Nahum 2
New American Standard Bible
The Overthrow of Nineveh
2 [a]The one who (A)scatters has come up against [b]you.
Keep watch over the fortress, watch the road;
[c]Bind up your waist, [d]summon all your strength.
2 For the Lord will restore the (B)splendor of Jacob
(C)Like the splendor of Israel,
Even though destroyers have laid waste to them
And (D)ruined their vines.
3 The shields of [e]his warriors are dyed red,
The warriors are dressed in (E)scarlet,
The chariots are fitted with [f]flashing steel
[g]When he is prepared to march,
And the juniper (F)spears are brandished.
4 The (G)chariots drive wildly in the streets,
They rush around in the [h]public squares;
Their appearance is like torches,
They drive back and forth like lightning flashes.
5 He remembers his (H)officers;
They (I)stumble in their advance,
They hurry to her wall,
And the [i]mantelet is set up.
6 The gates of the rivers are opened
And the palace sways back and forth.
7 It is set:
She is stripped, she is led away,
And her slave women are (J)sobbing like the sound of doves,
(K)Beating their [j]breasts.
8 Though Nineveh was like a pool of water throughout her days,
Yet they are fleeing;
“Stop, stop,”
But (L)no one turns back.
9 Plunder the silver,
Plunder the (M)gold!
For there is no end to the treasure—
Wealth from every kind of desirable object.
10 She is (N)emptied! Yes, she is desolate and waste!
(O)Hearts are melting and knees wobbling!
Also trembling is in [k]the entire body,
And all their (P)faces have become 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 went
With nothing to disturb them?
12 The lion tore enough for his cubs,
[l]Killed enough prey for his lionesses,
And filled his lairs with prey
And his dens with torn flesh.
13 “Behold, (R)I am against you,” declares the Lord of armies. “I will (S)burn up her chariots in smoke, and a sword will devour your young lions; I will (T)eliminate 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 Lit Strengthen your loins
- Nahum 2:1 Lit strengthen power greatly
- Nahum 2:3 I.e., those attacking Nineveh
- 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 I.e., a shield used for stopping projectiles
- Nahum 2:7 Lit hearts
- Nahum 2:10 Lit all the loins
- Nahum 2:12 Lit Strangled
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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