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.
The one who will dash you to pieces is coming up against you. Man the city walls, guard the roads, make yourselves strong, assemble your armies.
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 Yahweh is restoring the majesty of Jacob, like the majesty of Israel, although the plunderers devastated them and destroyed their vine 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 shields of his mighty men are red, and the soldiers are clothed in scarlet; the chariots flash with their metal on the day that they are made ready, and the cypress spears are waved in the air.
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.
The chariots speed through the streets; they rush back and forth in the wide streets. They look like torches, and they run like lightning.
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.
The one who will dash you to pieces calls his officers; they stumble over each other in their march; they hurry to attack the city wall. The large shield is made ready to protect these attackers.
6 The gates of the riuers shalbe opened, and the palace shall melt.
The gates at the rivers are forced open, and the palace falls to ruins.
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.
Huzzab is stripped of her clothes and is taken away; her female servants moan like doves, beating on their breasts.
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.
Nineveh is like a leaking pool of water, with its people fleeing away like rushing water. Others shout, “Stop, stop,” but no one looks back.
9 Spoyle ye the siluer, spoyle the golde: for there is none ende of the store, and glorie of all the pleasant vessels.
Take the silver plunder, take the gold plunder, for there is no end to it, to the splendor of all Nineveh's beautiful things.
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.
Nineveh is empty and ruined. Everyone's heart melts, everyone's knees strike together, and anguish is in everyone; their faces are all pale.
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 now is the lions' den, the place where the young lion cubs were fed, the place where the lion and lioness walked, with the cubs, where they were afraid of nothing?
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 tore his victims to pieces for his cubs; he strangled victims for his lionesses, and filled his cave with victims, his dens with torn carcasses.
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.
“See, I am against you—this is the declaration of Yahweh of hosts. I will burn your chariots in the smoke, and the sword will devour your young lions. I will cut off your prey from your land, and the voices of your messengers will be heard no more.”
