The Lord will reach out his powerful hand against the north. He will destroy Assyria. He’ll leave Nineveh totally empty. It will be as dry as a desert.

耶和华必伸手攻击北方，毁灭亚述，使尼尼微荒凉，又干旱如旷野。

耶和华要伸手攻击北方，毁灭亚述，使尼尼微荒凉，干旱如同旷野。

耶和华要伸手攻击北方，毁灭亚述，使尼尼微荒凉，干旱如同旷野。

祂必伸手攻击北方，毁灭亚述，使尼尼微一片荒凉，如干旱的旷野。

耶和华必伸手攻击北方，毁灭亚述，使尼尼微变成荒场，干旱像旷野。

耶和華必伸手攻擊北方，毀滅亞述，使尼尼微荒涼，又乾旱如曠野。

耶和華要伸手攻擊北方，毀滅亞述，使尼尼微荒涼，乾旱如同曠野。

耶和華要伸手攻擊北方，毀滅亞述，使尼尼微荒涼，乾旱如同曠野。

祂必伸手攻擊北方，毀滅亞述，使尼尼微一片荒涼，如乾旱的曠野。

耶和華必伸手攻擊北方，毀滅亞述，使尼尼微變成荒場，乾旱像曠野。

永恆主必伸手攻擊北方，毁滅亞述；他必使尼尼微荒涼，乾旱如曠野。

耶和華將伸手向北、而滅亞述、使尼尼微荒蕪、旱乾如曠野、

舉手擊其北方、剿滅亞述、使尼尼微荒蕪、變為曠野、

主必舉手、懲罰北方、勦滅亞述、使尼尼微荒蕪、成為旱地、無異沙漠、

He will stretch out his hand against the north and destroy Assyria, leaving Nineveh utterly desolate and dry as the desert.

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

And the Lord will strike the lands of the north with his fist, destroying the land of Assyria. He will make its great capital, Nineveh, a desolate wasteland, parched like a desert.

He will also stretch out his hand against the north and destroy Assyria; he will make Nineveh a desolate ruin, dry as the desert.

And He will stretch out His hand against the north And eliminate Assyria, And He will make Nineveh a desolation, Parched like the wilderness.

And He will stretch out His hand against the north, Destroy Assyria, And make Nineveh a desolation, As dry as the wilderness.

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

He will also stretch out His hand against the north and destroy Assyria; He will make Nineveh a desolate ruin, dry as the desert.

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

The LORD will attack the north and destroy Assyria. He will make Nineveh a heap of ruins; it will be as barren as the desert.

He will stretch out his hand against the north, destroy Assyria, and will make Nineveh a desolation, as dry as the wilderness.

All those who see you will run away from you. They will say,‘ Nineveh is destroyed. Who will mourn over it?’ Where can I find someone to comfort your people?”

Here is a prophecy the Lord gave Nahum, who was from the town of Elkosh. The prophecy came in a vision and is written in a book. The prophecy is about Nineveh.

King of Assyria, your leaders are asleep. Your nobles lie down to rest. Your people are scattered on the mountains. No one is left to gather them together.Nothing can heal your wounds. You will die of them. All those who hear the news about you clap their hands. That’s because you have fallen from power. Is there anyone who has not suffered because of how badly you treated them?

So the Lord who rules over all will send a sickness. The Lord will send it on the king of Assyria’s strong fighting men. It will make them weaker and weaker. The army he was so proud of will be completely destroyed. It will be as if it had been burned up in a fire.

The Lord will finish everything he has planned to do against Mount Zion and Jerusalem. Then he’ll say,“ Now I will punish the king of Assyria. I will punish him because his heart and his eyes are so proud.

I will bring them back from Egypt. I will gather them from Assyria. I will bring them to Gilead and Lebanon. There will not be enough room for them.They will pass through a sea of trouble. The stormy sea will calm down. All the deep places in the Nile River will dry up. Assyria’s pride will be brought down. Egypt’s right to rule will disappear.

Even Assyria has joined them to give strength to the people of Moab and Ammon.Do to them what you did to the people of Midian. Do to them what you did to Sisera and Jabin at the Kishon River.

They will use their swords to rule over Assyria. They’ll rule the land of Nimrod with swords that are ready to strike. The Assyrians will march across our borders and attack our land. But the promised ruler will save us from them.

In spite of all your hard work, fire will burn you up inside your city. Your enemies will cut you down with their swords. They will destroy you just as a swarm of locusts eats up crops. Multiply like grasshoppers! Increase your numbers like locusts!

Think about what happened to Assyria. Once it was like a cedar tree in Lebanon. It had beautiful branches that provided shade for the forest. It grew very high. Its top was above all the leaves.The waters fed it. Deep springs made it grow tall. Their streams flowed all around its base. They made their way to all the trees in the fields.So it grew higher than any other tree in the fields. It grew more limbs. Its branches grew long. They spread because they had plenty of water.All the birds in the sky made their nests in its limbs. All the wild animals had their babies under its branches. All the great nations lived in its shade.Its spreading branches made it majestic and beautiful. Its roots went down deep to where there was plenty of water.The cedar trees in my garden were no match for it. The juniper trees could not equal its limbs. The plane trees could not compare with its branches. No tree in my garden could match its beauty.I gave it many branches. They made it beautiful. All the trees in my Garden of Eden were jealous of it.’ ”So the Lord and King says,“ The great cedar tree grew very high. Its top was above all the leaves. It was proud of how tall it was.So I handed it over to the Babylonian ruler of the nations. I wanted him to punish it because it was so evil. I decided to get rid of it.The Babylonians cut it down and left it there. They did not show it any pity at all. Some of its branches fell on the mountains. Others fell in all the valleys. The branches lay broken in all the stream beds in the land. All the nations on earth came out from under its shade. And they went on their way.All the birds settled on the fallen tree. All the wild animals lived among its branches.So trees that receive plenty of water must never grow so high that it makes them proud. Their tops must never be above the rest of the leaves. No other trees that receive a lot of water must ever grow that high. They are appointed to die and go down into the earth below. They will join human beings, who go down to the place of the dead.”The Lord and King says,“ Assyria was like a cedar tree. But I brought it down to the place of the dead. On that day I dried up the deep springs of water and covered them. I held its streams back. I shut off its rich supply of water. Because of that, Lebanon was dressed in gloom as if it were clothes. All the trees in the fields dried up.I brought the cedar tree down to the place of the dead. It joined the other nations that go down there. I made the nations on earth shake because of the sound of its fall. Then all the trees of Eden were comforted in the earth below. That included the finest and best trees in Lebanon. And it included all the trees that received plenty of water.Others also went down along with the cedar tree into the place of the dead. They included those who had been killed by swords. They also included the armed men among the nations who lived in its shade.“ Which one of the trees of Eden can be compared with you? What tree is as glorious and majestic as you are? But you too will be brought down to the earth below. There you will join the trees of Eden. You will lie down with those who have not been circumcised. You will be among those who were killed by swords.“ That is what will happen to Pharaoh and his huge armies,” announces the Lord and King.

Nineveh is destroyed, robbed and stripped! Hearts melt away in fear. Knees give way. Bodies tremble with fear. Everyone’s face turns pale.Assyria is like a lion. Where is the lions’ den now? Where did they feed their cubs? Where did all the lions go? In their den they had nothing to fear.

At that time the Lord will reach out his hand. He will gather his people a second time. He will bring back those who are left alive. He’ll bring them back from Assyria, Lower Egypt, Upper Egypt and Cush. He’ll bring them from Elam, Babylon and Hamath. He will also bring them from the islands of the Mediterranean Sea.