoured harlot, mistress of sorceries, that selleth nations through her fornications, and families through her sorceries,5 behold, I am against thee, saith Jehovah of hosts; and I will uncover thy skirts upon thy face, and I will shew the nations thy nakedness, and the kingdoms thy shame.6 And I will cast abominable filth upon thee, and make thee vile, and will set thee as a gazing stock.7 And it shall come to pass, {that} all they that see thee shall flee from thee, and shall say, Nineveh is laid waste! Who will bemoan her? whence shall I seek comforters for thee?8 Art thou better than No-Amon, that was situate among the rivers, {that had} the waters round about her, whose rampart was the sea, {and} of the sea was her wall?9 Ethiopia was her strength, and Egypt, and it was infinite; Phut and the Libyans were her helpers.10 She too was carried away, she went into captivity: her infants also were dashed in pieces, at the top of all the streets; and they cast lots for her honourable men, and all her great men were bound with chains.11 Thou also shalt be drunken: thou shalt be hid; thou also shalt seek a refuge from the enemy.12 All thy strongholds are {like} fig-trees with the first-ripe figs: if they be shaken, they even fall into the mouth of the eater.13 Behold, thy people in the midst of thee are {as} women: the gates of thy land are set wide open unto thine enemies; the fire devoureth thy bars.14 Draw thee water for the siege, strengthen thy fortresses; go into the clay, and tread the mortar, make strong the brick-kiln.15 There shall the fire devour thee; the sword shall cut thee off; it shall devour thee like the cankerworm. Make thyself many as the cankerworm, make thyself many as the locust.16 Thou hast multiplied thy merchants more than the stars of the heavens; the cankerworm spreadeth himself out and flieth away.17 Thy chosen men are as the locusts, and thy captains as swarms of grasshoppers, which camp in the hedges in the cold day: when the sun ariseth they flee away, and their place is not known where they are.18 Thy shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria; thy nobles lie still; thy people are scattered upon the mountains, and no man gathereth them.19 There is no healing of thy breach; thy wound is grievous; all that hear the report of thee clap the hands over thee; for upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually?

1 Wee die bloedstad wat louter bedrog, vol geweld is, terwyl rowery nie ophou nie!2 Hoor, die sweep! En hoor, die gedreun van wiele! En perde wat jaag, en waens wat stamp!3 Ruiters op 'n galop en geglinster van swaarde en geblits van spiese! En 'n menigte wat verslaan is, en hope dooies en geen einde aan die lyke nie -- 'n mens struikel oor hulle lyke!4 Weens die veelheid van die hoererye van die hoer vol bevalligheid, 'n meesteres in towerkunste, wat nasies met haar hoererye verkoop het en volkstamme met haar towerkunste.5 Kyk, Ek het dit teen jou, spreek die HERE van die leërskare, en Ek sal jou slippe optel oor jou aangesig en nasies jou naaktheid laat sien en koninkryke jou skande.6 En Ek sal vuilgoed op jou gooi en jou aan minagting prysgee en van jou 'n skouspel maak,7 sodat elkeen wat jou sien, van jou af sal wegvlug en sê: Verwoes is Ninev,! Wie sal met haar medelyde hê? Waar sal ek troosters vir jou gaan soek?8 Is jy beter as No-Amon wat gelê het aan die Nylstrome, met waters rondom hom; wie se voorskans die groot water was, waters sy muur?9 Kus was sy krag en Egiptenaars sonder getal, Put,ërs en L¡biërs was jou tot hulp.10 Nogtans het dit as gevangene in ballingskap gegaan; nogtans is sy kinders by al die straathoeke verpletter, en oor sy edeles is die lot gewerp, en al sy groot manne is met kettings geboei.11 Ook jy sal dronk word, beneweld wees, ook jy sal 'n toevlug soek teen die vyand.12 Al jou vestings is vyebome met voorvye: as 'n mens skud, val hulle in die mond van die eter.13 Kyk, jou volk binne-in jou is soos vroue, die poorte van jou land is wyd oopgemaak vir jou vyande, die vuur het jou grendels verteer.14 Skep vir jou water vir die beleëring, versterk jou vestings, gaan in die modder en trap klei, gryp die steenvorm.15 Daar sal die vuur jou verteer, die swaard jou uitroei, jou verslind net soos voetgangersprinkane. Al vermenigvuldig jy soos voetgangers, al vermenigvuldig jy soos treksprinkane;16 al het jy jou koopmans meer gemaak as die sterre aan die hemel -- die voetgangers vervel en vlieg weg!17 Jou wagters is soos treksprinkane, en jou amptenare is soos swerms sprinkane wat op 'n koue dag op die heining sit -- die son breek deur, en hulle vlieg weg, en niemand weet waar hulle beland het nie.18 Jou herders sluimer, o koning van Assur, jou edeles lê daar, jou volk is op die berge verstrooi, en niemand versamel hulle nie.19 Daar is geen herstel vir jou verbreking nie; jou wond is ongeneeslik; almal wat die tyding omtrent jou verneem, slaan hulle hande saam oor jou; want oor wie het jou boosheid nie voortdurend heengegaan nie?