Nahum 2:3-10
International Standard Version
3 The shields deployed by[a] Israel’s[b] elite forces are scarlet,
their valiant men are clothed in crimson.
When they are prepared,
the polished armament on their chariots will shine,
and lances will be brandished about ferociously.[c]
4 Their chariots storm through the streets,
jostling each other along broad avenues.
They look like torches,
as they dart around like lightning.
5 He will remember to summon[d] his finest troops.
They will stumble on their way,
hurrying over to Nineveh’s[e] wall.
Their defensive shield is in place.
6 The river gates will be opened,
and the palace will collapse.
7 It has been determined:
The woman[f] is unveiled and sent away,
her servant girls mourn.
Beating their breasts,
they whimper like doves.
8 Nineveh is a reservoir whose water is draining away.
“Wait! Wait!” they cry,[g]
yet not even one person[h] looks back.
9 Take the silver! Take the gold!
There is no end to the treasure—
fabulous riches of every imagination.
10 Nineveh[i] is devastated, deserted, and desolate.
Her heart melts, her knees knock.
Every stomach is upset,
every face grows pale.[j]
Footnotes
- Nahum 2:3 Lit. shield of
- Nahum 2:3 Lit. its
- Nahum 2:3 The Heb. lacks ferociously
- Nahum 2:5 The Heb. lacks to summon
- Nahum 2:5 The Heb. lacks Nineveh’s
- Nahum 2:7 I.e. Nineveh personified as a woman
- Nahum 2:8 The Heb. lacks they cry
- Nahum 2:8 The Heb. lacks person
- Nahum 2:10 Lit. She; i.e. Nineveh personified as a woman
- Nahum 2:10 Lit. gathers blackness; cf. Joel 2:6b
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