[1] One who scatters is coming up against you. Man the fortifications! Watch the road! Brace yourself! Summon all your strength! [2] For the LORD will restore the majesty of Jacob, yes, the majesty of Israel, though ravagers have ravaged them and ruined their vine branches. [3] The shields of his warriors are dyed red; the valiant men are dressed in scarlet. The fittings of the chariot flash like fire on the day of its battle preparations, and the spears are brandished. [4] The chariots dash madly through the streets; they rush around in the plazas. They look like torches; they dart back and forth like lightning. [5] He gives orders to his officers; they stumble as they advance. They race to its wall; the protective shield is set in place. [6] The river gates are opened, and the palace erodes away. [7] Beauty is stripped; she is carried away; her ladies-in-waiting moan like the sound of doves and beat their breasts. [8] Nineveh has been like a pool of water from her first days, but they are fleeing. "Stop! Stop!" they cry, but no one turns back. [9] "Plunder the silver! Plunder the gold!" There is no end to the treasure, an abundance of every precious thing. [10] Desolation, decimation, devastation! Hearts melt, knees tremble, insides churn, every face grows pale! [11] Where is the lions' lair, or the feeding ground of the young lions, where the lion and lioness prowled, and the lion's cub, with nothing to frighten them away? [12] The lion mauled whatever its cubs needed and strangled prey for its lionesses. It filled up its dens with the kill, and its lairs with mauled prey. [13] Beware, I am against you. This is the declaration of the LORD of Armies. I will make your chariots go up in smoke, and the sword will devour your young lions. I will cut off your prey from the earth, and the sound of your messengers will never be heard again.
