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
Revised Standard Version
The Destruction of the Wicked City
2 The shatterer has come up against you.
Man the ramparts;
watch the road;
gird your loins;
collect all your strength.
2 (For the Lord is restoring the majesty of Jacob
as the majesty of Israel,
for plunderers have stripped them
and ruined their branches.)
3 The shield of his mighty men is red,
his soldiers are clothed in scarlet.
The chariots flash like flame[a]
when mustered in array;
the chargers[b] prance.
4 The chariots rage in the streets,
they rush to and fro through the squares;
they gleam like torches,
they dart like lightning.
5 The officers are summoned,
they stumble as they go,
they hasten to the wall,
the mantelet is set up.
6 The river gates are opened,
the palace is in dismay;
7 its mistress[c] is stripped, she is carried off,
her maidens lamenting,
moaning like doves,
and beating their breasts.
8 Nin′eveh is like a pool
whose waters[d] run away.
“Halt! Halt!” they cry;
but none turns back.
9 Plunder the silver,
plunder the gold!
There is no end of treasure,
or wealth of every precious thing.
10 Desolate! Desolation and ruin!
Hearts faint and knees tremble,
anguish is on all loins,
all faces grow pale!
11 Where is the lions’ den,
the cave[e] of the young lions,
where the lion brought his prey,
where his cubs were, with none to disturb?
12 The lion tore enough for his whelps
and strangled prey for his lionesses;
he filled his caves with prey
and his dens with torn flesh.
13 Behold, I am against you, says the Lord of hosts, and 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 the voice of your messengers shall no more be heard.
Footnotes
- Nahum 2:3 Cn: The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain
- Nahum 2:3 Cn Compare Gk Syr: Heb cypresses
- Nahum 2:7 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
- Nahum 2:8 Cn Compare Gk: Heb from the days that she has become, and they
- Nahum 2:11 Cn: Heb pasture
- Nahum 2:13 Heb her
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Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.