Nahum Propheta 2
1 Ascendit qui dispergat coram te, qui custodiat obsidionem: contemplare viam, conforta lumbos, robora virtutem valde.
One who scatters advances against you, O Nineveh. Guard the fortress! Watch the road! Brace yourselves! Summon all your strength!
2 Quia sicut reddidit Dominus superbiam Iacob, sic superbiam Israel: quia vastatores dissipaverunt eos, et propagines eorum corruperunt.
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 Clypeus fortium eius ignitus, viri exercitus in coccineis: igneae habenae currus in die praeparationis eius, et agitatores consopiti sunt.
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 In itineribus conturbati sunt: quadrigae collisae sunt in plateis: aspectus eorum quasi lampades, quasi fulgura discurrentia.
The chariots dash through the streets; they rush around the plazas, appearing like torches, darting about like lightning.
5 Recordabitur fortium suorum, ruent in itineribus suis: velociter ascendent muros eius, et praeparabitur umbraculum.
He summons his nobles; they stumble as they advance. They race to its wall; the protective shield is set in place.
6 Portae fluviorum apertae sunt, et templum ad solum dirutum.
The river gates are thrown open and the palace collapses.
7 Et miles captivus abductus est: et ancillae eius minabantur gementes ut columbae, murmurantes in cordibus suis.
It is decreed that the city be exiled and carried away; her maidservants moan like doves, and beat upon their breasts.
8 Et Ninive quasi piscina aquarum aquae eius: ipsi vero fugerunt: state, state, et non est qui revertatur.
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 Diripite argentum, diripite aurum: et non est finis divitiarum ex omnibus vasis desiderabilibus.
“Plunder the silver! Plunder the gold!” There is no end to the treasure, an abundance of every precious thing.
10 Dissipata est, et scissa, et dilacerata: et cor tabescens, et dissolutio geniculorum, et defectio in cunctis renibus: et facies omnium eorum sicut nigredo ollae.
She is emptied! Yes, she is desolate and laid waste! Hearts melt, knees knock, bodies tremble, and every face grows pale!
11 Ubi est habitaculum leonum, et pascua catulorum leonum, ad quam ivit leo ut ingrederetur illuc, catulus leonis, et non est qui exterreat?
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 Leo cepit sufficienter catulis suis, et necavit leaenis suis: et implevit praeda speluncas suas, et cubile suum rapina.
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 Ecce ego ad te, dicit Dominus exercituum, et succendam usque ad fumum quadrigas tuas, et leunculos tuos comedet gladius: et exterminabo de terra praedam tuam, et non audietur ultra vox nunciorum tuorum.
“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.”
