Nah2:1 The one who scatters has come up against you. Man the fortress, watch the road; Strengthen your back, summon all [your] strength.
Nah2:2 For the LORD will restore the splendor of Jacob Like the splendor of Israel, Even though devastators have devastated them And destroyed their vine branches.
Nah2:3 The shields of his mighty men are [colored] red, The warriors are dressed in scarlet, The chariots are [enveloped] in flashing steel When he is prepared [to march], And the cypress [spears] are brandished.
Nah2:4 The chariots race madly in the streets, They rush wildly in the squares, Their appearance is like torches, They dash to and fro like lightning flashes.
Nah2:5 He remembers his nobles; They stumble in their march, They hurry to her wall, And the mantelet is set up.
Nah2:6 The gates of the rivers are opened, And the palace is dissolved.
Nah2:7 And it is fixed: She is stripped, she is carried away, And her handmaids are moaning like the sound of doves, Beating on their breasts.
Nah2:8 Though Nineveh [was] like a pool of water throughout her days, Now they are fleeing; "Stop, stop," But no one turns back.
Nah2:9 Plunder the silver! Plunder the gold! For there is no limit to the treasure-- Wealth from every kind of desirable object.
Nah2:10 She is emptied! Yes, she is desolate and waste! Hearts are melting and knees knocking! Also anguish is in the whole body, And all their faces are grown pale!
Nah2:11 Where is the den of the lions And the feeding place of the young lions, Where the lion, lioness, and lion's cub prowled, With nothing to disturb [them]?
Nah2:12 The lion tore enough for his cubs, Killed [enough] for his lionesses, And filled his lairs with prey And his dens with torn flesh.
Nah2:13 "Behold, I am against you," declares the LORD of hosts. "I will burn up her chariots in smoke, a sword will devour your young lions, I will cut off your prey from the land, and no longer will the voice of your messengers be heard."