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
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
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.
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.
