Nahum 2
1 A maul is come up before thy face; guard the defences, watch the way, make thy loins strong, fortify thy power mightily! —
One who scatters advances against you, O Nineveh. Guard the fortress! Watch the road! Brace yourselves! Summon all your strength!
2 For the LORD restoreth the pride of Jacob, as the pride of Israel; for the emptiers have emptied them out, and marred their vine-branches. —
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.
3 The shield of his mighty men is made red, the valiant men are in scarlet; the chariots are fire of steel in the day of his preparation, and the cypress spears are made to quiver.
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.
4 The chariots rush madly in the streets, they jostle one against another in the broad places; the appearance of them is like torches, they run to and fro like the lightnings.
The chariots dash through the streets; they rush around the plazas, appearing like torches, darting about like lightning.
5 He bethinketh himself of his worthies; they stumble in their march; they make haste to the wall thereof, and the mantelet is prepared.
He summons his nobles; they stumble as they advance. They race to its wall; the protective shield is set in place.
6 The gates of the rivers are opened, and the palace is dissolved.
The river gates are thrown open and the palace collapses.
7 And the queen is uncovered, she is carried away, and her handmaids moan as with the voice of doves, tabering upon their breasts.
It is decreed that the city be exiled and carried away; her maidservants moan like doves, and beat upon their breasts.
8 But Nineveh hath been from of old like a pool of water; yet they flee away; 'Stand, stand'; but none looketh back.
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.
9 Take ye the spoil of silver, take the spoil of gold; for there is no end of the store, rich with all precious vessels.
“Plunder the silver! Plunder the gold!” There is no end to the treasure, an abundance of every precious thing.
10 She is empty, and void, and waste; and the heart melteth, and the knees smite together, and convulsion is in all loins, and the faces of them all have gathered blackness.
She is emptied! Yes, she is desolate and laid waste! Hearts melt, knees knock, bodies tremble, and every face grows pale!
11 Where is the den of the lions, which was the feeding-place of the young lions, where the lion and the lioness walked, and the lion's whelp, and none made them afraid?
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?
12 The lion did tear in pieces enough for his whelps, and strangled for his lionesses, and filled his caves with prey, and his dens with ravin.
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.
13 Behold, I am against thee, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will burn her chariots in the smoke, and the sword shall devour thy young lions; and I will cut off thy prey from the earth, and the voice of thy messengers shall no more be heard.
“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.”
