Nahum 2 — Legacy Standard Bible

Yahweh’s Destruction of Nineveh

2¹The one who ^ascatters has come up against ²you.Guard the fortification, watch the road;Strengthen your loins, ³instill your power with exceeding courage.²For Yahweh will restore the ^amajesty of Jacob^bLike the majesty of Israel,Even though those who empty them have emptied them to destructionAnd ^cruined their vine branches.³The shields of ¹his mighty men are colored red,The valiant men are dressed in ^a^,²scarlet,The chariots are enveloped in ³flashing steel⁴When he is set up to march,And the cypress ^bspears are brandished.⁴The ^achariots race madly in the streets;They rush wildly in the ¹squares;Their appearance is like torches;They dash to and fro like lightning flashes.⁵He remembers his ^amighty ones;They ^bstumble in their march;They hurry to her wall,And the ¹mantelet is set up.⁶The gates of the rivers are opened,And the palace is melted away.⁷So it stands fixed:She is exiled, she is carried away,And her maidservants are ^amoaning like the sound of doves,^bBeating on their hearts.⁸Though Nineveh was like a pool of water throughout her days,Now they are fleeing;“Stand! Stand!”But ^ano one ¹turns back.⁹Plunder the silver!Plunder the ^agold!And there is no limit to the treasure—¹Wealth from every kind of desirable object.¹⁰She is ^aemptied! Yes, she is emptied out and eviscerated!^bHearts are melting and knees knocking!Also anguish is in all their loins,And all their ^cfaces ¹turn pale!¹¹Where is the den of the lionsAnd the feeding place of the ^ayoung lions,Where the lion, lioness, and lion’s cub prowled,With nothing to make them tremble?¹²The lion tore enough for its cubsAnd strangled enough for its lionessesAnd filled its lairs with torn up preyAnd its dens with torn up flesh.

¹³“Behold, ^aI am against you,” declares Yahweh of hosts. “And I will ^bburn up her chariots in smoke, and a sword will devour your young lions; and I will ^ccut off your prey from the land, and no longer will the voice of your messengers be heard.”