‏ Nahum 2

Attack against Nineveh

1 One who scatters is coming up against you.
Man the fortifications!
Watch the road!
Brace
Lit Strengthen
yourself!
Summon all your strength! b

2 For the Lord will restore the majesty of Jacob,
yes,
Or like
the majesty of Israel,
though ravagers have ravaged them
and ruined their vine branches. d

3 The shields of his
= the army commander attacking Nineveh
warriors are dyed red;
the valiant men are dressed in scarlet. f
The fittings of the chariot flash like fire
on the day of its battle preparations,
and the spears are brandished.
4 The chariots dash madly through the streets;
they rush around in the plazas.
They look like torches;
they dart back and forth like lightning.
5 He gives orders to his officers;
they stumble as they advance.
They race to its wall;
the protective shield is set in place.
6 The river gates are opened,
and the palace erodes away. g

7 Beauty
Text emended; MT reads Huzzab
is stripped,
Hb obscure

she is carried away;
her ladies-in-waiting moan
like the sound of doves, j
and beat their breasts.
8 Nineveh has been like a pool of water
from her first days,
Hb obscure

but they are fleeing.
“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. l
10 Desolation, decimation, devastation!
Hearts melt, m
knees tremble,
loins shake,
every face grows pale! n

11 Where is the lions’ lair, o
or the feeding ground of the young lions,
where the lion and lioness prowled,
and the lion’s cub,
with nothing to frighten them away? p
12 The lion mauled whatever its cubs needed
and strangled prey for its lionesses.
It filled up its dens with the kill,
and its lairs with mauled prey. q
13 Beware, I am against you. r
This is the declaration of the Lord of
Hosts/hosts: Military forces consisting of God's angels, sometimes including the sun, moon, and stars, and occasionally, Israel
Hosts
.
I will make your chariots go up in smoke
Lit will burn her chariots in smoke

and the sword will devour your young lions.
I will cut off your prey from the earth,
and the sound of your messengers
will never be heard again.
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