1 One who scatters advances against you, O Nineveh. Guard the fortress! Watch the road! Brace yourselves! Summon all your strength! | TOSK |
2 For 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. | TOSK |
3 The 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. | TOSK |
4 The chariots dash through the streets; they rush around the plazas, appearing like torches, darting about like lightning. | TOSK |
5 He summons his nobles; they stumble as they advance. They race to its wall; the protective shield is set in place. | TOSK |
6 The river gates are thrown open and the palace collapses. | TOSK |
7 It is decreed that the city be exiled and carried away; her maidservants moan like doves, and beat upon their breasts. | TOSK |
8 Nineveh 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. | TOSK |
9 “Plunder the silver! Plunder the gold!” There is no end to the treasure, an abundance of every precious thing. | TOSK |
10 She is emptied! Yes, she is desolate and laid waste! Hearts melt, knees knock, bodies tremble, and every face grows pale! | TOSK |
11 Where 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? | TOSK |
12 The 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. | TOSK |
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.” | TOSK |