The Bishops' Bible
1568 Matthew Parker editor
Nah 1:1 The burden of Niniue: The boke of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.
Nah 1:2 God is ielous, & the Lorde auengeth, the Lorde auengeth and hath wrath in store: the Lord auengeth vpon them that trouble hym, and he remembreth his enemies.
Nah 1:3 The Lorde is slowe to anger, and [also] of great power, and in no case will not acquite [the wicked,] the Lordes dealing is with blustring tempest and whirle winde, and the cloudes are the dust of his feete.
Nah 1:4 He rebuketh the sea and dryeth it vp, all the riuers also he maketh drye: Basan and Carmel are destroyed, the spring also of Libanon is destroyed.
Nah 1:5 The mountaynes quake at his power and the hilles are resolued: the earth also burneth at his countenaunce, the worlde, and all that dwelleth therin.
Nah 1:6 Who can stande before his wrath? or who can rise vp before the anger of his countenaunce, his fiercenesse is powred out like fire, yea the rockes cleaue in peeces at his might.
Nah 1:7 The Lord is gratious, a strong holde in the day of trouble, and knoweth them that trust in hym.
Nah 1:8 But with an ouerrunning flood he wil destroy her place, and will pursue his enemies with darkenesse.
Nah 1:9 What imagine ye against the Lorde? he makes an vtter destruction: ye shall not be troubled twyse.
Nah 1:10 For whyles the thornes cleaue together, and whyles they banquet out their feastes, they are deuoured vp as very drie stubble.
Nah 1:11 There came out of thee such as thought euyll against the Lorde, such as gaue wicked counsell.
Nah 1:12 Thus sayth the Lorde: Though ye be in concorde, and also many, yet so shall ye be cut downe, and passe: & [though] I haue afflicted thee [O Hierusalem] yet will I trouble thee no more.
Nah 1:13 And nowe I will breake of his yoke from [vpon] thee, and I will breake thy bondes in sunder.
Nah 1:14 The Lorde also hath geuen a commaundement touching thee that, there shalbe no more offpring of thy name: from the house of thy God, I will cut of carued and molten image, I will make [it] thy graue, for thou art vile.
Nah 1:15 Behold vpon the mountaynes the feete of him that bringeth good tidinges, that preacheth peace: kepe thy festiual dayes O Iuda, paye thy vowes: for the wicked [tiraunt] shal hereafter passe no more through thee, he is vtterly cut of.
Nah 2:1 The destroyer is come vp before thy face, kepe thy forte, see to the way, strenghten [thy] loynes, increase [thy] strength mightyly:
Nah 2:2 For the Lord restores againe the glorious estate of Iacob, as [also] the glorious estate of Israel: for spoylers hath spoyled them, and hath wasted their braunches.
Nah 2:3 The shielde of his valiaunt souldiours [is] died red, his captaynes of warre are clad with scarlet: the charret is [compassed] with flammig torches in the day of his expedition, and the firre staues are drenched in poyson.
Nah 2:4 The charrets shal rage in the streetes, they shall make a terrible noyse in the broade wayes, to loke to like [flaming] cressets, shooting as lightning.
Nah 2:5 He shall remember his notable souldiours, they shal stumble in goyng, they shall hasten to the wall, the couering fence is prepared.
Nah 2:6 The riuer gates are opened, and the palace dissolued.
Nah 2:7 Huzab is brought foorth captiue, made to ascend [into the charets] her handmaydens also leading [one another] as in the voyce of doues, knocking vpon their brestes.
Nah 2:8 Yea many a day Niniue was as a ponde full of water, yet [now] they flee, Stand ye, stande ye, and no man loketh backe.
Nah 2:9 Take your spoyle of siluer, take your spoyle of golde, for there is no ende of riches: treasure, pashing all treasure.
Nah 2:10 Sacking, resacking, rasing, a dissolued heart and collision of knees, sorow in all loynes also, and the faces of them all as blacke as a pot.
Nah 2:11 Where is the abiding place of lions, and the feding plot of lions whelpes [become,] whyther the young and olde lion had their resort? there dwelt the lion, & there was no man to put him in feare.
Nah 2:12 The lion made his praye aboundauntly for his whelpes, and strangled for his she lions, and hath filled his dennes with pray, and his abyding places with spoyle.
Nah 2:13 Behold me against thee sayth the Lord of hoastes, & I will burne in smoke her charets, and the sworde shall deuoure thy lions, I will roote out also from the earth thy spoyling, and the voyce of thy messengers shalbe hearde no more.
Nah 3:1 O bloody citie, stuffed throughout with falsehood, with extreme dealing, nor wilbe brought from spoyling.
Nah 3:2 The noyse of the whippe, the noyse of ratling of wheales, the praunsing of horses, and the iumping of charets:
Nah 3:3 The horseman lifting vp both the glistering blade of the sword & also the shining speare, many wounded, many corpses, and no end of carcasses, they shall stumble at dead bodies.
Nah 3:4 Because of the manyfolde fornication of the beautifull harlot, ful of charmes, that selles nations by the meanes of her whordome, and the people through her charminges.
Nah 3:5 Lo I against thee sayth the Lorde of hoastes, and will turne vp thy skirtes ouer thy face, and wil shewe the gentiles thy fylth, and kingdomes thy shame:
Nah 3:6 And will cast vpon thee abominable filth, and wil bring thee downe, and wil make thee as vile as doung.
Nah 3:7 And it shall come to passe that all that shall behold thee, shall flee from thee, and shall say, Niniue is destroyed, and who is greeued therwith? from whence shall I seke out comforters for thee?
Nah 3:8 Wilt thou count thy selfe better then Alexandria the great, that was scituate amonges the riuers, compassed round about with water, whose fortresse was the sea [and had] her wall from the sea?
Nah 3:9 Ethiopia and Egypt [were thy] strength, and there was none end [of ayde,] Phut and Lubim were thy helpers.
Nah 3:10 Notwithstanding she passed away, she went into captiuitie, her children also were dashed in peeces in the top of all the streetes: for her horrible men they cast lottes, and all her great states they chayned in fetters.
Nah 3:11 And thou [also] shalt be drunke [with trouble] thou shalt be hyd: thou also shalt seke after strength against thine enemie.
Nah 3:12 All thy strong aydes [are as] figge trees with the first ripe figges: if they be stirred, they fal into the mouth of the eater.
Nah 3:13 Behold thy men [are as baren] women in the middest of thee, the gates of thy lande shalbe set wyde open to thine enemies, fire hath deuoured thy barres.
Nah 3:14 Drawe thee water for the siege, strengthen thy fortes, go into the clay, treade the morter, make strong the brickyll.
Nah 3:15 There the fire shall deuoure thee, the sword shall cut thee of, shall deuoure as the locust, though [thou] be multiplied as the locust, though thou be as many as the grashopper.
Nah 3:16 Thou hast increased thy marchauntes as the starres of heauen, the locust spoyleth, and fleeth away.
Nah 3:17 Thy princes are as grashoppers, and thy rulers as great locustes, they swarme in hedges in cold weather, the sunne ariseth and they flee, and the place where they were is not knowen.
Nah 3:18 Thy sheepheardes O king of Assur slumber, thy noble men shall dwell [in death] thy people is scattered vpon the mountaynes, & there is none to gather them together.
Nah 3:19 Thy wound [shall] not be healed, thy plague is great, all that heare of thee, clap their handes: For to whom hath not thy euil dealing pearsed continually?
