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| Photo by Jim Tracy |
1 Woe to the bloody city! It is all full of lies and robbery; the prey departeth not;
The Assyrians were particularly noted for their cruelty to those they captured, especially if they didn’t surrender immediately. They would torture the leaders of the cities to death and then leave their heads piled up by the gates of the city.
2 The noise of a whip, and the noise of the rattling of the wheels, and of the prancing horses, and of the jumping chariots.
3 The horseman lifteth up both the bright sword and the glittering spear: and there is a multitude of slain, and a great number of carcasses; and there is none end of their corpses; they stumble upon their corpses:
4 Because of the multitude of the whoredoms of the well-favored harlot, the mistress of witchcrafts, that selleth nations through her whoredoms, and families through her witchcrafts.
It is because of these atrocities that God is going to wipe them out.
5 Behold, I am against thee, saith the LORD of hosts; and I will discover thy skirts upon thy face, and I will show the nations thy nakedness, and the kingdoms thy shame.
God is Assyria’s enemy. He will shame them in any way He can.
6 And I will cast abominable filth upon thee, and make thee vile, and will set thee as a gazing stock.
7 And it shall come to pass, that all they that look upon thee shall flee from thee, and say, Nineveh is laid waste: who will bemoan her? Whence shall I seek comforters for thee?
Everyone will be frightened of what happens to Assyria.
8 Art thou better than populous No, that was situate among the rivers, that had the waters round about it, whose rampart was the sea, and her wall was from the sea?
No (Thebes) was the capital of Upper Egypt during Egypt’s greatest time of power. It was so large and wealthy it had 100 gates. All of Egypt was fortified by her natural boundaries of river, the Mediterranean, and the desert. She was believed to be impenetrable. Yet Assyria (probably King Sargon) had already destroyed her.
(Some commentaries assume No is Alexandria. However, that city was built by Alexander the Great some 200 years after this prophecy.)
Today, in 2012, all that remains of this “impenetrable” city is some ruins.
9 Ethiopia and Egypt were her strength, and it was infinite; Put and Lubim were thy helpers.
All of the neighboring nations had promised their support.
10 Yet was she carried away, she went into captivity: her young children also were dashed in pieces at the top of all the streets: and they cast lots for her honorable men, and all her great men were bound in chains.
Despite all her strength, Egypt was slaughtered and enslaved.
11 Thou also shalt be drunken: thou shalt be hid, thou also shalt seek strength because of the enemy.
“You’re going to be just like them, Assyria.”
12 All thy strong holds shall be like fig trees with the first-ripe figs: if they be shaken, they shall even fall into the mouth of the eater.
13 Behold, thy people in the midst of thee are women: the gates of thy land shall be set wide open unto thine enemies: the fire shall devour thy bars.
14 Draw thee waters for the siege, fortify thy strong holds: go into clay, and tread the morter, make strong the brick kiln.
“You can go ahead and get ready for the siege, but it won’t do you any good.”
15 There shall the fire devour thee; the sword shall cut thee off, it shall eat thee up like the cankerworm: make thyself many as the cankerworm, make thyself many as the locusts.
16 Thou hast multiplied thy merchants above the stars of heaven: the cankerworm spoileth, and fleeth away.
17 Thy 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.
“Though you have been like pests swarming and devouring, you will disappear.”
18 Thy shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria: thy nobles shall dwell in the dust: thy people is scattered upon the mountains, and no man gathereth them.
19 There is no healing of thy bruise; thy wound is grievous: all that hear the bruit of thee shall clap the hands over thee: for upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually?
When Babylon destroyed Assyria, she disappeared from the planet. Culturally and biologically there is no more Assyria. And not another nation will morn their passing.