Nah 2 | NASB2020 | STEP | The one who scatters has come up against you. Keep watch over the fortress , watch the road ; Bind up your waist , summon all your strength .

Nahum 2

The Overthrow of Nineveh

1 ^{▼▼Ch 2:2 in Heb}The one who ^bscatters has come up against ^{▼▼Lit your face}you.
Keep watch over the fortress, watch the road;
^{▼▼Lit Strengthen your loins}Bind up your waist, ^{▼▼Lit strengthen power greatly}summon all your strength.
2 For the Lord will restore the ^fsplendor of Jacob
^gLike the splendor of Israel,
Even though destroyers have laid waste to them
And ^hruined their vines.

3 The shields of ^{▼▼I.e., those attacking Nineveh}his warriors are dyed red,
The warriors are dressed in ^jscarlet,
The chariots are fitted with ^{▼▼Lit fire of steel}flashing steel
^{▼▼Lit On the day of his preparation}When he is prepared to march,
And the juniper ^mspears are brandished.
4 The ⁿchariots drive wildly in the streets,
They rush around in the ^{▼▼Lit broad places}public squares;
Their appearance is like torches,
They drive back and forth like lightning flashes.
5 He remembers his ^pofficers;
They ^qstumble in their advance,
They hurry to her wall,
And the ^{▼▼I.e., a shield used for stopping projectiles}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 ^ssobbing like the sound of doves,
^tBeating their ^{▼▼Lit hearts}breasts.

8 Though Nineveh was like a pool of water throughout her days,
Yet they are fleeing;
“Stop, stop,”
But ^vno one turns back.
9 Plunder the silver,
Plunder the ^wgold!
For there is no end to the treasure--
Wealth from every kind of desirable object.
10 She is ^xemptied! Yes, she is desolate and waste!
^yHearts are melting and knees wobbling!
Also trembling is in ^{▼▼Lit all the loins}the entire body,
And all their ^aafaces have become pale!
11 Where is the den of the lions
And the feeding place of the ^abyoung lions,
Where the lion, lioness, and lion’s cub went
With nothing to disturb them?
12 The lion tore enough for his cubs,
^{▼▼Lit Strangled}Killed enough prey for his lionesses,
And filled his lairs with prey
And his dens with torn flesh.
13 “Behold, ^adI am against you,” declares the Lord of armies. “I will ^aeburn up her chariots in smoke, and a sword will devour your young lions; I will ^afeliminate your prey from the land, and no longer will the voice of your messengers be heard.”