1 Doomed is the lying, murderous city,
full of wealth to be looted and plundered!
2 Listen! The crack of the whip,
the rattle of wheels,
the gallop of horses,
the jolting of chariots!
3 Cavalry troops charge,
swords flash, spears gleam!
Corpses are piled high,
dead bodies without number—
men stumble over them!
4 Nineveh the whore is being punished.
Attractive and full of deadly charms,
she enchanted nations and enslaved them.
5 The Lord Almighty says,
“I will punish you, Nineveh!
I will strip you naked
and let the nations see you,
see you in all your shame.
6 I will treat you with contempt
and cover you with filth.
People will stare at you in horror.
7 All who see you will shrink back.
They will say, ‘Nineveh lies in ruins!
Who has any sympathy for her?
Who will want to comfort her?’”
8 Nineveh, are you any better than Thebes, the capital of Egypt? She too had a river to protect her like a wall—the Nile was her defense. 9 She ruled Ethiopia and Egypt, there was no limit to her power; Libya was her ally. 10 Yet the people of Thebes were carried off into exile. At every street corner their children were beaten to death. Their leading men were carried off in chains and divided among their captors.
11 Nineveh, you too will fall into a drunken stupor! You too will try to escape from your enemies. 12 All your fortresses will be like fig trees with ripe figs: shake the trees, and the fruit falls right into your mouth! 13 Your soldiers are helpless, and your country stands defenseless before your enemies. Fire will destroy the bars across your gates. 14 Draw water to prepare for a siege, and strengthen your fortresses! Trample the clay to make bricks, and get the brick molds ready! 15 No matter what you do, you will still be burned to death or killed in battle. You will be wiped out like crops eaten up by locusts.
You multiplied like locusts! 16 You produced more merchants than there are stars in the sky! But now they are gone, like locusts that spread their wings and fly away. 17 Your officials are like a swarm of locusts that stay in the walls on a cold day. But when the sun comes out, they fly away, and no one knows where they have gone!
18 Emperor of Assyria, your governors are dead, and your noblemen are asleep forever! Your people are scattered on the mountains, and there is no one to bring them home again. 19 There is no remedy for your injuries, and your wounds cannot be healed. All those who hear the news of your destruction clap their hands for joy. Did anyone escape your endless cruelty?
1 Yayee oshilando oshidhipagi noshiifundja!
Oshu udha uuyamba,
opo shi yugwe nokuhakanwa po!
2 Pulakeneni! Etopo lyongola,
ekolokoto lyomatemba,
elapato lyuukambe,
engwandjauko lyomatembakwiita!
3 Aakayili otaa tsitsimike,
omagongamwele otaga tayima,
omagonga otaga wema!
Omidhimba odha ndumbala,
omituntu dhaa shi kuyalulwa —
aantu otaa pundukithwa kudho!
4 Ninive oshihondeli otashi geelwa.
Oshu udha omahongololo
nuumpulile tau fala meso.
Osha hekaheka iigwana noku yi pika.
5 Omuwa Omunankondoawike ota ti:
“Ninive, otandi ke ku geela!
Otandi ke ku hula, u kale omudhu,
e tandi ke ku ulika kiigwana;
otayi ka tala ohoni yoye ayihe.
6 Otandi ke ku tala nondhino
e tandi ke ku siikila nondumba yiiyagaya.
Aantu otaye ke ku kenyanana.
7 Ayehe mboka taye ku mono,
otaa kunkwa.
Otaa ka tya: ‘Ninive osha ningi omakulukuma!
Olye e shi uvitile ohenda?
Olye a hala e shi hekeleke?’ ”
8 Ninive, u shi ngoye omwaanawa u vule Thebes, oshilandopangelo shomuEgipiti? Osha li shi na omulonga gwoku shi gamena ngaashi ekuma Niili ogwa li epopilo lyasho. 9 Osha li tashi lele Sudan naEgipiti. Libia osha li mehangano nasho. 10 Onkene tuu aantu yomuThebes oya li ya falwa muupika. Momapandaanda gasho aanona yawo omo ya dhengelwa, ya se. Aawiliki yawo oya tulwa momalyenge noya topolelwa aakwatipo yawo.
11 Ninive, ngoye wo oto ka kumukila moomposi dhuunkolwi! Nangoye wo oto ka kambadhala okufadhuka po aatondi yoye. 12 Oohote dhoye adhihe otadhi ka kala dha fa omikwiyu dha tiligana oondhiye: Shikashika omiti, niiyimati otayi gwile naanaa momakana geni! 13 Aakwiita yoye oya fa aakulukadhi, noshilongo shoye kashi na epopilo lyasha kaatondi yoye. Omulilo otagu ka yonagula po iipatitho yiiyelo yoye. 14 Popolela mo omeya gokunwa ngoye u koleke oohote dhoye. Lyata omunoko, u tholome oondhopi. Iitholomo nayi kale ya longekidhwa! 15 Ihe nando ongawo, oto ka pya po nenge oto ka dhipagelwa molugodhi. Oto ka kombwa po, ngaashi iimeno tayi thekekwa po koombahu.
Aantu yoye oyi indjipala ya fa oombahu! 16 Aapindiki yoye oya ningi oyendjiyendji ye vule oonyothi mewangandjo! Ihe oyo ya yi ya fa oombahu tadhi papama e tadhi tuka tadhi yi. 17 Aambala yoye oya fa oshipupu shoombahu dha lambela komakuma mesiku lyuutalala. Ihe etango nge lya holoka, otadhi tuka po, nokape na ngoka a tseya mpoka dha yi!
18 Omukwaniilwa gwaAssur, aaleli yoye oya dhipagwa, naanenentu yoye oya kotha sigo aluhe! Aantu yoye oya halakanithilwa koondundu, nokape na ngoka te ya eta ishewe kegumbo. 19 Kape na nando omuti gwokugwayekwa piilalo yoye, niilalo yoye itayi vulu okwaaludhwa. Ayehe mboka taa kundana eyonuko lyoye, otaa hakele kenyanyu. Ope na tuu ngoka inoo mu monitha iihuna?
