¶ Woe to¹ the bloody city²! it is all full of lies and robbery; the prey departeth not;

The noise³ of a whip, and the noise of the rattling of the wheels, and of the pransing horses, and of the jumping chariots.

The horseman lifteth up both the bright sword and the glittering spear⁴: and there⁵ is a multitude of slain, and a great number of carcases; and there is none end of their corpses; they stumble upon their corpses:

Because of the multitude of the whoredoms of the wellfavoured harlot, the mistress⁶ of witchcrafts, that selleth nations through her whoredoms, and families through her witchcrafts.

Behold, I am⁷ against thee, saith the LORD of hosts; and I will discover⁸ thy skirts upon thy face, and I will shew the nations thy nakedness, and the kingdoms thy shame.

And I will cast⁹ abominable filth upon thee, and make¹⁰ thee vile, and will set¹¹ thee as a gazingstock.

And it shall come to pass, that all¹² they that look upon thee shall flee from thee, and say, Nineveh¹³ is laid waste: who¹⁴ will bemoan her? whence shall I seek comforters for thee?

¶ Art thou¹⁵ better than populous No¹⁶, that was situate among the rivers, that had¹⁷ the waters round about it, whose rampart was the sea, and her wall was from the sea?

Ethiopia¹⁸ and Egypt were her strength, and it was infinite; Put¹⁹ and Lubim were thy helpers²⁰.

¶ Yet was she carried²¹ away, she went into captivity: her young²² children also were dashed in pieces at²³ the top of all the streets: and they cast²⁴ lots for her honourable men, and all her great men were bound in chains.

Thou also²⁵ shalt be drunken²⁶: thou shalt be hid²⁷, thou also²⁸ shalt seek strength because of the enemy.

²⁹All thy strong holds shall be like fig trees with the firstripe figs: if they be shaken, they shall even fall into the mouth of the eater.

Behold, thy people³⁰ in the midst of thee are women: the gates³¹ of thy land shall be set wide open unto thine enemies: the fire shall devour thy bars³².

Draw³³ thee waters for the siege, fortify³⁴ thy strong holds: go into clay, and tread the morter, make strong the brickkiln.

There shall the³⁵ fire devour thee; the sword shall cut thee off, it³⁶ shall eat thee up like the cankerworm: make thyself many as the cankerworm, make thyself many as the locusts³⁷.

Thou hast multiplied thy merchants above³⁸ the stars of heaven: the cankerworm spoileth³⁹, and flieth away.

⁴⁰Thy crowned are as the locusts, and thy captains as the great grasshoppers, which camp in the hedges in the cold day, but when the sun ariseth they flee away, and their place is not known where they are.

Thy shepherds⁴¹ slumber, O king⁴² of Assyria: thy nobles⁴³ shall dwell in the dust: thy people⁴⁴ is scattered upon the mountains, and no man gathereth them.

There is no⁴⁵ healing⁴⁶ of thy bruise; thy wound is grievous: all that hear the bruit of thee shall⁴⁷ clap the hands over thee: for upon⁴⁸ whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually?