< Nawoun 2 >
1 Sila ki konn kaze brize a gen tan monte kont ou. Kenbe fò a! Veye chemen an! Ranfòse ren ou! Ranmase tout kouraj ou!
[You people of] [APO] Nineveh, your enemies are coming to attack you. [So] place guards on the tops of the walls around the city! Guard the roads [into the city]! Get ready to fight! Gather your troops/soldiers [MTY] together!
2 Paske SENYÈ a va restore tout glwa a Jacob, menm jan ak glwa Israël la, paske piyajè yo fin piyaje yo, e te rache branch rezen li yo.
Even though enemy soldiers have destroyed the descendants of [MTY] Jacob, Yahweh will cause them to be honored again. Israel is like a grapevine that has been ruined, but Israel will prosper again.
3 Boukliye a mesye pwisan li yo vin wouj. Gèrye yo vin abiye an kramwazi. Cha yo klere an asye nan jou derape a. Lans an bwa pichpen yo vin parèt.
The shields of the enemy soldiers [who are coming to attack you] will shine red [as the sun shines on them], and they will wear bright red uniforms. The metal of their chariot [wheels] will flash when they line up [before the battle], and their soldiers will lift up their cypress/pine spears and wave them.
4 Cha yo kouri fou nan lari. Yo sikile san kontwòl sou wout yo. Aparans yo tankou tòch, yo kouri patou tankou kout loray.
Their chariots will dash through the streets [of Nineveh] and rush furiously through the plazas. Going as quick as lightning, they will resemble flaming torches.
5 Li rele gèye pi chwa li yo. Yo manke tonbe nan fòme yo. Yo prese rive nan miray la. Gwo barikàd syèj defans la fin prepare.
[Meanwhile], your king will summon his officers who will stumble as they [try to] come [quickly]. They will dash to the [city] wall, holding their shields to protect themselves.
6 Pòtay rivyè yo ouvri e palè a fin kraze nèt.
But, the gates [of the dams] on the rivers will be thrown open [by enemy soldiers], and [the flood will cause] the palace to collapse.
7 Bagay la fin fèt; Ninive vin toutouni, li fin pote ale nèt. Sèvant li yo ap plenyen ak vwa toutrèl; y ap bat lestonmak yo.
The queen will have her clothes stripped off her [by enemy soldiers], and her slave girls will moan like doves and beat their breasts [to show that they are very sad].
8 Men Ninive te tankou ti lak dlo depi lontan; malgre sa, y ap sove ale. “Rete, Rete”! Yo kriye fò, Men pèsòn pa gade dèyè.
[The people will rush from] Nineveh like [SIM] water rushes from a broken dam. [The officials] will shout, “Stop! Stop!” but the people will not even look back [as they run away].
9 Pran piyaj ajan! Pran piyaj lò! Paske gen trezò san limit—gen valè nan tout bagay presye yo.
[The enemy attackers say to each other, ] “Seize the silver! Grab the gold! There is a huge amount of very valuable things in this city, more valuable things than anyone can count!”
10 Li vin vid nèt! Wi, li vin dezole e gate. Kè yo ap fann e jenou yo si tèlman ap sekwe, youn bat lòt. Doulè ak laperèz domine tout kò a, e figi yo vin blèm!
[Soon everything valuable in the city] will be seized or ruined. People will be trembling, with the result that they will not be able to fight. Their faces will all become pale.
11 Kote fòs lyon yo ye? Kote plas la tout jenn lyon yo te manje? Kote andwa a manman lyon an ak ti lyon an te konn mache? Plas la kote okenn pa t konn fè yo pè?
[After that happens, people will say, ] “What happened to [RHQ] that [great city of Nineveh]? [It was like] [MET] a den [full] of young lions, where the male and female lions lived and fed the young ones.
12 Lyon an te kon chire viktim yo an mòso ase pou manje ti lyon li yo. Li te touye pou manman lyon li yo. Li te plen kav li ak chè ki dechire e tanyè li ak viktim.
[The soldiers in Nineveh were like] [MET] lions that killed or strangled [other animals] [and brought the meat] to their dens.”
13 “Gade byen Mwen kont ou”, pale SENYÈ dèzame yo. “Mwen va brile cha lagè li yo nan lafimen. Nepe a va devore jenn lyon ou yo. Mwen va retire nan peyi a, tout chè nou te konn manje. Konsa, vwa mesaje nou yo p ap tande ankò.”
The Commander of the armies of angels says [to the people of Nineveh], “I am opposed to you; I will cause your chariots to [be burned in fires and] go up in smoke. Your young men will be killed with swords. [Your soldiers] will never again conquer [other nations] and seize their valuable possessions. Your messengers will never again take messages [to other nations, demanding that their armies surrender to them].”