Nahum 2:3-10
New American Standard Bible
3 The shields of [a]his warriors are dyed red,
The warriors are dressed in (A)scarlet,
The chariots are fitted with [b]flashing steel
[c]When he is prepared to march,
And the juniper (B)spears are brandished.
4 The (C)chariots drive wildly in the streets,
They rush around in the [d]public squares;
Their appearance is like torches,
They drive back and forth like lightning flashes.
5 He remembers his (D)officers;
They (E)stumble in their advance,
They hurry to her wall,
And the [e]mantelet is set up.
6 The gates of the rivers are opened
And the palace sways back and forth.
7 It is set:
She is stripped, she is led away,
And her slave women are (F)sobbing like the sound of doves,
(G)Beating their [f]breasts.
8 Though Nineveh was like a pool of water throughout her days,
Yet they are fleeing;
“Stop, stop,”
But (H)no one turns back.
9 Plunder the silver,
Plunder the (I)gold!
For there is no end to the treasure—
Wealth from every kind of desirable object.
10 She is (J)emptied! Yes, she is desolate and waste!
(K)Hearts are melting and knees wobbling!
Also trembling is in [g]the entire body,
And all their (L)faces have become pale!
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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