1 Owee kotjihuro tjovizeze notjizepe!
Otjo tje ura noutumbe mbu huurwa nokupundwa aruhe.
2 Purateneye! Okukwaana kwongora,
nomaporokotero woviryo vyomatemba,
nomatupukiro woukambe,
nomaputarero womatemba wovita!
3 Ovakavire voukambe mave utukire okurwa,
omangaruvyo maye keṋakeṋa,
nomanga maye tjene!
Otutu matu tendekwa kumwe,
oturova tu tu hi notjivaro;
ovandu mave putara mu two!
4 Ninive otjikorondu matji verwa.
Otjo otjiwa, nungwari tje ura nomauanga nge zepa,
otjo tji worera oviwaṋa atji vi isa po ovakarere.
5 Muhona Omunamasaaehe ma tja nai:
“Ami me ku vere, Ninive!
Me ku hukura u kare muzu,
ne tjiti kutja oviwaṋa vi ku mune,
vi ku mune mohoṋi yoye.
6 Ami me ku ṱunu nomanyengu
nu me ku ṱunda nondova.
Ovandu tji mave tara kove mave yaukwa.
7 Avehe mbu mave ku munu mave rihutu.
Owo mave tja: ‘Ninive tja rira otjitambatundu!
Owaṋi ngu notjari na tjo?
Owaṋi ngu ma vanga okutjihuhumiṋa?’ ”
8 Ninive, oove omusemba pOtebes, otjihuro ohongora tja Engipte are? Otjo wina tja ri nonḓonḓu okutjiyama otja otjikere, indji onḓonḓu Nil ondja ri ondjeure yatjo. 9 Otjo tja honaparera Sudan na Engipte, kapa ri omaandero kouvara watjo, Libie re rikuta kumwe na tjo. 10 Nambano ovature va Tebes va huurwa. Kovikoro avihe vyomivanda ovanatje vawo va tonwa okuṱa. Ovarumendu vawo ovanane avehe va twarewa momapando nave kahaṋewa movevehuure.
11 Ninive, ove wina mopurukisiwa, mo kara nokuhinomasa, nu mokondjo okutaura kovanavita na ove. 12 Oviṱunga vyoye avihe mavi sana komikuyu mbi nomakuyu nga hora; omiti mbi tji vya nyinganyingisiwa, omakuyu maye poṋene osemba motjinyo tja ingwi ngu ma vanga okuyerya. 13 Ovarwe voye wovita va sana kovakazendu, nehi kari nomayeuriro kovanavita na ove. Omuriro mau seseta ovipate vyomivero vyoye. 14 Kateke omeva kutja u rirongerere omakoverero; nu zeuparisa oviṱunga vyoye! Yata omunoko okuungura po ozohima! 15 Nandi wa tjita avihe mbi, mo ningiririsiwa nga tji wa koka, nu mo ṱu motjirwa. Ove mo zengisiwa otja ovihape mbya riwa i ozombahu.
Nandarire kutja ove wa takavara otja ozombahu, kape nombatero. 16 Nandi wa eta ovarandise ovengi pozonyose keyuru, owo mave i tjimuna ozombahu nde nyaturura ovivava vyazo naze tuka! 17 Ovahongore voye ve ri otja ehapu rozombahu nḓe haama kotumbo meyuva rombepera. Nungwari omutenya tji wa tu, ozo ze tuka, nu kape na ngu ma tjiwa kutja ozo za i pi.
18 Mbara ya Asirie, ozongooneya zoye va ṱa, novaingona voye va rara nga aruhe! Otjiwaṋa tjoye tja pizukira kozondundu, nu kape na ngu me tji kotora konganda. 19 Kape nondjamo komihihamo vyoye, novirwaro vyoye kavi nokuveruka. Avehe mbu mave zuu ombuze yomawiro woye, mave tono omake nenyando. Pe nomundu ngamwa ngwa taurira ourunde woye mbu hi nondjandero are?
1 Doomed is the lying, murderous city,
full of wealth to be looted and plundered!
2 Listen! The crack of the whip,
the rattle of wheels,
the gallop of horses,
the jolting of chariots!
3 Cavalry troops charge,
swords flash, spears gleam!
Corpses are piled high,
dead bodies without number—
men stumble over them!
4 Nineveh the whore is being punished.
Attractive and full of deadly charms,
she enchanted nations and enslaved them.
5 The Lord Almighty says,
“I will punish you, Nineveh!
I will strip you naked
and let the nations see you,
see you in all your shame.
6 I will treat you with contempt
and cover you with filth.
People will stare at you in horror.
7 All who see you will shrink back.
They will say, ‘Nineveh lies in ruins!
Who has any sympathy for her?
Who will want to comfort her?’”
8 Nineveh, are you any better than Thebes, the capital of Egypt? She too had a river to protect her like a wall—the Nile was her defense. 9 She ruled Ethiopia and Egypt, there was no limit to her power; Libya was her ally. 10 Yet the people of Thebes were carried off into exile. At every street corner their children were beaten to death. Their leading men were carried off in chains and divided among their captors.
11 Nineveh, you too will fall into a drunken stupor! You too will try to escape from your enemies. 12 All your fortresses will be like fig trees with ripe figs: shake the trees, and the fruit falls right into your mouth! 13 Your soldiers are helpless, and your country stands defenseless before your enemies. Fire will destroy the bars across your gates. 14 Draw water to prepare for a siege, and strengthen your fortresses! Trample the clay to make bricks, and get the brick molds ready! 15 No matter what you do, you will still be burned to death or killed in battle. You will be wiped out like crops eaten up by locusts.
You multiplied like locusts! 16 You produced more merchants than there are stars in the sky! But now they are gone, like locusts that spread their wings and fly away. 17 Your officials are like a swarm of locusts that stay in the walls on a cold day. But when the sun comes out, they fly away, and no one knows where they have gone!
18 Emperor of Assyria, your governors are dead, and your noblemen are asleep forever! Your people are scattered on the mountains, and there is no one to bring them home again. 19 There is no remedy for your injuries, and your wounds cannot be healed. All those who hear the news of your destruction clap their hands for joy. Did anyone escape your endless cruelty?
