CHAPTER 2
One who scatters
advances
against
you, O Nineveh.
Guard
the fortress!
Watch
the road!
Brace yourself
!
Summon
all
your strength!
For
the LORD
will restore
the splendor
of Jacob
like the splendor
of Israel,
though
destroyers
have laid them waste
and ruined
the branches of their vine.
The shields
of his mighty men
are red;
the valiant warriors
are dressed in scarlet.
The fittings
of the chariots
flash like fire
on the day
they are prepared,
and the spears of cypress
have been brandished.
The chariots
dash
through the streets;
they rush around
the plazas,
appearing
like torches,
darting about
like lightning.
He summons
his nobles;
they stumble
as they advance.
They race
to its wall;
the protective shield
is set in place.
It is decreed that
the city be exiled
and carried away;
her maidservants
moan
like
doves,
and beat upon
their breasts.
Nineveh
has been like a pool
of water
throughout
her days,
but now
it is draining away.
“Stop!
Stop!” they cry,
but no
one turns back.
“Plunder
the silver!
Plunder
the gold!”
There is no
end
to the treasure,
an abundance
of every
precious
thing.
She is emptied!
Yes, she is desolate
and laid waste!
Hearts
melt,
knees
knock,
bodies
tremble,
and every
face
grows pale!
Where
is the lions’
lair
or the feeding ground
of the young lions,
where
the lion
and lioness
prowled
with their
cubs,
with nothing
to frighten them away?
The lion
mauled
enough for
its cubs
and strangled prey
for the lioness.
It filled
its dens
with the kill,
and its lairs
with mauled prey.
“Behold,
I am against you,”
declares
the LORD
of Hosts.
“I will send your chariots
up
in smoke
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.”