נחום 2

1 עלה מפיץ על פניך נצור מצרה צפה דרך חזק מתנים אמץ כח מאד׃

[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 כי שב יהוה את גאון יעקב כגאון ישראל כי בקקום בקקים וזמריהם שחתו׃

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 מגן גבריהו מאדם אנשי חיל מתלעים באש פלדות הרכב ביום הכינו והברשים הרעלו׃

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 בחוצות יתהוללו הרכב ישתקשקון ברחבות מראיהן כלפידם כברקים ירוצצו׃

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 יזכר אדיריו יכשלו בהלכותם ימהרו חומתה והכן הסכך׃

[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 שערי הנהרות נפתחו וההיכל נמוג׃

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 והצב גלתה העלתה ואמהתיה מנהגות כקול יונים מתפפת על לבבהן׃

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 ונינוה כברכת מים מימי היא והמה נסים עמדו עמדו ואין מפנה׃

[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 בזו כסף בזו זהב ואין קצה לתכונה כבד מכל כלי חמדה׃

[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 בוקה ומבוקה ומבלקה ולב נמס ופק ברכים וחלחלה בכל מתנים ופני כלם קבצו פארור׃

[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 איה מעון אריות ומרעה הוא לכפרים אשר הלך אריה לביא שם גור אריה ואין מחריד׃

[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 אריה טרף בדי גרותיו ומחנק ללבאתיו וימלא טרף חריו ומענתיו טרפה׃

[The soldiers in Nineveh were like] [MET] lions that killed or strangled [other animals] [and brought the meat] to their dens.”

13 הנני אליך נאם יהוה צבאות והבערתי בעשן רכבה וכפיריך תאכל חרב והכרתי מארץ טרפך ולא ישמע עוד קול מלאככה׃

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].”