Nahum 1; Nahum 2; Nahum 3; Habakkuk 1; Habakkuk 2; Habakkuk 3

1 This is the message for the city of Nineveh. This is the book of the vision of Nahum, who was from the town of Elkosh.

2 The Lord is a jealous God who punishes; the Lord punishes and is filled with anger. The Lord punishes those who are against him, and he stays angry with his enemies.

3 The Lord does not become angry quickly, and his power is great. The Lord will not let the guilty go unpunished. Where the Lord goes, there are whirlwinds and storms, and the clouds are the dust beneath his feet.

4 He speaks to the sea and makes it dry; he dries up all the rivers. The areas of Bashan and Carmel dry up, and the flowers of Lebanon dry up.

5 The mountains shake in front of him, and the hills melt. The earth trembles when he comes; the world and all who live in it shake with fear.

6 No one can stay alive when he is angry; no one can survive his strong anger. His anger is poured out like fire; the rocks are smashed by him.

7 The Lord is good, giving protection in times of trouble. He knows who trusts in him.

8 But like a rushing flood, he will completely destroy Nineveh; he will chase his enemies until he kills them.

9 The Lord will completely destroy anyone making plans against him. Trouble will not come a second time.

10 Those people will be like tangled thorns or like people drunk from their wine; they will be burned up quickly like dry weeds.

11 Someone has come from Nineveh who makes evil plans against the Lord and gives wicked advice.

12 This is what the Lord says: "Although Assyria is strong and has many people, it will be defeated and brought to an end. Although I have made you suffer, Judah, I will make you suffer no more.

13 Now I will free you from their control and tear away your chains."

14 The Lord has given you this command, Nineveh: "You will not have descendants to carry on your name. I will destroy the idols and metal images that are in the temple of your gods. I will make a grave for you, because you are wicked."

15 Look, there on the hills, someone is bringing good news! He is announcing peace! Celebrate your feasts, people of Judah, and give your promised sacrifices to God. The wicked will not come to attack you again; they have been completely destroyed.

1 The destroyern is coming to attack you, Nineveh. Guard the defenses. Watch the road. Get ready. Gather all your strength!

2 Destroyers have destroyed God's people and ruined their vines, but the Lord will bring back Jacob's greatness like Israel's greatness.

3 The shields of his soldiers are red; the army is dressed in red. The metal on the chariots flashes like fire when they are ready to attack; their horses are excited.

4 The chariots race through the streets and rush back and forth through the city squares. They look like torches; they run like lightning.

5 Hen calls his officers, but they stumble on the way. They hurry to the city wall, and the shield is put into place.

6 The river gates are thrown open, and the palace is destroyed.

7 It has been announced that the people of Nineveh will be captured and carried away. The slave girls moan like doves and beat their breasts, because they are sad.

8 Nineveh is like a pool, and now its water is draining away. "Stop! Stop!" the people yell, but no one turns back.

9 Take the silver! Take the gold! There is no end to the treasure -- piles of wealth of every kind.

10 Nineveh is robbed, ruined, and destroyed. The people lose their courage, and their knees knock. Stomachs ache, and everyone's face grows pale.

11 Where is the lions' den and the place where they feed their young? Where did the lion, lioness, and cubs go without being afraid?

12 The lion killed enough for his cubs, enough for his mate. He filled his cave with the animals he caught; he filled his den with meat he had killed.

13 "I am against you, Nineveh," says the Lord All-Powerful. "I will burn up your chariots in smoke, and the sword will kill your young lions. I will stop you from hunting down others on the earth, and your messengers' voices will no longer be heard."

1 How terrible it will be for the city that has killed so many. It is full of lies and goods stolen from other countries. It is always killing somebody.

2 Hear the sound of whips and the noise of the wheels. Hear horses galloping and chariots bouncing along!

3 Horses are charging, swords are shining, spears are gleaming! Many are dead; their bodies are piled up -- too many to count. People stumble over the dead bodies.

4 The city was like a prostitute; she was charming and a lover of magic. She made nations slaves with her prostitution and her witchcraft.

5 "I am against you, Nineveh," says the Lord All-Powerful. "I will pull your dress up over your face and show the nations your nakedness and the kingdoms your shame.

6 I will throw filthy garbage on you and make a fool of you. I will make people stare at you.

7 Everyone who sees you will run away and say, 'Nineveh is in ruins. Who will cry for her?' Nineveh, where will I find anyone to comfort you?"

8 You are no better than Thebes, who sits by the Nile River with water all around her. The river was her defense; the waters were like a wall around her.

9 Cush and Egypt gave her endless strength; Put and Libya supported her.

10 But Thebes was captured and went into captivity. Her small children were beaten to death at every street corner. Lots were thrown for her important men, and all of her leaders were put in chains.

11 Nineveh, you will be drunk, too. You will hide; you will look for a place safe from the enemy.

12 All your defenses are like fig trees with ripe fruit. When the tree is shaken, the figs fall into the mouth of the eater.

13 Look at your soldiers. They are all women! The gates of your land are wide open for your enemies; fire has burned the bars of your gates.

14 Get enough water before the long war begins. Make your defenses strong! Get mud, mix clay, make bricks!

15 There the fire will burn you up. The sword will kill you; like grasshoppers eating crops, the battle will completely destroy you. Grow in number like hopping locusts; grow in number like swarming locusts!

16 Your traders are more than the stars in the sky, but like locusts, they strip the land and then fly away.

17 Your guards are like locusts. Your officers are like swarms of locusts that hang on the walls on a cold day. When the sun comes up, they fly away, and no one knows where they have gone.

18 King of Assyria, your rulers are asleep; your important men lie down to rest. Your people have been scattered on the mountains, and there is no one to bring them back.

19 Nothing can heal your wound; your injury will not heal. Everyone who hears about you applauds, because everyone has felt your endless cruelty.

1 This is the message Habakkuk the prophet received.

2 Lord, how long must I ask for help and you ignore me? I cry out to you about violence, but you do not save us!

3 Why do you make me see wrong things and make me look at trouble? People are destroying things and hurting others in front of me; they are arguing and fighting.

4 So the teachings are weak, and justice never comes. Evil people gain while good people lose; the judges no longer make fair decisions.

5 "Look at the nations! Watch them and be amazed and shocked. I will do something in your lifetime that you won't believe even when you are told about it.

6 I will use the Babylonians, those cruel and wild people who march across the earth and take lands that don't belong to them.

7 They scare and frighten people. They do what they want to do and are good only to themselves.

8 Their horses are faster than leopards and quicker than wolves at sunset. Their horse soldiers attack quickly; they come from places far away. They attack quickly, like an eagle swooping down for food.

9 They all come to fight. Nothing can stop them. Their prisoners are as many as the grains of sand.

10 They laugh at kings and make fun of rulers. They laugh at all the strong, walled cities and build dirt piles to the top of the walls to capture them.

11 Then they leave like the wind and move on. They are guilty of worshiping their own strength."

12 Lord, you live forever, my God, my holy God. We will not die. Lord, you have chosen the Babylonians to punish people; our Rock, you picked them to punish.

13 Your eyes are too good to look at evil; you cannot stand to see those who do wrong. So how can you put up with those evil people? How can you be quiet when the wicked swallow up people who are better than they are?

14 You treat people like fish in the sea, like sea animals without a leader.

15 The enemy brings them in with hooks. He catches them in his net and drags them in his fishnet. So he rejoices and sings for joy.

16 The enemy offers sacrifices to his net and burns incense to worship it, because it lets him live like the rich and enjoy the best food.

17 Will he keep on taking riches with his net? Will he go on destroying people without showing mercy?

1 I will stand like a guard to watch and place myself at the tower. I will wait to see what he will say to me; I will wait to learn how God will answer my complaint.

2 The Lord answered me: "Write down the vision; write it clearly on clay tablets so whoever reads it can run to tell others.

3 It is not yet time for the message to come true, but that time is coming soon; the message will come true. It may seem like a long time, but be patient and wait for it, because it will surely come; it will not be delayed.

4 The evil nation is very proud of itself; it is not living as it should. But those who are right with God will live by trusting in him.

5 "Just as wine can trick a person, those who are too proud will not last, because their desire is like a grave's desire for death, and like death they always want more. They gather other nations for themselves and collect for themselves all the countries.

6 But all the nations the Babylonians have hurt will laugh at them. and say, 'How terrible it will be for the one that steals many things. How long will that nation get rich by forcing others to pay them?'

7 "One day the people from whom you have taken money will turn against you. They will realize what is happening and make you shake with fear. Then they will take everything you have.

8 Because you have stolen from many nations, those who are left will take much from you. This is because you have killed many people, destroying countries and cities and everyone in them.

9 "How terrible it will be for the nation that becomes rich by doing wrong, thinking they will live in a safe place and escape harm.

10 Because you have made plans to destroy many people, you have made your own houses ashamed of you. Because of it, you will lose your lives.

11 The stones of the walls will cry out against you, and the boards that support the roof will agree that you are wrong.

12 "How terrible it will be for the nation that kills people to build a city, that wrongs others to start a town.

13 The Lord All-Powerful will send fire to destroy what those people have built; all the nations' work will be for nothing.

14 Then, just as water covers the sea, people everywhere will know the Lord's glory.

15 "How terrible for the nation that makes its neighbors drink, pouring from the jug of wine until they are drunk so that it can look at their naked bodies.

16 You Babylonians will be filled with disgrace, not respect. It's your turn to drink and fall to the ground like a drunk person. The cup of anger from the Lord's right hand is coming around to you. You will receive disgrace, not respect.

17 You hurt many people in Lebanon, but now you will be hurt. You killed many animals there, and now you must be afraid because of what you did to that land, those cities, and the people who lived in them.

18 "An idol does no good, because a human made it; it is only a statue that teaches lies. The one who made it expects his own work to help him, but he makes idols that can't even speak!

19 How terrible it will be for the one who says to a wooden statue, 'Come to life!' How terrible it will be for the one who says to a silent stone, 'Get up!' It cannot tell you what to do. It is only a statue covered with gold and silver; there is no life in it.

20 The Lord is in his Holy Temple; all the earth should be silent in his presence."

1 This is the prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, on shigionoth.

2 Lord, I have heard the news about you; I am amazed at what you have done. Lord, do great things once again in our time; make those things happen again in our own days. Even when you are angry, remember to be kind.

3 God is coming from Teman; the Holy One comes from Mount Paran. Selah His glory covers the skies, and his praise fills the earth.

4 He is like a bright light. Rays of light shine from his hand, and there he hides his power.

5 Sickness goes before him, and disease follows behind him.

6 He stands and shakes the earth. He looks, and the nations shake with fear. The mountains, which stood for ages, break into pieces; the old hills fall down. God has always done this.

7 I saw that the tents of Cushan were in trouble and that the tents of Midian trembled.

8 Lord, were you angry at the rivers, or were you angry at the streams? Were you angry with the sea when you rode your horses and chariots of victory?

9 You uncovered your bow and commanded many arrows to be brought to you. Selah You split the earth with rivers.

10 The mountains saw you and shook with fear. The rushing water flowed. The sea made a loud noise, and its waves rose high.

11 The sun and moon stood still in the sky; they stopped when they saw the flash of your flying arrows and the gleam of your shining spear.

12 In anger you marched on the earth; in anger you punished the nations.

13 You came out to save your people, to save your chosen one. You crushed the leader of the wicked ones and took everything he had, from head to toe. Selah

14 With the enemy's own spear you stabbed the leader of his army. His soldiers rushed out like a storm to scatter us. They were happy as they were robbing the poor people in secret.

15 But you marched through the sea with your horses, stirring the great waters.

16 I hear these things, and my body trembles; my lips tremble when I hear the sound. My bones feel weak, and my legs shake. But I will wait patiently for the day of disaster that will come to the people who attack us.

17 Fig trees may not grow figs, and there may be no grapes on the vines. There may be no olives growing and no food growing in the fields. There may be no sheep in the pens and no cattle in the barns.

18 But I will still be glad in the Lord; I will rejoice in God my Savior.

19 The Lord God is my strength. He makes me like a deer that does not stumble so I can walk on the steep mountains. For the director of music. On my stringed instruments.