Nahum 2-3

Christian Standard Bible

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)

⁸ Are you better than Thebes^[h](AG)
that sat along the Nile
with water surrounding her,
whose rampart was the sea,
the river^[i][j] her wall?
⁹ Cush and Egypt were her endless source of strength;
Put and Libya were among her^[k] allies.
¹⁰ Yet she became an exile;
she went into captivity.
Her children were also dashed to pieces^(AH)
at the head of every street.
They cast lots for her dignitaries,^(AI)
and all her nobles were bound in chains.
¹¹ You^[l] also will become drunk;
you will hide.^[m]
You also will seek refuge from the enemy.

¹² All your fortresses are fig trees
with figs that ripened first;
when shaken, they fall—
right into the mouth of the eater!

¹³ Look, your troops are like women among you;
your land’s city gates
are wide open to your enemies.
Fire will devour the bars of your gates.

¹⁴ Draw water for the siege;
strengthen your fortresses.
Step into the clay and tread the mortar;
take hold of the brick-mold!
¹⁵ The fire will devour you there;
the sword will cut you down.
It will devour you like the young locust.^(AJ)
Multiply yourselves like the young locust;
multiply like the swarming locust!
¹⁶ You have made your merchants^(AK)
more numerous than the stars of the sky.
The young locust strips^[n] the land
and flies away.
¹⁷ Your court officials are like the swarming locust,
and your scribes like clouds of locusts,
which settle on the walls on a cold day;
when the sun rises, they take off,
and no one knows where they are.

¹⁸ King of Assyria, your shepherds slumber;^(AL)
your officers sleep.
Your people are scattered across the mountains^(AM)
with no one to gather them together.^(AN)
19 There is no remedy for your injury;
your wound is severe.^(AO)
All who hear the news about you
will clap their hands because of you,^(AP)
for who has not experienced
your constant cruelty?