Nahum 2
1 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.
The destroyer is come up against thee to enclose [thee] with works of siege: look out on the way, make thy loins strong, strengthen [thyself] greatly with power.
2 For Yahweh is restoring the majesty of Jacob, like the majesty of Israel, although the plunderers devastated them and destroyed their vine branches.
For the Lord bringeth back again the excellency of Jacob, as also the excellency of Israel; for the plunderers have plundered them, and have wasted branches of their vines.
3 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.
The shields of his mighty men are made red, the valiant men are [clothed] in scarlet: with the fire of the steel the chariots [glitter] on the day when he prepareth himself [for battle], and the spears are shaken.
4 The chariots speed through the streets; they rush back and forth in the wide streets. They look like torches, and they run like lightning.
In the streets the chariots rush madly along, they rattle through the public places: their appearance is like torches, they run along like the lightnings.
5 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.
He will summon his valiant men, they shall stumble in their walk: they hasten to her walls, and the covering for defence is prepared.
6 The gates at the rivers are forced open, and the palace falls to ruins.
The gates of the rivers are opened, and the palace is dissolved.
7 Huzzab is stripped of her clothes and is taken away; her female servants moan like doves, beating on their breasts.
And the queen is carried away into exile stripped of her attire, and her maids moan as with the voice of doves, striking their hand upon their breast.
8 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.
And Nineveh was like a pool of water from the days that she existed: yet now they flee. “Stand, stand,” [shall they cry, ] but none shall look back.
9 Take the silver plunder, take the gold plunder, for there is no end to it, to the splendor of all Nineveh's beautiful things.
Plunder silver, plunder gold; for without end are the treasures, there is an abundance of all precious vessels.
10 Nineveh is empty and ruined. Everyone's heart melts, everyone's knees strike together, and anguish is in everyone; their faces are all pale.
She is void, and emptied out, and wasted; and the heart melteth, and the knees totter, and trembling is in all loins, and the faces of them all are covered with blackness.
11 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?
Where is [now] the dwelling of the lions, and what was the feeding-place of the young lions, where the lion, the lioness, and the lion's whelp walked, and none made them afraid?
12 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.
The lion tore in pieces [prey] enough for his whelps, and strangled for his lionesses, and filled with prey his holes, and his dens with what he had torn.
13 “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.”
Behold, I will be against thee, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will burn into smoke thy chariots, and thy young lions shall the sword devour: and I will cut off from the earth thy preying, and no more shall be heard the voice of thy messengers.
