Nahum 2 - Habakkuk 1

New International Version

Nineveh to Fall

2 ^[a]An attacker^(A) advances against you, Nineveh.
    Guard the fortress,
    watch the road,
    brace yourselves,
    marshal all your strength!

²The Lord will restore^(B) the splendor^(C) of Jacob
like the splendor of Israel,
though destroyers have laid them waste
and have ruined their vines.

³The shields of the soldiers are red;
    the warriors are clad in scarlet.^(D)
The metal on the chariots flashes
    on the day they are made ready;
    the spears of juniper are brandished.^[b]
⁴The chariots^(E) storm through the streets,
    rushing back and forth through the squares.
They look like flaming torches;
    they dart about like lightning.

⁵Nineveh summons her picked troops,
    yet they stumble^(F) on their way.
They dash to the city wall;
    the protective shield is put in place.
⁶The river gates^(G) are thrown open
    and the palace collapses.
⁷It is decreed^[c] that Nineveh
    be exiled and carried away.
Her female slaves moan^(H) like doves
    and beat on their breasts.^(I)
⁸Nineveh is like a pool
    whose water is draining away.
“Stop! Stop!” they cry,
    but no one turns back.
⁹Plunder the silver!
    Plunder the gold!
The supply is endless,
    the wealth from all its treasures!
¹⁰She is pillaged, plundered, stripped!
    Hearts melt,^(J) knees give way,
    bodies tremble, every face grows pale.^(K)

¹¹Where now is the lions’ den,^(L)
    the place where they fed their young,
where the lion and lioness went,
    and the cubs, with nothing to fear?
¹²The lion killed^(M) enough for his cubs
    and strangled the prey for his mate,
filling his lairs^(N) with the kill
    and his dens with the prey.^(O)

¹³“I am against^(P) you,”
    declares the Lord Almighty.
“I will burn up your chariots in smoke,^(Q)
    and the sword^(R) will devour your young lions.
    I will leave you no prey on the earth.
The voices of your messengers
    will no longer be heard.”^(S)

Woe to Nineveh

3 Woe to the city of blood,^(T)
    full of lies,^(U)
full of plunder,
    never without victims!
²The crack of whips,
    the clatter of wheels,
galloping horses
    and jolting chariots!
³Charging cavalry,
    flashing swords
    and glittering spears!
Many casualties,
    piles of dead,
bodies without number,
    people stumbling over the corpses^(V)—
⁴all because of the wanton lust of a prostitute,
    alluring, the mistress of sorceries,^(W)
who enslaved nations by her prostitution^(X)
    and peoples by her witchcraft.

⁵“I am against^(Y) you,” declares the Lord Almighty.
    “I will lift your skirts^(Z) over your face.
I will show the nations your nakedness^(AA)
    and the kingdoms your shame.
⁶I will pelt you with filth,^(AB)
    I will treat you with contempt^(AC)
    and make you a spectacle.^(AD)
⁷All who see you will flee^(AE) from you and say,
    ‘Nineveh^(AF) is in ruins^(AG)—who will mourn for her?’^(AH)
    Where can I find anyone to comfort^(AI) you?”

⁸Are you better than^(AJ) Thebes,^(AK)
    situated on the Nile,^(AL)
    with water around her?
The river was her defense,
    the waters her wall.
⁹Cush^[d]^(AM) and Egypt were her boundless strength;
    Put^(AN) and Libya^(AO) were among her allies.
¹⁰Yet she was taken captive^(AP)
    and went into exile.
Her infants were dashed^(AQ) to pieces
    at every street corner.
Lots^(AR) were cast for her nobles,
    and all her great men were put in chains.^(AS)
¹¹You too will become drunk;^(AT)
    you will go into hiding^(AU)
    and seek refuge from the enemy.

¹²All your fortresses are like fig trees
    with their first ripe fruit;^(AV)
when they are shaken,
    the figs^(AW) fall into the mouth of the eater.
¹³Look at your troops—
    they are all weaklings.^(AX)
The gates^(AY) of your land
    are wide open to your enemies;
    fire has consumed the bars of your gates.^(AZ)

¹⁴Draw water for the siege,^(BA)
    strengthen your defenses!^(BB)
Work the clay,
    tread the mortar,
    repair the brickwork!
¹⁵There the fire^(BC) will consume you;
    the sword^(BD) will cut you down—
    they will devour you like a swarm of locusts.
Multiply like grasshoppers,
    multiply like locusts!^(BE)
¹⁶You have increased the number of your merchants
    till they are more numerous than the stars in the sky,
but like locusts^(BF) they strip the land
    and then fly away.
¹⁷Your guards are like locusts,^(BG)
    your officials like swarms of locusts
    that settle in the walls on a cold day—
but when the sun appears they fly away,
    and no one knows where.

¹⁸King of Assyria, your shepherds^[e] slumber;^(BH)
    your nobles lie down to rest.^(BI)
Your people are scattered^(BJ) on the mountains
    with no one to gather them.
¹⁹Nothing can heal you;^(BK)
    your wound is fatal.
All who hear the news about you
    clap their hands^(BL) at your fall,
for who has not felt
    your endless cruelty?^(BM)

1 The prophecy^(BN) that Habakkuk the prophet received.

Habakkuk’s Complaint

²How long,^(BO) Lord, must I call for help,
    but you do not listen?^(BP)
Or cry out to you, “Violence!”
    but you do not save?^(BQ)
³Why do you make me look at injustice?
    Why do you tolerate^(BR) wrongdoing?^(BS)
Destruction and violence^(BT) are before me;
    there is strife,^(BU) and conflict abounds.
⁴Therefore the law^(BV) is paralyzed,
    and justice never prevails.
The wicked hem in the righteous,
    so that justice^(BW) is perverted.^(BX)

The Lord’s Answer

⁵“Look at the nations and watch—
    and be utterly amazed.^(BY)
For I am going to do something in your days
    that you would not believe,
    even if you were told.^(BZ)
⁶I am raising up the Babylonians,^[f]^(CA)
    that ruthless and impetuous people,
who sweep across the whole earth^(CB)
    to seize dwellings not their own.^(CC)
⁷They are a feared and dreaded people;^(CD)
    they are a law to themselves
    and promote their own honor.
⁸Their horses are swifter^(CE) than leopards,
    fiercer than wolves^(CF) at dusk.
Their cavalry gallops headlong;
    their horsemen come from afar.
They fly like an eagle swooping to devour;
⁹    they all come intent on violence.
Their hordes^[g] advance like a desert wind
    and gather prisoners^(CG) like sand.
¹⁰They mock kings
    and scoff at rulers.^(CH)
They laugh at all fortified cities;
    by building earthen ramps^(CI) they capture them.
¹¹Then they sweep past like the wind^(CJ) and go on—
    guilty people, whose own strength is their god.”^(CK)

Habakkuk’s Second Complaint

¹²Lord, are you not from everlasting?^(CL)
    My God, my Holy One,^(CM) you^[h] will never die.^(CN)
You, Lord, have appointed^(CO) them to execute judgment;
    you, my Rock,^(CP) have ordained them to punish.
¹³Your eyes are too pure^(CQ) to look on evil;
    you cannot tolerate wrongdoing.^(CR)
Why then do you tolerate^(CS) the treacherous?^(CT)
    Why are you silent while the wicked
    swallow up those more righteous than themselves?^(CU)
¹⁴You have made people like the fish in the sea,
    like the sea creatures that have no ruler.
¹⁵The wicked^(CV) foe pulls all of them up with hooks,^(CW)
    he catches them in his net,^(CX)
he gathers them up in his dragnet;
    and so he rejoices and is glad.
¹⁶Therefore he sacrifices to his net
    and burns incense^(CY) to his dragnet,
for by his net he lives in luxury
    and enjoys the choicest food.
¹⁷Is he to keep on emptying his net,
    destroying nations without mercy?^(CZ)

Notas al pie

Nahum 2:1 In Hebrew texts 2:1-13 is numbered 2:2-14.
Nahum 2:3 Hebrew; Septuagint and Syriac ready; / the horsemen rush to and fro.
Nahum 2:7 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
Nahum 3:9 That is, the upper Nile region
Nahum 3:18 That is, rulers
Habakkuk 1:6 Or Chaldeans
Habakkuk 1:9 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
Habakkuk 1:12 An ancient Hebrew scribal tradition; Masoretic Text we