Nahum 2:3-10
New Living Translation
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.[a]
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.
Footnotes
- 2:3 Greek and Syriac versions read into position, / the horses whipped into a frenzy.
Nahum 2:3-10
Christian Standard Bible
3 The shields of his[a] warriors are dyed red;
the valiant men are dressed in scarlet.(A)
The fittings of the chariot flash like fire(B)
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.(C)
7 Beauty[b] is stripped;[c]
she is carried away;
her ladies-in-waiting moan
like the sound of doves(D)
and beat their breasts.(E)
8 Nineveh has been like a pool of water
from her first days,[d]
but they are fleeing.
“Stop! Stop!” they cry,
but no one turns back.
9 “Plunder the silver! Plunder the gold!” (F)
There is no end to the treasure,
an abundance of every precious thing.(G)
10 Desolation, decimation, devastation!
Hearts melt,(H)
knees tremble,(I)
insides churn,(J)
every face grows pale!(K)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. 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.