The LORD is a jealous God, and a taker of vengeance: yea, a taker of vengeance is the LORD, and wrathful. The LORD taketh vengeance of his enemies, and reserveth displeasure for his adversaries.

Full gracious is the LORD, and a stronghold in time of trouble. He knoweth them that put their trust in him:

The LORD suffereth long, he is of great power, and so innocent that he leaveth no man faultless before him. The LORD goeth forth in tempest and stormy weather; the clouds are the dust of his feet.

When he reproveth the sea, he drieth it up, and turneth all the floods to dry land. Bashan is desolate, Carmel and the pleasure of Lebanon wasteth away.

The mountains tremble for him, the hills consume. At the sight of him the earth quaketh: yea, the whole world, and all that dwell therein.

Who may endure before his wrath? Or who is able to abide his grim displeasure? His anger taketh on like fire, and the hard rocks burst in sunder before him.

when the flood runneth over, and destroyeth the place; and when the darkness followeth still upon his enemies.

What imagine ye against the LORD? He makes an utter end: ye shall not be troubled twice.

For like as the thorns that stick together, and as the dry straw, so shall the drunkards be consumed together, even when they be full.

There come out of thee such as Imagine mischief, and give ungracious counsel against the LORD.

Behold, upon the mountains come the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, and preacheth peace. O Judah, keep thy holidays, perform thy promises: for Belial shall come no more in thee, he is utterly rooted out.

Therefore thus sayeth the LORD, "Let them be as well prepared, yea and as many as they can, yet shall they be hewn down, and pass away. And as for thee, I will vex thee, but not utterly destroy thee;

But the LORD hath given a commandment concerning thee, that there shall come no more seed of thy name. The carved and casten Images will I root out of the house of thy God. Thy grave shall I prepare for thee, and thou shalt be confounded.

And now will I break his rod from thy back, and burst thy bonds in sunder."

And that for the great and manifold whoredom of the fair and beautiful harlot: which is a mistress of witchcraft, yea and selleth the people through her whoredom, and the nations through her witchcraft.

The shield of his giants glistereth, his men of war are clothed in purple. His chariots are as fire when he maketh him forward, his archers are well decked and trimmed.

Behold, I will upon thee, sayeth the LORD of Hosts, and will pull thy clothes over thy head: that I may show thy nakedness among the Heathen, and thy shame among the kingdoms.

I will cast dirt upon thee, to make thee be abhorred, and a gazing stock.

Yea, all they that look upon thee shall start back, and say, "Nineveh is destroyed!" Who will have pity upon thee? Where shall I seek one to comfort thee?

The chariots roll upon the streets, and welter in the highways. They are to look upon like cressettes of fire, and go swiftly as the lightning.

Art thou better than the great city of Alexandria: that lay in the waters, and had the waters round about it? Which was strongly fenced and walled with the sea?

Ethiopia and Egypt were her strength, and that exceedingly great above measure. Put and Libya were her helpers,

The water ports shall be opened, and the king's palace shall fall.

Woe to that bloodthirsty city, which is all full of lies and robbery, and will not leave off from ravishing.

Nineveh is like a pool full of water, but then shall they be fain to flee. "Stand, stand," shall they cry, and there shall not one turn back.

When he doth but warn his giants, they all in their array, and hastily they climb up the walls: yea, the engines of the war are prepared already.

yet was she driven away, and brought into captivity: her young children were smitten down at the head of every street, the lots were cast for the most ancient men in her, and all her mighty men were bound in chains.

The scatterer shall come up against thee, and lay siege to the castle. Look thou well to the streets, make thy loins strong, arm thyself with all thy might:

Thus must she be spoiled, emptied and clean stripped out: that their hearts may be melted away, their knees tremble, all their loins be weak, and their faces black as a pot.

Even so shalt thou also be drunken, and hide thyself, and seek some help against thine enemy.

The queen herself shall be led away captive, and her gentlewomen shall mourn as the doves, and groan within their hearts.

Away with the silver, away with the gold: for here is no end of treasure. There shall be a multitude of all manner costly ornaments.

Thy wound cannot be hid, thy plague is so sore. All they that hear this of thee, shall clap their hands over thee. For what is he, to whom thou hast not always been doing hurt?

But the lion spoiled enough for his young ones, and devoured for his lioness: he filled his dens with his prey, and his dwelling place with that he had ravished.

Where is now the dwelling of the lions, and the pasture of the lion's whelps? Where the lion and the lioness went with the whelps, and no man frayed them away?

for the LORD shall restore again the glory of Jacob, like as the glory of Israel. The destroyers have broken them down, and marred the wine branches.

Behold, thy people within thee are but women: the ports of thy land shall be open unto thine enemies, and the fire shall devour thy bars.

yet the fire shall consume thee, the sword shall destroy thee. Yea, as the locust doth, so shall it eat thee up. It shall fall heavily upon thee as the locusts, yea right heavily shall it fall upon thee, even as the grasshoppers.

All thy strong cities shall be like fig trees with ripe figs: which when a man shaketh, they fall into the mouth of the eater.

There the horsemen get up with naked swords, and glistering spears. There lieth a multitude slain, and a great heap of dead bodies. There is no end of dead corpses: yea, men fall upon their bodies.

Thy merchants have been numbered with the stars of heaven: but now shall they spread abroad as the locusts, and flee their way.

Behold, I will upon thee, sayeth the LORD of Hosts, and will set fire upon thy chariots that they shall smoke withal, and the sword shall devour thy young lions. I will make an end of thy spoiling from out of the earth, and the voice of thy messengers shall no more be heard.

Thy shepherds are asleep, O king of Assyria, thy worthies are laid down: thy people is scattered abroad upon the mountains, and no man gathereth them together again.

Thy lords are as the grasshoppers, and thy captains as the multitude of grasshoppers: which when they be cold, remain in the hedges: but when the Sun is up, they flee away, and no man can tell where they are become.

Draw water now against thou be besieged, make up thy strongholds, go into the clay, temper the mortar, make strong brick:

There a man may hear scourging, rushing, the noise of the wheels, the crying of the horses, and the rolling of the chariots.

This is the heavy burden of Nineveh, which Nahum of Elkosh did write, as he saw it.