Isa 37:36-38, Eze 31:3-17, Nah, Zep 2:13-15 | ESV | STEP | And the angel of the Lord went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians . And when people arose early in the morning , behold , these were all dead bodies .

36 ^aAnd the angel of the Lord went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. And when people arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies. 37 Then Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and returned home and lived at ^bNineveh. 38 And as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, Adrammelech and Sharezer, his sons, struck him down with the sword. And after they escaped into the land of ^cArarat, ^dEsarhaddon his son reigned in his place.

Ezekiel 31:3-17

3 Behold, ^eAssyria was a ^fcedar in ^gLebanon,
with beautiful branches and ^hforest shade,
ⁱand of towering height,
its top among the clouds. ^{▼▼Or its top went through the thick boughs; also verses 10, 14}
4 The waters nourished it;
the deep made it grow tall,
making ^kits rivers flow
around the place of its planting,
sending forth its streams
to all the trees of the field.
5 So ^lit towered high
above all the trees of the field;
its boughs grew large
and its branches long
from ^mabundant water in its shoots.
6 ⁿAll the birds of the heavens
made their nests in its boughs;
under its branches all the beasts of the field
gave birth to their young,
and under its shadow
lived all great nations.
7 It was ^obeautiful in its greatness,
in the length of its branches;
^pfor its roots went down
to abundant waters.
8 ^qThe cedars ^rin the garden of God could not rival it,
nor the fir trees equal its boughs;
neither were the plane trees
like its branches;
no tree ^sin the garden of God
was its equal in beauty.
9 I made it beautiful
in the mass of its branches,
and all the trees of ^tEden envied it,
that were in the garden of God.
10 “Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because ^uit ^{▼▼Syriac, Vulgate; Hebrew you} towered high and set its top among the clouds, and ^wits heart was proud of its height, 11 I will give it into the hand of a mighty one of the nations. He shall surely deal with it as its wickedness deserves. I have cast it out. 12 ^xForeigners, ^ythe most ruthless of nations, have cut it down and left it. ^zOn the mountains and in all the valleys its branches have fallen, and its boughs have been broken in all ^aathe ravines of the land, and ^aball the peoples of the earth have gone away from its shadow and left it. 13 ^acOn its fallen trunk dwell all the birds of the heavens, and on its branches are all the beasts of the field. 14 ^adAll this is in order that no trees by the waters may grow to towering height or set their tops among the clouds, and that no trees that drink water may reach up to them in height. For they are all given over to death, ^aeto the world ^afbelow, among the children of man, ^{▼▼Or of Adam} with those who go down to the pit.

15 “Thus says the Lord God: On the day ^ahthe cedar ^{▼▼Hebrew it} went down to Sheol I caused mourning; I closed the deep over it, and restrained its rivers, and many waters were stopped. I clothed Lebanon in gloom for it, and all the trees of the field fainted because of it. 16 ^ajI made the nations quake at the sound of its fall, ^akwhen I cast it down to Sheol with those who go down to the pit. ^alAnd all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, ^amwere comforted in the world below. 17 They also went down to Sheol with it, ^anto those who are slain by the sword; yes, ^aothose who were its arm, ^apwho lived under its shadow among the nations.

When Jonah preached repentance on the streets of Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, the people responded and were spared. A century later, sometime between 663 and 612 b.c., Nahum preached in a time when Nineveh would not repent. Nineveh, which had destroyed Israel’s northern kingdom in 722, itself fell to Babylon in 612—just a few years after Nahum’s warning. The Assyrians were notorious for the brutality of their treatment of other nations. Nahum declared, however, that God is sovereign: he punishes whom he will, and they are powerless to stop him. Much of Nahum’s prophecy was directed to the people of Judah, who could rejoice at the good news (1:15) of Nineveh’s impending fall.

Nahum 1

1 ^aqAn oracle concerning ^arNineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum of Elkosh.

God’s Wrath Against Nineveh

2 ^asThe Lord is a jealous and avenging God;
the Lord is avenging and wrathful;
^atthe Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries
and ^aukeeps wrath for his enemies.
3 ^avThe Lord is slow to anger and ^awgreat in power,
and ^axthe Lord will by no means clear the guilty.
^ayHis way is in whirlwind and storm,
and the clouds are the dust of his feet.
4 ^azHe rebukes the sea and makes it dry;
he dries up all the rivers;
^baBashan and ^bbCarmel wither;
the bloom of ^bcLebanon withers.
5 ^bdThe mountains quake before him;
^bethe hills melt;
the earth heaves before him,
^bfthe world and all who dwell in it.
6 ^bgWho can stand before his indignation?
Who can endure the heat of his anger?
His wrath ^bhis poured out like fire,
and ^bithe rocks are broken into pieces by him.
7 ^bjThe Lord is good,
^bka stronghold in the day of trouble;
^blhe knows those who take refuge in him.
8 But ^bmwith an overflowing flood
he will make a complete end of the adversaries, ^{▼▼Hebrew of her place}
and ^bowill pursue his enemies into darkness.
9 What ^bpdo you plot against the Lord?
^bqHe will make a complete end;
trouble will not rise up a second time.
10 For they are ^brlike entangled thorns,
like drunkards as they drink;
^bsthey are consumed like stubble fully dried.
11 From you came one
^btwho plotted evil against the Lord,
a worthless counselor.
12 Thus says the Lord,
“Though they are at full strength and many,
^buthey will be cut down and pass away.
^bvThough I have afflicted you,
I will afflict you no more.
13 And now ^bwI will break his yoke from off you
and will burst your bonds apart.”
14 The Lord has given commandment about you:
^bx“No more shall your name be perpetuated;
from ^bythe house of your gods I will cut off
the carved image and the metal image.
^bzI will make your grave, ^cafor you are vile.”
15 ^{▼▼Ch 2:1 in Hebrew} ^ccBehold, upon the mountains, ^cdthe feet of him
who brings good news,
who publishes peace!
^ceKeep your feasts, O Judah;
^cffulfill your vows,
^cgfor never again shall the worthless pass through you;
he is utterly cut off.

Nahum 2

The Destruction of Nineveh

1 ^chThe scatterer has come up against you.
^ciMan the ramparts;
watch the road;
dress for battle; ^{▼▼Hebrew gird your loins}
collect all your strength.
2 For ^ckthe Lord is restoring the majesty of Jacob
as the majesty of Israel,
for plunderers have plundered them
and ^clruined their branches.
3 The shield of his mighty men is red;
^cmhis soldiers are clothed in scarlet.
The chariots come with flashing metal
on the day he musters them;
the cypress spears are brandished.
4 ^cnThe chariots race madly through the streets;
they rush to and fro through the squares;
they gleam like torches;
they dart like lightning.
5 He remembers ^cohis officers;
^cpthey stumble as they go,
they hasten to the wall;
the siege tower ^{▼▼Or the mantelet} is set up.
6 ^crThe river gates are opened;
the palace ^csmelts away;
7 its mistress ^{▼▼The meaning of the Hebrew word rendered its mistress is uncertain} is ^custripped; ^{▼▼Or exiled} she is carried off,
her slave girls ^cwlamenting,
moaning like doves
and beating their breasts.
8 ^cxNineveh is like a pool
whose waters run away. ^{▼▼Compare Septuagint; the meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain}
“Halt! Halt!” they cry,
but ^cznone turns back.
9 Plunder the silver,
plunder the gold!
There is no end of the treasure
or of the wealth of all precious things.
10 ^daDesolate! Desolation and ruin!
^dbHearts melt and ^dcknees tremble;
^ddanguish is in all loins;
^deall faces grow pale!
11 Where is the lions’ den,
the feeding place of ^dfthe young lions,
where the lion and lioness went,
where his cubs were, with ^dgnone to disturb?
12 ^dhThe lion tore enough for his cubs
and ^distrangled prey for his lionesses;
he filled his caves with prey
and his dens with torn flesh.
13 ^djBehold, I am against you, declares the Lord of hosts, and ^dkI will burn your ^{▼▼Hebrew her} chariots in smoke, and the sword shall devour your young lions. I will cut off your prey from the earth, and ^dmthe voice of your messengers shall no longer be heard.

Nahum 3

Woe to Nineveh

1 Woe to ^dnthe bloody city,
all full of lies and plunder—
^dono end to the prey!
2 The crack of the whip, and ^dprumble of the wheel,
^dqgalloping horse and ^drbounding chariot!
3 Horsemen charging,
flashing sword and ^dsglittering spear,
^dthosts of slain,
heaps of corpses,
dead bodies without end—
they stumble over the bodies!
4 And all for the countless whorings of the ^duprostitute,
^dvgraceful and of deadly charms,
who betrays nations with her whorings,
and peoples with her charms.
5 ^dwBehold, I am against you,
declares the Lord of hosts,
and ^dxwill lift up your skirts over your face;
and I will make nations look at ^dyyour nakedness
and kingdoms at your shame.
6 I will throw filth at you
and ^dztreat you with contempt
and make you ^eaa spectacle.
7 And all who look at you ^ebwill shrink from you and say,
“Wasted is ^ecNineveh; ^edwho will grieve for her?”
^eeWhere shall I seek comforters for you?
8 ^efAre you better than ^egThebes ^{▼▼Hebrew No-amon}
that sat ^eiby the Nile,
with water around her,
her rampart a sea,
and water her wall?
9 ^ejCush was her strength;
Egypt too, and that without limit;
^ekPut and the ^elLibyans were her ^{▼▼Hebrew your} helpers.
10 ^enYet she became an exile;
she went into captivity;
^eoher infants were dashed in pieces
at the head of every street;
for her honored men ^eplots were cast,
^eqand all her great men were bound in chains.
11 ^erYou also will be drunken;
you will go into hiding;
^esyou will seek a refuge from the enemy.
12 All your fortresses are ^etlike fig trees
with first-ripe figs—
if shaken they fall
into the mouth of the eater.
13 Behold, your troops
^euare women in your midst.
The gates of your land
are wide open to your enemies;
fire has devoured your bars.
14 ^evDraw water for the siege;
^ewstrengthen your forts;
go into the clay;
tread the mortar;
take hold of the brick mold!
15 There will the fire devour you;
the sword will cut you off.
It will ^exdevour you ^eylike the locust.
Multiply yourselves ^ezlike the locust;
multiply ^falike the grasshopper!
16 You increased ^fbyour merchants
more than the stars of the heavens.
^fcThe locust spreads its wings and flies away.
17 Your ^fdprinces are ^felike grasshoppers,
^ffyour scribes ^{▼▼Or marshals} like clouds of locusts
settling on the fences
in a day of cold—
when the sun rises, they fly away;
no one knows where they are.
18 Your shepherds ^fhare asleep,
O king of Assyria;
^fiyour nobles slumber.
Your people ^fjare scattered on the mountains
with none to gather them.
19 There is no easing your hurt;
^fkyour wound is grievous.
All who hear the news about you
^flclap their hands over you.
For ^fmupon whom has not come
your unceasing evil?

Zephaniah 2:13-15

13 And he will stretch out his hand against the north
^fnand destroy Assyria,
and he ^fowill make Nineveh a desolation,
a dry waste like the desert.
14 ^fpHerds shall lie down in her midst,
all kinds of beasts; ^{▼▼Hebrew beasts of every nation}
^freven the owl and the hedgehog ^{▼▼The identity of the animals rendered owl and hedgehog is uncertain}
shall lodge in her capitals;
a voice shall hoot in the window;
devastation will be on the threshold;
for ^fther cedar work will be laid bare.
15 This is the exultant city
^futhat lived securely,
that said in her heart,
“I am, and there is no one else.”
What a desolation she has become,
^fva lair for wild beasts!
^fwEveryone who passes by her
hisses and ^fxshakes his fist.