Nahum 2
1 One who scatters advances against you, O Nineveh. Guard the fortress! Watch the road! Brace yourselves! Summon all your strength!
Nineveh! The destroyer has come up against you; mount guard upon the rampart; watch the road; brace yourselves; strengthen your might to the utmost.
2 For the LORD will restore the splendor of Jacob like the splendor of Israel, though destroyers have laid them waste and ruined the branches of their vine.
For the Lord is restoring the majesty of Jacob and of Israel, though the devastators have plundered them and destroyed their vines.
3 The shields of his mighty men are red; the valiant warriors are dressed in scarlet. The fittings of the chariots flash like fire on the day they are prepared, and the spears of cypress have been brandished.
The shields of his warriors are dyed red, his soldiers are clothed in scarlet, his chariots gleam like fire on the day he prepares for battle spears are shaken.
4 The chariots dash through the streets; they rush around the plazas, appearing like torches, darting about like lightning.
Chariots rush across the fields, storm through the squares; they flame like torches, they dart like lightening.
5 He summons his nobles; they stumble as they advance. They race to its wall; the protective shield is set in place.
A leader rallies his nobles, they hurl themselves forward. They speed on toward the wall; the storming-shield is set up.
6 The river gates are thrown open and the palace collapses.
The water-gates are thrown open, and the palace dissolves in ruins.
7 It is decreed that the city be exiled and carried away; her maidservants moan like doves, and beat upon their breasts.
The queen is stripped, she is carried off. Her maids moan like doves, beating upon their breasts.
8 Nineveh has been like a pool of water throughout her days, but now it is draining away. “Stop! Stop!” they cry, but no one turns back.
Like a pool of water is Nineveh, her waters fast ebbing away. ‘Stand firm! Stand firm!’ someone cries, but no one turns back.
9 “Plunder the silver! Plunder the gold!” There is no end to the treasure, an abundance of every precious thing.
‘Loot the silver, loot the gold, for there is no end to the treasure, the wealth and precious things.’
10 She is emptied! Yes, she is desolate and laid waste! Hearts melt, knees knock, bodies tremble, and every face grows pale!
Nineveh is empty, desolate, devastated, with faint heart and knocking knee. There is weakness in every limb, and faces grow pale.
11 Where is the lions’ lair or the feeding ground of the young lions, where the lion and lioness prowled with their cubs, with nothing to frighten them away?
Where now is the den of lions? Where now the lair of their young? Where the lion used to withdraw, with his cubs, with none to disturb them?
12 The lion mauled enough for its cubs and strangled prey for the lioness. It filled its dens with the kill, and its lairs with mauled prey.
The lion tore enough for his cubs, and strangled prey for his lionesses. He filled his caves with the kill, he filled his lairs with fresh meat.
13 “Behold, I am against you,” declares the LORD of Hosts. “I will send your chariots up in smoke, and the sword will devour your young lions. I will cut off your prey from the earth, and the voices of your messengers will no longer be heard.”
‘But see, I am against you,’ the Lord of hosts declares, ‘I will burn your chariots in smoke and fire. The sword will devour your young lions. You will never again prey on the land. No more will your messengers be heard.’
