² Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.

¹¹ Out of that land he went forth into Assyria, and builded Nineveh, and Rehoboth-ir, and Calah,

¹ The burden of Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.

⁵ for her sins have reached even unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.

¹³ And he will stretch out his hand against the north, and destroy Assyria, and will make Nineveh a desolation, and dry like the wilderness.

¹⁴ And herds shall lie down in the midst of her, all the beasts of the nations: both the pelican and the porcupine shall lodge in the capitals thereof; `their' voice shall sing in the windows; desolation shall be in the thresholds: for he hath laid bare the cedar-work.

¹⁵ This is the joyous city that dwelt carelessly, that said in her heart, I am, and there is none besides me: how is she become a desolation, a place for beasts to lie down in! every one that passeth by her shall hiss, and wag his hand.

¹¹ and should not I have regard for Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?

² Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee.

¹ Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and declare unto my people their transgression, and to the house of Jacob their sins.

³⁶ So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh.

²⁰ And Jehovah said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous;

²¹ I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.

¹ He that dasheth in pieces is come up against thee: keep the fortress, watch the way, make thy loins strong, fortify thy power mightily.

² For Jehovah restoreth the excellency of Jacob, as the excellency of Israel; for the emptiers have emptied them out, and destroyed their vine-branches.

³ The shield of his mighty men is made red, the valiant men are in scarlet: the chariots flash with steel in the day of his preparation, and the cypress `spears' are brandished.

⁸ But as for me, I am full of power by the Spirit of Jehovah, and of judgment, and of might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin.

⁵ For thou art not sent to a people of a strange speech and of a hard language, but to the house of Israel;

⁶ not to many peoples of a strange speech and of a hard language, whose words thou canst not understand. Surely, if I sent thee to them, they would hearken unto thee.

⁷ But the house of Israel will not hearken unto thee; for they will not hearken unto me: for all the house of Israel are of hard forehead and of a stiff heart.

⁸ Behold, I have made thy face hard against their faces, and thy forehead hard against their foreheads.

⁹ As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy forehead: fear them not, neither be dismayed at their looks, though they are a rebellious house.

⁷ And thou shalt speak my words unto them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear; for they are most rebellious.

⁷ But Jehovah said unto me, Say not, I am a child; for to whomsoever I shall send thee thou shalt go, and whatsoever I shall command thee thou shalt speak.

⁸ Be not afraid because of them; for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith Jehovah.

⁹ Then Jehovah put forth his hand, and touched my mouth; and Jehovah said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth:

¹⁰ see, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down and to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.

⁶ and I said, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God; for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our guiltiness is grown up unto the heavens.

⁴ Behold, the hire of the laborers who mowed your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth out: and the cries of them that reaped have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.

¹⁸ yea and before governors and kings shall ye be brought for my sake, for a testimony to them and to the Gentiles.