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Nahum 2
Authorized (King James) Version
Nahum 2
Authorized (King James) Version
2 He that dasheth in pieces is come up before thy face:
keep the munition, watch the way,
make thy loins strong, fortify thy power mightily.
2 For the Lord hath turned away the excellency of Jacob,
as the excellency of Israel:
for the emptiers have emptied them out,
and marred their vine branches.
3 The shield of his mighty men is made red,
the valiant men are in scarlet:
the chariots shall be with flaming torches in the day of his preparation,
and the fir trees shall be terribly shaken.
4 The chariots shall rage in the streets,
they shall justle one against another in the broad ways:
they shall seem like torches,
they shall run like the lightnings.
5 He shall recount his worthies:
they shall stumble in their walk;
they shall make haste to the wall thereof,
and the defence shall be prepared.
6 The gates of the rivers shall be opened,
and the palace shall be dissolved.
7 And Huzzab shall be led away captive,
she shall be brought up,
and her maids shall lead her as with the voice of doves,
tabering upon their breasts.
8 But Nineveh is of old like a pool of water:
yet they shall flee away.
Stand, stand, shall they cry;
but none shall look back.
9 Take ye the spoil of silver, take the spoil of gold:
for there is none end of the store and glory out of all the pleasant furniture.
10 She is empty, and void, and waste:
and the heart melteth, and the knees smite together,
and much pain is in all loins,
and the faces of them all gather blackness.
11 Where is the dwelling of the lions,
and the feedingplace of the young lions,
where the lion, even the old lion, walked,
and the lion’s whelp, and none made them afraid?
12 The lion did tear in pieces enough for his whelps,
and strangled for his lionesses,
and filled his holes with prey, and his dens with ravin.
13 Behold, I am against thee, saith the Lord of hosts,
and I will burn her chariots in the smoke,
and the sword shall devour thy young lions:
and I will cut off thy prey from the earth,
and the voice of thy messengers shall no more be heard.
Nahum 2
New International Version
Nahum 2
New International Version
Nineveh to Fall
2 [a]An attacker(A) advances against you, Nineveh.
Guard the fortress,
watch the road,
brace yourselves,
marshal all your strength!
2 The Lord will restore(B) the splendor(C) of Jacob
like the splendor of Israel,
though destroyers have laid them waste
and have ruined their vines.
3 The shields of the soldiers are red;
the warriors are clad in scarlet.(D)
The metal on the chariots flashes
on the day they are made ready;
the spears of juniper are brandished.[b]
4 The chariots(E) storm through the streets,
rushing back and forth through the squares.
They look like flaming torches;
they dart about like lightning.
5 Nineveh summons her picked troops,
yet they stumble(F) on their way.
They dash to the city wall;
the protective shield is put in place.
6 The river gates(G) are thrown open
and the palace collapses.
7 It is decreed[c] that Nineveh
be exiled and carried away.
Her female slaves moan(H) like doves
and beat on their breasts.(I)
8 Nineveh is like a pool
whose water is draining away.
“Stop! Stop!” they cry,
but no one turns back.
9 Plunder the silver!
Plunder the gold!
The supply is endless,
the wealth from all its treasures!
10 She is pillaged, plundered, stripped!
Hearts melt,(J) knees give way,
bodies tremble, every face grows pale.(K)
Nahum 2
New Living Translation
Nahum 2
New Living Translation
The Fall of Nineveh
2 [a]Your enemy is coming to crush you, Nineveh.
Man the ramparts! Watch the roads!
Prepare your defenses! Call out your forces!
2 Even though the destroyer has destroyed Judah,
the Lord will restore its honor.
Israel’s vine has been stripped of branches,
but he will restore its splendor.
3 Shields flash red in the sunlight!
See the scarlet uniforms of the valiant troops!
Watch as their glittering chariots move into position,
with a forest of spears waving above them.[b]
4 The chariots race recklessly along the streets
and rush wildly through the squares.
They flash like firelight
and move as swiftly as lightning.
5 The king shouts to his officers;
they stumble in their haste,
rushing to the walls to set up their defenses.
6 The river gates have been torn open!
The palace is about to collapse!
7 Nineveh’s exile has been decreed,
and all the servant girls mourn its capture.
They moan like doves
and beat their breasts in sorrow.
8 Nineveh is like a leaking water reservoir!
The people are slipping away.
“Stop, stop!” someone shouts,
but no one even looks back.
9 Loot the silver!
Plunder the gold!
There’s no end to Nineveh’s treasures—
its vast, uncounted wealth.
10 Soon the city is plundered, empty, and ruined.
Hearts melt and knees shake.
The people stand aghast,
their faces pale and trembling.
11 Where now is that great Nineveh,
that den filled with young lions?
It was a place where people—like lions and their cubs—
walked freely and without fear.
12 The lion tore up meat for his cubs
and strangled prey for his mate.
He filled his den with prey,
his caverns with his plunder.
13 “I am your enemy!”
says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
“Your chariots will soon go up in smoke.
Your young men[c] will be killed in battle.
Never again will you plunder conquered nations.
The voices of your proud messengers will be heard no more.”
Authorized (King James) Version (AKJV)
KJV reproduced by permission of Cambridge University Press, the Crown’s patentee in the UK.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.