Nahum 3:1
Woe to the city of blood, full of lies, full of plunder, never without prey.
2 The crack of the whip, the rumble of the wheel, galloping horse and bounding chariot!
3 Charging horseman, flashing sword, shining spear; heaps of slain, mounds of corpses, dead bodies without end— they stumble over their dead—
This was said to Israel at a particular time, so it is wise to read it together with the surrounding text. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- Woe to the city of blood, full of lies, full of plunder, never without prey.
- KJV
- Woe to the bloody city! it is all full of lies and robbery; the prey departeth not;
- WEB
- Woe to the bloody city! It is all full of lies and robbery—no end to the prey.
- ASV
- Woe to the bloody city! it is all full of lies and rapine; the prey departeth not.
- DARBY
- Woe to the bloody city! It is all full of lies [and] violence; the prey departeth not.
- BLB
- Woe [to] the city of bloodshed. All of it [is] a lie, full of plunder—[its] prey does not depart—
- ÅB
- Ve blodstaden, helt igjennom full av løgn og vold! Aldri holder den opp å røve.
- OTB
- Ve den blodige byen, full av løgn og plyndring;
Byttet hennes viker aldri. - B1930
- Ve blodstaden, helt igjennem full av løgn og vold! Aldri holder den op å røve.
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
Habakkuk 2:12
Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed and establishes a town by iniquity!
Read in contextZephaniah 3:1–3
Woe to the city of oppressors, rebellious and defiled!
Read in contextEzekiel 24:6–9
Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Woe to the city of bloodshed, to the pot now rusted, whose rust will not come off! Empty it piece by piece; cast no lots for its contents.
Read in contextHosea 4:2
Cursing and lying, murder and stealing, and adultery are rampant; one act of bloodshed follows another.
Read in contextEzekiel 22:2–3
“As for you, son of man, will you judge her? Will you pass judgment on the city of bloodshed? Then confront her with all her abominations
Read in contextNahum 2:12
The lion mauled enough for its cubs and strangled prey for the lioness. It filled its dens with the kill, and its lairs with mauled prey.
Read in contextIsaiah 42:24
Who gave Jacob up for spoil, and Israel to the plunderers? Was it not the LORD, against whom we have sinned? They were unwilling to walk in His ways, and they would not obey His law.
Read in contextIsaiah 17:14
In the evening, there is sudden terror! Before morning, they are no more! This is the portion of those who loot us and the lot of those who plunder us.
Read in context