² Even though the destroyer has destroyed Judah,
    the Lord will restore its honor.
Israel’s vine has been stripped of branches,
    but he will restore its splendor.

³ Shields flash red in the sunlight!
    See the scarlet uniforms of the valiant troops!
Watch as their glittering chariots move into position,
    with a forest of spears waving above them.^[b]
4 The chariots race recklessly along the streets
    and rush wildly through the squares.
They flash like firelight
    and move as swiftly as lightning.
⁵ The king shouts to his officers;
    they stumble in their haste,
    rushing to the walls to set up their defenses.
⁶ The river gates have been torn open!
    The palace is about to collapse!
⁷ Nineveh’s exile has been decreed,
    and all the servant girls mourn its capture.
They moan like doves
    and beat their breasts in sorrow.
⁸ Nineveh is like a leaking water reservoir!
    The people are slipping away.
“Stop, stop!” someone shouts,
    but no one even looks back.
⁹ Loot the silver!
    Plunder the gold!
There’s no end to Nineveh’s treasures—
    its vast, uncounted wealth.
¹⁰ Soon the city is plundered, empty, and ruined.
    Hearts melt and knees shake.
The people stand aghast,
    their faces pale and trembling.

¹¹ Where now is that great Nineveh,
    that den filled with young lions?
It was a place where people—like lions and their cubs—
    walked freely and without fear.
¹² The lion tore up meat for his cubs
    and strangled prey for his mate.
He filled his den with prey,
    his caverns with his plunder.

¹³ “I am your enemy!”
    says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
“Your chariots will soon go up in smoke.
    Your young men^[c] will be killed in battle.
Never again will you plunder conquered nations.
    The voices of your proud messengers will be heard no more.”

⁵ “I am your enemy!”
    says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
“And now I will lift your skirts
    and show all the earth your nakedness and shame.
⁶ I will cover you with filth
    and show the world how vile you really are.
⁷ All who see you will shrink back and say,
    ‘Nineveh lies in ruins.
Where are the mourners?’
    Does anyone regret your destruction?”

⁸ Are you any better than the city of Thebes,^[d]
    situated on the Nile River, surrounded by water?
She was protected by the river on all sides,
    walled in by water.
⁹ Ethiopia^[e] and the land of Egypt
    gave unlimited assistance.
The nations of Put and Libya
    were among her allies.
¹⁰ Yet Thebes fell,
    and her people were led away as captives.
Her babies were dashed to death
    against the stones of the streets.
Soldiers threw dice^[f] to get Egyptian officers as servants.
    All their leaders were bound in chains.

¹¹ And you, Nineveh, will also stagger like a drunkard.
    You will hide for fear of the attacking enemy.
¹² All your fortresses will fall.
    They will be devoured like the ripe figs
that fall into the mouths
    of those who shake the trees.
¹³ Your troops will be as weak
    and helpless as women.
The gates of your land will be opened wide to the enemy
    and set on fire and burned.
¹⁴ Get ready for the siege!
    Store up water!
    Strengthen the defenses!
Go into the pits to trample clay,
    and pack it into molds,
    making bricks to repair the walls.

¹⁵ But the fire will devour you;
    the sword will cut you down.
The enemy will consume you like locusts,
    devouring everything they see.
There will be no escape,
    even if you multiply like swarming locusts.
¹⁶ Your merchants have multiplied
    until they outnumber the stars.
But like a swarm of locusts,
    they strip the land and fly away.
¹⁷ Your guards^[g] and officials are also like swarming locusts
    that crowd together in the hedges on a cold day.
But like locusts that fly away when the sun comes up,
    all of them will fly away and disappear.

¹⁸ Your shepherds are asleep, O Assyrian king;
    your princes lie dead in the dust.
Your people are scattered across the mountains
    with no one to gather them together.
¹⁹ There is no healing for your wound;
    your injury is fatal.
All who hear of your destruction
    will clap their hands for joy.
Where can anyone be found
    who has not suffered from your continual cruelty?