Nah 2 | NASB1995 | STEP | The one who scatters has come up against you. Man the fortress , watch the road ; Strengthen your back , 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.
Man the fortress, watch the road;
^{▼▼ Lit Make strong your loins}Strengthen your back, ^{▼▼ 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 devastators have devastated them
And ^hdestroyed their vine branches.

3 The shields of ^{▼▼ I.e. those attacking Nineveh}his mighty men are colored red,
The warriors are dressed in ^jscarlet,
The chariots are enveloped in ^{▼▼ Lit fire of steel}flashing steel
^{▼▼ Lit On the day of his preparation}When he is prepared to march,
And the cypress ^m spears are brandished.
4 The ⁿchariots race madly in the streets,
They rush wildly in the ^{▼▼ Lit broad places}squares,
Their appearance is like torches,
They dash to and fro like lightning flashes.
5 He remembers his ^pnobles;
They ^qstumble in their march,
They hurry to her wall,
And the ^{▼▼ Lit covering used in a siege}mantelet is set up.
6 The gates of the rivers are opened
And the palace is dissolved.
7 It is fixed:
She is stripped, she is carried away,
And her handmaids are ^smoaning like the sound of doves,
^tBeating on their ^{▼▼ Lit hearts}breasts.

8 Though Nineveh was like a pool of water throughout her days,
Now they are fleeing;
“Stop, stop,”
But ^vno one turns back.
9 Plunder the silver!
Plunder the ^wgold!
For there is no limit 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 knocking!
Also anguish is in ^{▼▼ Lit all the loin}the whole body
And all their ^aafaces are grown 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 prowled,
With nothing to disturb them?
12 The lion tore enough for his cubs,
^{▼▼ Lit Strangled}Killed enough 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 hosts. “I will ^aeburn up her chariots in smoke, a sword will devour your young lions; I will ^afcut off your prey from the land, and no longer will the voice of your messengers be heard.”