Nahum 2

Chapter 2

The Overthrow of Nineveh

¹¹The one who ^ascatters has come up against ²you.

Man the fortress, watch the road;

³Strengthen your back, ⁴summon all your strength.

²For the Lord will restore the ^asplendor of Jacob

^bLike the splendor of Israel,

Even though devastators have devastated them

And ^cdestroyed their vine branches.

³The shields of ¹his mighty men are colored red,

The warriors are dressed in ^ascarlet,

The chariots are enveloped in ²flashing steel

³When he is prepared to march,

And the cypress ^bspears are brandished.

⁴The ^achariots race madly in the streets,

They rush wildly in the ¹squares,

Their appearance is like torches,

They dash to and fro like lightning flashes.

⁵He remembers his ^anobles;

They ^bstumble in their march,

They hurry to her wall,

And the ¹mantelet is set up.

⁶The gates of the rivers are opened

And the palace is dissolved.

⁷It is fixed:

She is stripped, she is carried away,

And her handmaids are ^amoaning like the sound of doves,

^bBeating on their ¹breasts.

⁸Though Nineveh was like a pool of water throughout her days,

Now they are fleeing;

“Stop, stop,”

But ^ano one turns back.

⁹Plunder the silver!

Plunder the ^agold!

For there is no limit to the treasure—

Wealth from every kind of desirable object.

¹⁰She is ^aemptied! Yes, she is desolate and waste!

^bHearts are melting and knees knocking!

Also anguish is in ¹the whole body

And all their ^cfaces are grown pale!

¹¹Where is the den of the lions

And the feeding place of the ^ayoung lions,

Where the lion, lioness and lion’s cub prowled,

With nothing to disturb them?

¹²The lion tore enough for his cubs,

¹Killed enough for his lionesses,

And filled his lairs with prey

And his dens with torn flesh.

¹³“Behold, ^aI am against you,” declares the Lord of hosts. “I will ^bburn up her chariots in smoke, a sword will devour your young lions; I will ^ccut off your prey from the land, and no longer will the voice of your messengers be heard.”