10. But Thebes was capturedand went into captivity.Her small children were beaten to deathat every street corner.Lots were thrown for her important men,and all of her leaders were put in chains.
11. Nineveh, you will be drunk, too.You will hide;you will look for a place safe from the enemy.
12. All your defenses are like fig trees with ripe fruit.When the tree is shaken, the figs fall into the mouth of the eater.
13. Look at your soldiers.They are all women!The gates of your landare wide open for your enemies;fire has burned the bars of your gates.
14. Get enough water before the long war begins.Make your defenses strong!Get mud,mix clay,make bricks!
15. There the fire will burn you up.The sword will kill you;like grasshoppers eating crops, the battle will completely destroy you.Grow in number like hopping locusts;grow in number like swarming locusts!
16. Your traders are more than the stars in the sky,but like locusts, they strip the land and then fly away.
17. Your guards are like locusts.Your officers are like swarms of locuststhat hang on the walls on a cold day.When the sun comes up, they fly away,and no one knows where they have gone.
18. King of Assyria, your rulers are asleep;your important men lie down to rest.Your people have been scattered on the mountains,and there is no one to bring them back.
19. Nothing can heal your wound;your injury will not heal.Everyone who hears about you applauds,because everyone has felt your endless cruelty.