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
Lexham English Bible
The Divine Warrior Will Attack Nineveh
2 One who shatters[a] has come up against you!
Guard the fortification!
Watch the road![b]
Gird your loins!
Muster[c] all your strength!
2 For Yahweh will restore the majesty of Jacob
like the majesty of Israel;
for ravagers have ravaged them
and ruined their branches.
The Enemy Army Conquers the City of Nineveh
3 The shields of his warriors are dyed red;
The powerful men are dressed in scarlet.
The metal of the chariots[d] shines like fire on the day of battle,[e]
and their spears quiver.
4 The chariots[f] race madly through the streets;
they rush back and forth in the public squares.
Their appearance like lightning bolts,
they dart about like flashes of lightning.
5 He calls his officers;
they stumble as they march;
they rush to her wall;
they set the covering[g] in place.
6 The gates of the river are opened;
the palace trembles.
7 Her goddess is taken out and taken into exile;[h]
her maidservants moan like doves;
they beat on their breasts.
8 Nineveh is like a pool of water without its water.[i]
As they flee,[j] she cries, “Stop! Stop!”
But there is no one who turns back.
9 Plunder the silver! Plunder the gold!
There is no end to the spoils,[k]
an abundance of everything one could want![l]
10 Emptiness and plundering and devastation!
Their hearts faint and their knees tremble,[m]
All their loins shake[n] and all their faces turn[o] pale.
The Divine Warrior Will Hunt down the Mighty Lions
11 Where now is the den of the lions
and the cave of the fierce lions?
There the lioness, the cub, and the lion once prowled,[p]
and no one disturbed them.[q]
12 The lion tore apart enough prey for his cubs,
he strangled prey for his lioness;
he filled his lair[r] with prey
and his den with mangled carcass.
13 “Look! I am against you!” declares[s] Yahweh of hosts.
“I will burn her chariots with fire;[t]
the sword will devour fierce lions.
I will cut off your prey from the earth;
the voice of your messengers will no longer be heard.”
Footnotes
- Nahum 2:1 Literally “a shatterer”
- Nahum 2:1 Or “way”
- Nahum 2:1 Or “Collect”
- Nahum 2:3 Hebrew “chariot”
- Nahum 2:3 Literally “on the day of his preparation”
- Nahum 2:4 Hebrew “chariot”
- Nahum 2:5 The Hebrew word describes a small portable roof to protect siege warriors from arrows and debris hurled at them from the fortified city wall
- Nahum 2:7 Literally “It is decreed that she be exiled and led away.” MT reads the very enigmatic “And he is placed, she is sent into exile, she is taken up.” The BHS editors suggest the conjectural emendation “And her goddess = the idol of the patron deity of Nineveh is taken and taken into exile.” This is adopted in the translation on the basis of internal evidence
- Nahum 2:8 MT reads “from her days.” Greek LXX and Syriac Peshitta reflect “from her waters”
- Nahum 2:8 Literally “And they flee away”
- Nahum 2:9 Literally “the supply”
- Nahum 2:9 Literally “every kind of desirable object”
- Nahum 2:10 Or “totter”
- Nahum 2:10 Literally “And shaking of all loins”
- Nahum 2:10 Literally “gather”
- Nahum 2:11 Literally “went”
- Nahum 2:11 Literally “there is no one making them afraid”
- Nahum 2:12 Literally “his holes”
- Nahum 2:13 Literally “a declaration of”
- Nahum 2:13 Literally “with smoke”
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