[1] The one who scatters has come up against you [Nineveh]. Man the fortress and ramparts, watch the road; Strengthen your back [prepare for battle], summon all your strength. [2] For 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. [3] The shields of his soldiers [of 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]. [4] The 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] He remembers and summons his nobles; They stumble in their march [terrified because of the attack]. They hurry to the city wall, And the mantelet is prepared and firmly set up. [6] The gates of the rivers [surrounding Nineveh] are opened And the palace [of sun-dried brick] is dissolved [by the torrents]. [7] It 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. [9] Plunder the silver! Plunder the gold! For there is no end to the treasure—Wealth from every precious object. [10] She 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! [11] Where 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? [12] The 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.”
