The Destruction of Nineveh

(A)The scatterer has come up against you.
    (B)Man the ramparts;
    watch the road;
dress for battle;[a]
    collect all your strength.

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.

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.
(F)The chariots race madly through the streets;
    they rush to and fro through the squares;
they gleam like torches;
    they dart like lightning.
He remembers (G)his officers;
    (H)they stumble as they go,
they hasten to the wall;
    the siege tower[b] is set up.
(I)The river gates are opened;
    the palace (J)melts away;
its mistress[c] is (K)stripped;[d] she is carried off,
    her slave girls (L)lamenting,
moaning like doves
    and beating their breasts.
(M)Nineveh is like a pool
    whose waters run away.[e]
“Halt! Halt!” they cry,
    but (N)none turns back.
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.

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Footnotes

  1. Nahum 2:1 Hebrew gird your loins
  2. Nahum 2:5 Or the mantelet
  3. Nahum 2:7 The meaning of the Hebrew word rendered its mistress is uncertain
  4. Nahum 2:7 Or exiled
  5. Nahum 2:8 Compare Septuagint; the meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
  6. Nahum 2:13 Hebrew her

Nineveh to Fall

[a]An attacker(A) advances against you, Nineveh.
    Guard the fortress,
    watch the road,
    brace yourselves,
    marshal all your strength!

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.

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]
The chariots(E) storm through the streets,
    rushing back and forth through the squares.
They look like flaming torches;
    they dart about like lightning.

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.
The river gates(G) are thrown open
    and the palace collapses.
It is decreed[c] that Nineveh
    be exiled and carried away.
Her female slaves moan(H) like doves
    and beat on their breasts.(I)
Nineveh is like a pool
    whose water is draining away.
“Stop! Stop!” they cry,
    but no one turns back.
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)

11 Where now is the lions’ den,(L)
    the place where they fed their young,
where the lion and lioness went,
    and the cubs, with nothing to fear?
12 The lion killed(M) enough for his cubs
    and strangled the prey for his mate,
filling his lairs(N) with the kill
    and his dens with the prey.(O)

13 “I am against(P) you,”
    declares the Lord Almighty.
“I will burn up your chariots in smoke,(Q)
    and the sword(R) will devour your young lions.
    I will leave you no prey on the earth.
The voices of your messengers
    will no longer be heard.”(S)

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Footnotes

  1. Nahum 2:1 In Hebrew texts 2:1-13 is numbered 2:2-14.
  2. Nahum 2:3 Hebrew; Septuagint and Syriac ready; / the horsemen rush to and fro.
  3. Nahum 2:7 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.