Nahum 2
2
The Fall of Nineveh
1Nineveh, you are under attack!
The power that will shatter you has come.
Prepare the defences!
Guard the road!
Prepare for battle!
2(The LORD is about to restore the glory of Israel, as it was before her enemies plundered her.)
3The enemy soldiers carry red shields
and wear uniforms of red.
They are preparing to attack!
Their chariots flash like fire!
Their horses#2.3 Some ancient translations horses; Hebrew cypresses. prance!
4Chariots dash wildly through the streets,
rushing to and fro through the city squares.
They flash like torches
and dart about like lightning.
5The officers are summoned;
they stumble as they press forward.
The attackers rush to the wall
and set up the shield for the battering ram.
6The gates by the river burst open;
the palace is filled with terror.
7The queen is taken captive;
her servants moan like doves
and beat their breasts in sorrow.
8Like water from a broken dam
the people rush from Nineveh!#2.8 Probable text Like water… Nineveh; Hebrew unclear.
“Stop! Stop!” the cry rings out —
but no one turns back.
9Plunder the silver!
Plunder the gold!
The city is full of treasure!
10Nineveh is destroyed, deserted, desolate!
Hearts melt with fear;
knees tremble, strength is gone;
faces grow pale.
11Where now is the city
that was like a den of lions,
the place where young lions were fed,
where the lion and the lioness would go
and their cubs would be safe?
12The lion killed his prey
and tore it to pieces for his mate and her cubs;
he filled his den with torn flesh.
13“I am your enemy!” says the LORD Almighty. “I will burn up your chariots. Your soldiers will be killed in war, and I will take away everything that you took from others. The demands of your envoys will no longer be heard.”
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Good News Bible with Deuterocanonicals/Apocrypha. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.
Nahum 2
2
The Overthrow of Nineveh
1 # 2:1 Nahum begins his message to Nineveh with a brief sarcastic statement (v 1) referring to the Medes, the Babylonians, and the Scythians who were allied against Assyria. The one who scatters has come up against you [Nineveh].
Man the fortress and ramparts, watch the road;
# 2:1 Lit Make strong your loins. Strengthen your back [prepare for battle], summon all your strength.
2For the Lord will restore the splendor and majesty of Jacob
Like the splendor of [ancient and united] Israel,
Even though destroyers have destroyed them
And ruined their vine branches. [Is 10:12]
3¶The shields of his soldiers [of #2:3 The Medes were an ancient Iranian people who lived in the area that is now the northwestern part of modern day Iran. After they joined with the Chaldeans of Babylonia to defeat the Assyrians, they established their own empire. It was the largest empire of its day until Cyrus the Great united the Medes and the Persians to form the Archaemenid Empire which stretched over several million square miles.Media and Babylon] are colored red;
The warriors are dressed in scarlet.
The chariots blaze with fire of [flashing] steel
When he is prepared to march,
And the cypress spears are brandished [for battle].
4The chariots race madly in the streets;
They rush wildly in the broad plazas.
Their appearance is like torches;
They rush in various directions like forked lightning.
5 # 2:5 Perhaps the Assyrian king. He remembers and summons his nobles;
They stumble in their march [terrified because of the attack].
They hurry to the city wall,
And the #2:5 A large shield or portable shelter used for deflecting stones, spears and arrows.mantelet is prepared and firmly set up.
6The gates of the rivers [surrounding Nineveh] are opened
And the palace [of sun-dried brick] is dissolved [by the torrents].
7It is decreed:
Nineveh is stripped, and she is carried away,
And her handmaids are moaning like the sound of doves,
Beating on their breasts [in sorrow].
8¶Though Nineveh was like a pool of water throughout her days,
Now her inhabitants are fleeing;
“Stop! Stop!” [a few cry,]
But no one turns back.
9Plunder the silver!
Plunder the gold!
For there is no end to the treasure—
Wealth from every precious object.
10She is emptied! She is desolate and waste!
Hearts melting [in fear] and knees knocking!
Anguish is in the whole body,
And the faces of all grow pale! [Is 13:7, 8]
11Where is the den of the lions (Assyria)
And the feeding place of the young lions,
Where the lion, lioness, and lion’s cub prowled
With nothing to fear?
12The lion [of Assyria] tore enough for his cubs (Assyrian citizens),
Killed [enough prey] for his lionesses,
And filled his lairs with prey
And his dens with torn flesh.
13“Behold, I am against you [Nineveh],” declares the Lord of hosts, “and I will burn your chariots in the smoke, and the sword will devour your young lions. I will cut off your prey from the land, and the voice of your messengers will no longer be heard.”
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