³ Shields flash red in the sunlight! The attack begins! See their scarlet uniforms! See their glittering chariots moving forward side by side, pulled by prancing steeds! ⁴ Your own chariots race recklessly along the streets and through the squares, darting like lightning, gleaming like torches. ⁵ The king shouts for his officers; they stumble in their haste, rushing to the walls to set up their defenses. ⁶ But too late! The river gates are open! The enemy has entered! The palace is in panic!

⁷ The queen of Nineveh is brought out naked to the streets and led away, a slave, with all her maidens weeping after her; listen to them mourn like doves and beat their breasts! ⁸ Nineveh is like a leaking water tank! Her soldiers slip away, deserting her; she cannot hold them back. “Stop, stop,” she shouts, but they keep on running.

⁹ Loot the silver! Loot the gold! There seems to be no end of treasures. Her vast, uncounted wealth is stripped away. ¹⁰ Soon the city is an empty shambles; hearts melt in horror; knees quake; her people stand aghast, pale-faced and trembling.