Nahum 2
1 The destroyer is come before thy face: keepe the munition: looke to the way: make thy loynes strong: increase thy strength mightily.
A scatterer has come up to your face, Keep the bulwark, watch the way, Strengthen the loins, strengthen power mightily.
2 For the Lord hath turned away the glorie of Iaakob, as the glorie of Israel: for the emptiers haue emptied them out, and marred their vine branches.
For YHWH has turned back to the excellence of Jacob, As [to] the excellence of Israel, For emptiers have emptied them out, And they have marred their branches.
3 The shield of his mightie men is made red: the valiant men are in skarlet: the charets shalbe as in the fire and flames in the day of his preparation, and the firre trees shall tremble.
The shield of his mighty ones has become red, Men of might [are in] scarlet, With fiery torches [is] the chariot in a day of his preparation, And the firs have been caused to tremble.
4 The charets shall rage in the streetes: they shall runne to and from in the hie wayes: they shall seeme like lampes: they shall shoote like the lightning.
In out-places the chariots shine, They go to and fro in broad places, Their appearances [are] like torches, As lightnings they run.
5 He shall remember his strong men: they shall stumble as they goe: they shall make haste to the walles thereof, and the defence shall bee prepared.
He remembers his majestic ones, They stumble in their goings, They hurry [to] its wall, And the covering is prepared.
6 The gates of the riuers shalbe opened, and the palace shall melt.
Gates of the rivers have been opened, And the palace is dissolved.
7 And Huzzab the Queene shalbe led away captiue, and her maides shall leade her as with the voyce of doues, smiting vpon their breastes.
And it is established—she has removed, She has been brought up, And her handmaids are leading as the voice of doves, Tabering on their hearts.
8 But Nineueh is of olde like a poole of water: yet they shall flee away. Stande, stande, shall they crie: but none shall looke backe.
And Nineveh [is] as a pool of waters, From of old it [is]—and they are fleeing! “Stand, stand”; and none is turning!
9 Spoyle ye the siluer, spoyle the golde: for there is none ende of the store, and glorie of all the pleasant vessels.
Seize silver, seize gold, And there is no end to the prepared things, [To] the abundance of all desirable vessels.
10 She is emptie and voyde and waste, and the heart melteth, and the knees smite together, and sorowe is in all loynes, and the faces of the all gather blackenesse.
She is empty, indeed, emptiness and waste, And the heart has melted, And the knees have struck together, And great pain [is] in all loins, And the faces of all of them have gathered paleness.
11 Where is the dwelling of the lyons, and the pasture of the lyons whelpes? where the lyon, and the lionesse walked, and the lyons whelpe, and none made them afrayde.
Where [is] the habitation of lionesses? And a feeding-place it [is] for young lions Where a lion has walked, an old lion, A lion’s whelp, and there is none troubling.
12 The lyon did teare in pieces ynough for his whelpes, and woryed for his lyonesse, and filled his holes with praye, and his dennes with, spoyle.
The lion is tearing parts [for] his whelps, And is strangling for his lionesses, And he fills his holes [with] prey, And his habitations [with] torn flesh.
13 Beholde, I come vnto thee, sayeth the Lord of hostes, and I will burne her charets in the smoke, and the sworde shall deuoure thy yong lyons, and I will cut off thy spoyle from the earth, and the voyce of thy messengers shall no more be heard.
“Behold, I [am] against you,” A declaration of YHWH of Hosts, “And I have burned its chariot in smoke, And a sword consumes your young lions, And I have cut off your prey from the land, And the voice of your messengers is not heard anymore!”
