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Nahum 2
Revised Geneva Translation
Nahum 2
Revised Geneva Translation
2 The destroyer has come before your face. Man the ramparts! Watch the road! Harden yourselves! Increase your strength mightily!
2 For the LORD has turned away the glory of Jacob, as the glory of Israel. For the emptiers have emptied them out and marred their vine branches.
3 The shields of His mighty men are made red. The valiant men are in scarlet. The chariots are afire, flaming on the day of His preparation. And the fir trees shall tremble.
4 The chariots shall rage in the streets. They shall run to and fro on the highways. They shall seem like lamps. They shall shoot like lightning.
5 He shall remember His strong men. They shall stumble as they go. They shall hurry to its walls. And the defense shall be prepared.
6 The gates of the rivers shall be opened. And the palace shall melt.
7 And Huzzab shall be led away captive. And her maids shall lead, as with the voice of doves, striking upon their breasts.
8 Though Nineveh was of old like a pool of water, now they shall flee away. “Stand! Stand!” shall they cry. But no one shall look back.
9 Plunder the silver! Plunder the gold! For there is no end to the treasure and glory of all the pleasant vessels!
10 She is empty and void and laid waste. And the heart melts. And the knees strike together. And sorrow is in all loins. And the faces of them all gather heat.
11 Where is the dwelling of the lions and the pasture of the lion’s whelps, where the lion and the lioness awakened, and the lion’s whelp, and no one made them afraid?
12 The lion tore enough in pieces for his whelps, and worried for his lioness, and filled his holes with prey, and his dens with spoil.
13 “Behold, I come to you,” says the LORD of Hosts, “and I will burn her chariots in the smoke. And the sword shall devour your young lions. And I will cut off your spoil from the Earth. And the voice of your messengers shall no longer be heard.”
Nahum 2
English Standard Version
Nahum 2
English Standard Version
The Destruction of Nineveh
2 (A)The scatterer has come up against you.
(B)Man the ramparts;
watch the road;
dress for battle;[a]
collect all your strength.
2 For (C)the Lord is restoring the majesty of Jacob
as the majesty of Israel,
for plunderers have plundered them
and (D)ruined their branches.
3 The shield of his mighty men is red;
(E)his soldiers are clothed in scarlet.
The chariots come with flashing metal
on the day he musters them;
the cypress spears are brandished.
4 (F)The chariots race madly through the streets;
they rush to and fro through the squares;
they gleam like torches;
they dart like lightning.
5 He remembers (G)his officers;
(H)they stumble as they go,
they hasten to the wall;
the siege tower[b] is set up.
6 (I)The river gates are opened;
the palace (J)melts away;
7 its mistress[c] is (K)stripped;[d] she is carried off,
her slave girls (L)lamenting,
moaning like doves
and beating their breasts.
8 (M)Nineveh is like a pool
whose waters run away.[e]
“Halt! Halt!” they cry,
but (N)none turns back.
9 Plunder the silver,
plunder the gold!
There is no end of the treasure
or of the wealth of all precious things.
10 (O)Desolate! Desolation and ruin!
(P)Hearts melt and (Q)knees tremble;
(R)anguish is in all loins;
(S)all faces grow pale!
11 Where is the lions' den,
the feeding place of (T)the young lions,
where the lion and lioness went,
where his cubs were, with (U)none to disturb?
12 (V)The lion tore enough for his cubs
and (W)strangled prey for his lionesses;
he filled his caves with prey
and his dens with torn flesh.
13 (X)Behold, I am against you, declares the Lord of hosts, and (Y)I will burn your[f] chariots in smoke, and the sword shall devour your young lions. I will cut off your prey from the earth, and (Z)the voice of your messengers shall no longer be heard.
Nahum 2
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Nahum 2
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 2
1 At this moment on the mountains
the footsteps of one bearing good news,
of one announcing peace!(A)
Celebrate your feasts, Judah,
fulfill your vows!
For never again will destroyers invade you;[a]
they are completely cut off.
The Attack on Nineveh
2 One who scatters has come up against you;[b]
guard the rampart,
Watch the road, brace yourselves,
marshal all your strength!
3 [c]The Lord will restore the vine of Jacob,
the honor of Israel,
Because ravagers have ravaged them
and ruined their branches.
4 The shields of his warriors are crimsoned,
the soldiers clad in scarlet;
Like fire are the trappings of the chariots
on the day he prepares for war;
the cavalry is agitated!
5 The chariots dash madly through the streets
and wheel in the squares,
Looking like torches,
bolting like lightning.
6 His picked troops are called,
ranks break at their charge;
To the wall they rush,
their screen[d] is set up.
7 The river gates[e] are opened,
the palace is washed away.
8 The mistress is led forth captive,
and her maidservants[f] led away,
Moaning like doves,
beating their breasts.
9 Nineveh is like a pool
whose waters escape;
“Stop! Stop!”
but none turns back.(B)
10 “Plunder the silver, plunder the gold!”
There is no end to the treasure,
to wealth in every precious thing!
11 Emptiness, desolation, waste;
melting hearts and trembling knees,
Churning in every stomach,
every face turning pale!(C)
12 Where is the lionesses’ den,
the young lions’ cave,
Where the lion[g] went in and out,
and the cub, with no one to disturb them?(D)
13 The lion tore apart enough for his cubs,
and strangled for his lionesses;
He filled his lairs with prey,
and his dens with torn flesh.
14 I now come against you—
oracle of the Lord of hosts—
I will consume your chariots in smoke,
and the sword will devour your young lions;
Your preying on the land I will bring to an end,
the cry of your lionesses will be heard no more.
Footnotes
- 2:1 For never again will destroyers invade you: prophets are not always absolutely accurate in the things they foresee. Nineveh was destroyed, as Nahum expected, but Judah was later invaded by the Babylonians and (much later) by the Romans. The prophets were convinced that Israel held a key place in God’s plan and looked for the people to survive all catastrophes, always blessed by the Lord, though the manner was not always as they expected; the “fallen hut of David” was not rebuilt as Am 9:11 suggests, except in the coming of Jesus, and in a way far different than the prophet expected. Often the prophet speaks in hyperbole, as when Second Isaiah speaks of the restored Jerusalem being built with precious stones (Is 54:12) as a way of indicating a glorious future.
- 2:2 One who scatters has come up against you: the enemy is about to crush Nineveh, dispersing and deporting its people (v. 8; 3:18).
- 2:3 This verse does not fit its context well; it may have been the conclusion for the preceding section and have once followed v. 1, or it may be a later scribal addition.
- 2:6 Their screen: that is, a mantelet, a movable military shelter protecting the besiegers.
- 2:7 River gates: a network of canals brought water into Nineveh from the Tigris and Khosr Rivers on which the city was located.
- 2:8 Mistress…and her maidservants: either the queen of Nineveh with the ladies of her court, or the city of Nineveh itself, pictured as a noblewoman (3:4).
- 2:12 The lion: the king of Assyria.
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)
Revised Geneva Translation (RGT)
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English Standard Version (ESV) 
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New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)
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New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.