Nahum 2
Legacy Standard Bible
Yahweh’s Destruction of Nineveh
2 [a]The one who (A)scatters has come up against [b]you.
Guard the fortification, watch the road;
Strengthen your loins, [c]instill your power with exceeding courage.
2 For Yahweh will restore the (B)majesty of Jacob
(C)Like the majesty of Israel,
Even though those who empty them have emptied them to destruction
And (D)ruined their vine branches.
3 The shields of [d]his mighty men are colored red,
The valiant men are dressed in (E)[e]scarlet,
The chariots are enveloped in [f]flashing steel
[g]When he is set up to march,
And the cypress (F)spears are brandished.
4 The (G)chariots race madly in the streets;
They rush wildly in the [h]squares;
Their appearance is like torches;
They dash to and fro like lightning flashes.
5 He remembers his (H)mighty ones;
They (I)stumble in their march;
They hurry to her wall,
And the [i]mantelet is set up.
6 The gates of the rivers are opened,
And the palace is melted away.
7 So it stands fixed:
She is exiled, she is carried away,
And her maidservants are (J)moaning like the sound of doves,
(K)Beating on their hearts.
8 Though Nineveh was like a pool of water throughout her days,
Now they are fleeing;
“Stand! Stand!”
But (L)no one [j]turns back.
9 Plunder the silver!
Plunder the (M)gold!
And there is no limit to the treasure—
[k]Wealth from every kind of desirable object.
10 She is (N)emptied! Yes, she is emptied out and eviscerated!
(O)Hearts are melting and knees knocking!
Also anguish is in all their loins,
And all their (P)faces [l]turn pale!
11 Where is the den of the lions
And the feeding place of the (Q)young lions,
Where the lion, lioness, and lion’s cub prowled,
With nothing to make them tremble?
12 The lion tore enough for its cubs
And strangled enough for its lionesses
And filled its lairs with torn up prey
And its dens with torn up flesh.
13 “Behold, (R)I am against you,” declares Yahweh of hosts. “And I will (S)burn up her chariots in smoke, and a sword will devour your young lions; and I will (T)cut off your prey from the land, and no longer will the voice of your messengers be heard.”
Footnotes
- Nahum 2:1 Ch 2:2 in Heb
- Nahum 2:1 Lit your face
- Nahum 2:1 Or make your power courageous
- Nahum 2:3 Those attacking Nineveh
- Nahum 2:3 Or crimson, cf. Lam 4:5
- Nahum 2:3 Lit fire of steel
- Nahum 2:3 Lit On the day of his preparation
- Nahum 2:4 Lit broad places
- Nahum 2:5 Lit covering (used in a siege)
- Nahum 2:8 Lit gathers
- Nahum 2:9 Lit Glory
- Nahum 2:10 Lit gather their radiance
Nahum 2
International Standard Version
The Coming Invasion of Nineveh
2 [a]You are being attacked by advancing forces!
Guard your rampart!
Watch your roads![b]
Prepare yourselves![c]
Marshall your defenses![d]
2 For the Lord will restore the glory of Jacob,
just as he will restore[e] the glory of Israel,
although plunderers have devastated them,
vandalizing their vine branches.
3 The shields deployed by[f] Israel’s[g] elite forces are scarlet,
their valiant men are clothed in crimson.
When they are prepared,
the polished armament on their chariots will shine,
and lances will be brandished about ferociously.[h]
4 Their chariots storm through the streets,
jostling each other along broad avenues.
They look like torches,
as they dart around like lightning.
5 He will remember to summon[i] his finest troops.
They will stumble on their way,
hurrying over to Nineveh’s[j] wall.
Their defensive shield is in place.
6 The river gates will be opened,
and the palace will collapse.
7 It has been determined:
The woman[k] is unveiled and sent away,
her servant girls mourn.
Beating their breasts,
they whimper like doves.
8 Nineveh is a reservoir whose water is draining away.
“Wait! Wait!” they cry,[l]
yet not even one person[m] looks back.
9 Take the silver! Take the gold!
There is no end to the treasure—
fabulous riches of every imagination.
10 Nineveh[n] is devastated, deserted, and desolate.
Her heart melts, her knees knock.
Every stomach is upset,
every face grows pale.[o]
Nineveh: the Lion’s Den Destroyed
11 Where is this lion’s den?
Where is the place where the young lions fed,
where the lion and its mate walked with their young,
the place where they feared nothing?
12 This lion renders its prey to pieces to feed its whelps,
and strangles enough prey[p] for its mate,
filling its lairs with prey
and its dens with rendered flesh.
13 “I am against you,” declares the Lord of the Heavenly Armies,
“and I will send your chariots up in smoke.
A sword will devour your young lions,
I will eliminate your prey from the earth,
and the voice of your messengers will no longer be heard.”
Footnotes
- Nahum 2:1 This verse is 2:2 in MT, and so throughout the chapter
- Nahum 2:1 Lit. the road
- Nahum 2:1 Lit. Strengthen the loins!
- Nahum 2:1 Lit. Marshall power
- Nahum 2:2 The Heb. lacks will restore
- Nahum 2:3 Lit. shield of
- Nahum 2:3 Lit. its
- Nahum 2:3 The Heb. lacks ferociously
- Nahum 2:5 The Heb. lacks to summon
- Nahum 2:5 The Heb. lacks Nineveh’s
- Nahum 2:7 I.e. Nineveh personified as a woman
- Nahum 2:8 The Heb. lacks they cry
- Nahum 2:8 The Heb. lacks person
- Nahum 2:10 Lit. She; i.e. Nineveh personified as a woman
- Nahum 2:10 Lit. gathers blackness; cf. Joel 2:6b
- Nahum 2:12 The Heb. lacks prey
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