And it will hailwhen the forestcomesdown,And the citywill be utterlylaidlow.
And He will destroythe gloryof his forestand of his fruitfulgarden,bothsouland body,And it will be as when a sickmanwastesaway.
And the restof the treesof his forestwill be so small in numberThat a childcould writethem down.
Behold,the Lord,the GODof hosts,will lopoffthe boughswith a terriblecrash;Those also who are tallin staturewill be cutdownAnd those whoare loftywill be abased.
The cityof chaosis brokendown;Everyhouseis shutup sothat nonemay enter.
Desolationis leftin the cityAnd the gateis batteredto ruins.
For You have madea cityinto a heap,A fortifiedcityinto a ruin;A palaceof strangersis a citynomore,It will neverbe rebuilt.
For You have beena defensefor the helpless,A defensefor the needyin his distress,A refugefrom the storm,a shadefrom the heat;For the breathof the ruthlessIs like a [rain] storm[against] a wall.
"For He has broughtlowthose who dwellon high,the unassailablecity;He laysit low,He laysit lowto the ground,He castsit to the dust.
For the fortifiedcityis isolated,A homesteadforlornand forsakenlike the desert;Therethe calfwill graze,And thereit will liedownand feedon its branches.
"I will makejusticethe measuringlineAnd righteousnessthe level;Then hailwill sweepawaythe refugeof liesAnd the waterswill overflowthe secretplace.
Behold,the Lordhas a strongand mighty[agent]; As a stormof hail,a tempestof destruction,Like a stormof mightyoverflowingwaters,He has cast[it] downto the earthwith [His] hand.
Then you will be broughtlow;From the earthyou will speak,And from the dust[where] you are prostrateYour words[will come]. Your voicewill also be like that of a spiritfrom the ground,And your speechwill whisperfrom the dust.
And the LORDwill cause His voiceof authorityto be heard,And the descendingof His armto be seenin fierceanger,And [in] the flameof a consumingfireIn cloudburst,downpourand hailstones.
"Throughyour servantsyou have reproachedthe Lord,And you have said,'With my manychariotsI cameup to the heightsof the mountains,To the remotestpartsof Lebanon;And I cutdownits tallcedars[and] its choicecypresses.And I will goto its highestpeak,its thickestforest.
The oracleof Nineveh.The bookof the visionof Nahumthe Elkoshite.
But with an overflowingfloodHe will makea completeendof its site,And will pursueHis enemiesinto darkness.
Wail,O cypress,for the cedarhas fallen,Becausethe glorious[trees] have been destroyed;Wail,O oaksof Bashan,For the impenetrableforesthas comedown.
"And the rainfell,and the floodscame,and the windsblewand slammed againstthat house;and [yet] it did not fall,for it had been foundedon the rock.
Thena strongangeltookup a stonelikea greatmillstoneand threwit into the sea,saying,"Sowill Babylon,the greatcity,be throwndown with violence,and will not be foundany longer.
The firstsounded,and there camehailand fire,mixedwith blood,and they were thrownto the earth;and a thirdof the earthwas burnedup, and a thirdof the treeswere burnedup, and allthe greengrasswas burnedup.
