Nahum 2
New King James Version
The Destruction of Nineveh
2 He[a] who scatters has come up before your face.
Man the fort!
Watch the road!
Strengthen your flanks!
Fortify your power mightily.
2 For the Lord will restore the excellence of Jacob
Like the excellence of Israel,
For the emptiers have emptied them out
And ruined their vine branches.
3 The shields of his mighty men are made red,
The valiant men are in scarlet.
The chariots come with flaming torches
In the day of his preparation,
And [b]the spears are brandished.
4 The chariots rage in the streets,
They jostle one another in the broad roads;
They seem like torches,
They run like lightning.
5 He remembers his nobles;
They stumble in their walk;
They make haste to her walls,
And the defense is prepared.
6 The gates of the rivers are opened,
And the palace is dissolved.
7 [c]It is decreed:
She shall be led away captive,
She shall be brought up;
And her maidservants shall lead her as with the voice of doves,
Beating their breasts.
8 Though Nineveh of old was like a pool of water,
Now they flee away.
[d]“Halt! Halt!” they cry;
But no one turns back.
9 [e]Take spoil of silver!
Take spoil of (A)gold!
There is no end of treasure,
Or wealth of every desirable prize.
10 She is empty, desolate, and waste!
The heart melts, and the knees shake;
Much pain is in every side,
And all their faces [f]are drained of color.
11 Where is the dwelling of the (B)lions,
And the feeding place of the young lions,
Where the lion walked, the lioness and lion’s cub,
And no one made them afraid?
12 The lion tore in pieces enough for his cubs,
[g]Killed for his lionesses,
(C)Filled his caves with prey,
And his dens with [h]flesh.
13 “Behold, (D)I am against you,” says the Lord of hosts, “I will burn [i]your 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 (E)messengers shall be heard no more.”
Footnotes
- Nahum 2:1 Vg. He who destroys
- Nahum 2:3 Lit. the cypresses are shaken; LXX, Syr. the horses rush about; Vg. the drivers are stupefied
- Nahum 2:7 Heb. Huzzab
- Nahum 2:8 Lit. Stand
- Nahum 2:9 Plunder
- Nahum 2:10 LXX, Tg., Vg. gather blackness; Joel 2:6
- Nahum 2:12 Lit. Strangled
- Nahum 2:12 Torn flesh
- Nahum 2:13 Lit. her
Nahum 2
Christian Standard Bible
Attack against Nineveh
2 One who scatters is coming up against you.(A)
Man the fortifications!
Watch the road!
Brace[a] yourself!
Summon all your strength!(B)
2 For the Lord will restore the majesty of Jacob,(C)
yes,[b] the majesty of Israel,
though ravagers have ravaged them(D)
and ruined their vine branches.(E)
3 The shields of his[c] warriors are dyed red;
the valiant men are dressed in scarlet.(F)
The fittings of the chariot flash like fire(G)
on the day of its battle preparations,
and the spears are brandished.
4 The chariots dash madly through the streets;
they rush around in the plazas.
They look like torches;
they dart back and forth like lightning.
5 He gives orders to his officers;
they stumble as they advance.
They race to its wall;
the protective shield is set in place.
6 The river gates are opened,
and the palace erodes away.(H)
7 Beauty[d] is stripped;[e]
she is carried away;
her ladies-in-waiting moan
like the sound of doves(I)
and beat their breasts.(J)
8 Nineveh has been like a pool of water
from her first days,[f]
but they are fleeing.
“Stop! Stop!” they cry,
but no one turns back.
9 “Plunder the silver! Plunder the gold!” (K)
There is no end to the treasure,
an abundance of every precious thing.(L)
10 Desolation, decimation, devastation!
Hearts melt,(M)
knees tremble,(N)
insides churn,(O)
every face grows pale!(P)
11 Where is the lions’ lair,(Q)
or the feeding ground of the young lions,
where the lion and lioness prowled,
and the lion’s cub,
with nothing to frighten them away?(R)
12 The lion mauled whatever its cubs needed
and strangled prey for its lionesses.
It filled up its dens with the kill,
and its lairs with mauled prey.(S)
13 Beware, I am against you.(T)
This is the declaration of the Lord of Armies.
I will make your chariots go up in smoke,[g]
and the sword will devour your young lions.(U)
I will cut off your prey from the earth,
and the sound of your messengers
will never be heard again.(V)
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.