The Overthrow of Nineveh

1One who scatters advances

against you, O Nineveh.

Guard the fortress!

Watch the road!

Brace yourselves!a

Summon all your strength!

2For 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.

3The 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.b

4The chariots dash through the streets;

they rush around the plazas,

appearing like torches,

darting about like lightning.

5He summons his nobles;

they stumble as they advance.

They race to its wall;

the protective shield is set in place.

6The river gates are thrown open

and the palace collapses.

7It is decreed that the city be exiled

and carried away;

her maidservants moan like doves,

and beat upon their breasts.

8Nineveh 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.

9“Plunder the silver!

Plunder the gold!”

There is no end to the treasure,

an abundance of every precious thing.

10She is emptied!

Yes, she is desolate and laid waste!

Hearts melt, knees knock,

bodies tremble, and every face grows pale!

11Where 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?

12The 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.

13“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.”