Nahum

The Overthrow of Nineveh

1One who scatters advancesagainst you, O Nineveh.Guard the fortress!Watch the road!Brace yourselves!Summon all your strength!

2For the LORD will restore the splendor of Jacoblike the splendor of Israel,though destroyers have laid them wasteand ruined the branches of their vine.

3The shields of his mighty men are red;the valiant warriors are dressed in scarlet.The fittings of the chariots flash like fireon the day they are prepared,and the spears of cypresshave been brandished.

4The chariots dash through the streets;they rush around the plazas,appearing like torches,darting about like lightning.

5He summons his nobles;they stumble as they advance.They race to its wall;the protective shield is set in place.

6The river gates are thrown openand the palace collapses.

7It is decreed that the city be exiledand carried away;her maidservants moan like doves,and beat upon their breasts.

8Nineveh has been like a pool of waterthroughout her days, but now it is draining away.“Stop! Stop!” they cry,but no one turns back.

9“Plunder the silver!Plunder the gold!”There is no end to the treasure,an abundance of every precious thing.

10She is emptied!Yes, she is desolate and laid waste!Hearts melt, knees knock,bodies tremble, and every face grows pale!

11Where is the lions’ lairor the feeding ground of the young lions,where the lion and lioness prowled with their cubs,with nothing to frighten them away?

12The lion mauled enough for its cubsand strangled prey for the lioness.It filled its dens with the kill,and its lairs with mauled prey.

13“Behold, I am against you,”declares the LORD of Hosts.“I will reduce your chariots to cinders,and the sword will devour your young lions.I will cut off your prey from the earth,and the voices of your messengers will no longer be heard.”

1He who dashes in pieces has come up against you. Keep the fortress! Watch the way! Strengthen your waist! Fortify your power mightily!

2For the LORD restores the excellency of Jacob as the excellency of Israel, for the destroyers have destroyed them and ruined their vine branches.

3The shield of his mighty men is made red. The valiant men are in scarlet. The chariots flash with steel in the day of his preparation, and the pine spears are brandished.

4The chariots rage in the streets. They rush back and forth in the wide ways. Their appearance is like torches. They run like the lightnings.

5He summons his picked troops. They stumble on their way. They dash to its wall, and the protective shield is put in place.

6The gates of the rivers are opened, and the palace is dissolved.

7It is decreed: she is uncovered, she is carried away; and her servants moan as with the voice of doves, beating on their breasts.

8But Nineveh has been from of old like a pool of water, yet they flee away. “Stop! Stop!” they cry, but no one looks back.

9Take the plunder of silver. Take the plunder of gold, for there is no end of treasure, an abundance of every precious thing.

10She is empty, void, and waste. The heart melts, the knees knock together, their bodies and faces have grown pale.

11Where is the den of the lions, and the feeding place of the young lions, where the lion and the lioness walked with the lion’s cubs, and no one made them afraid?

12The lion tore in pieces enough for his cubs, and strangled prey for his lionesses, and filled his caves with the kill and his dens with prey.

13“Behold, I am against you,” says the LORD of Armies, “and I will burn her chariots in the smoke, and the sword will devour your young lions; and I will cut off your prey from the earth, and the voice of your messengers will no longer be heard.”