Jonah 3:2

3:2 “Go immediately to Nineveh, that large city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you.”

Jonah 4:11

4:11 Should I not be even more concerned about Nineveh, this enormous city? There are more than one hundred twenty thousand people in it who do not know right from wrong, as well as many animals!”

Genesis 10:11

10:11 From that land he went to Assyria, where he built Nineveh, Rehoboth-Ir, Calah,

Genesis 10:2

10:2 The sons of Japheth were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.

Genesis 19:36

19:36 In this way both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father.

Nahum 1:1

Introduction

1:1 The oracle against Nineveh;

the book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite:

Nahum 2:1--3:19

Proclamation of the Destruction of Nineveh

2:1 (2:2) The watchmen of Nineveh shout:

“An enemy who will scatter you is marching out to attack you!”

“Guard the rampart!

Watch the road!

Prepare yourselves for battle!

Muster your mighty strength!”

2:2 For the Lord will restore the majesty of Jacob,

as well as the majesty of Israel,

though their enemies have plundered them

and have destroyed their fields.

Prophetic Vision of the Fall of Nineveh

2:3 The shields of his warriors are dyed red;

the mighty soldiers are dressed in scarlet garments.

The metal fittings of the chariots shine

like fire on the day of battle;

the soldiers brandish their spears.

2:4 The chariots race madly through the streets,

they rush back and forth in the broad plazas;

they look like lightning bolts,

they dash here and there like flashes of lightning.

2:5 The commander orders his officers;

they stumble as they advance;

they rush to the city wall

and they set up the covered siege tower.

2:6 The sluice gates are opened;

the royal palace is deluged and dissolves.

2:7 Nineveh is taken into exile and is led away;

her slave girls moan like doves while they beat their breasts.

2:8 Nineveh was like a pool of water throughout her days,

but now her people are running away;

she cries out: “Stop! Stop!” –

but no one turns back.

2:9 Her conquerors cry out:

“Plunder the silver! Plunder the gold!”

There is no end to the treasure;

riches of every kind of precious thing.

2:10 Destruction, devastation, and desolation!

Their hearts faint,

their knees tremble,

each stomach churns, each face turns pale!

Taunt against the Once-Mighty Lion

2:11 Where now is the den of the lions,

the feeding place of the young lions,

where the lion, lioness, and lion cub once prowled

and no one disturbed them?

2:12 The lion tore apart as much prey as his cubs needed

and strangled prey to provide food for his lionesses;

he filled his lairs with prey

and his dens with torn flesh.

Battle Cry of the Divine Warrior

2:13 “I am against you!” declares the Lord who commands armies:

“I will burn your chariots with fire;

the sword will devour your young lions;

you will no longer prey upon the land;

the voices of your messengers will no longer be heard.”

Reason for Judgment: Sins of Nineveh

3:1 Woe to the city guilty of bloodshed!

She is full of lies;

she is filled with plunder;

she has hoarded her spoil!

Portrayal of the Destruction of Nineveh

3:2 The chariot drivers will crack their whips;

the chariot wheels will shake the ground;

the chariot horses will gallop;

the war chariots will bolt forward!

3:3 The charioteers will charge ahead;

their swords will flash

and their spears will glimmer!

There will be many people slain;

there will be piles of the dead,

and countless casualties –

so many that people will stumble over the corpses.

Taunt against the Harlot City

3:4 “Because you have acted like a wanton prostitute –

a seductive mistress who practices sorcery,

who enslaves nations by her harlotry,

and entices peoples by her sorcery –

3:5 I am against you,” declares the Lord who commands armies.

“I will strip off your clothes!

I will show your nakedness to the nations

and your shame to the kingdoms;

3:6 I will pelt you with filth;

I will treat you with contempt;

I will make you a public spectacle.

3:7 Everyone who sees you will turn away from you in disgust;

they will say, ‘Nineveh has been devastated!

Who will lament for her?’

There will be no one to comfort you!”

Nineveh Will Suffer the Same Fate as Thebes

3:8 You are no more secure than Thebes –

she was located on the banks of the Nile;

the waters surrounded her,

her rampart was the sea,

the water was her wall.

3:9 Cush and Egypt had limitless strength;

Put and the Libyans were among her allies.

3:10 Yet she went into captivity as an exile;

even her infants were smashed to pieces at the head of every street.

They cast lots for her nobility;

all her dignitaries were bound with chains.

3:11 You too will act like drunkards;

you will go into hiding;

you too will seek refuge from the enemy.

The Assyrian Defenses Will Fail

3:12 All your fortifications will be like fig trees with first-ripe fruit:

If they are shaken, their figs will fall into the mouth of the eater!

3:13 Your warriors will be like women in your midst;

the gates of your land will be wide open to your enemies;

fire will consume the bars of your gates.

3:14 Draw yourselves water for a siege!

Strengthen your fortifications!

Trample the mud and tread the clay!

Make mud bricks to strengthen your walls!

3:15 There the fire will consume you;

the sword will cut you down;

it will devour you like the young locust would.

The Assyrian Defenders Will Flee

Multiply yourself like the young locust;

multiply yourself like the flying locust!

3:16 Increase your merchants more than the stars of heaven!

They are like the young locust which sheds its skin and flies away.

3:17 Your courtiers are like locusts,

your officials are like a swarm of locusts!

They encamp in the walls on a cold day,

yet when the sun rises, they fly away;

and no one knows where they are.

Concluding Dirge

3:18 Your shepherds are sleeping, O king of Assyria!

Your officers are slumbering!

Your people are scattered like sheep on the mountains

and there is no one to regather them!

3:19 Your destruction is like an incurable wound;

your demise is like a fatal injury!

All who hear what has happened to you will clap their hands for joy,

for no one ever escaped your endless cruelty!

Zephaniah 2:13-15

2:13 The Lord will attack the north

and destroy Assyria.

He will make Nineveh a heap of ruins;

it will be as barren as the desert.

2:14 Flocks and herds will lie down in the middle of it,

as well as every kind of wild animal.

Owls will sleep in the tops of its support pillars;

they will hoot through the windows.

Rubble will cover the thresholds;

even the cedar work will be exposed to the elements.

2:15 This is how the once-proud city will end up –

the city that was so secure.

She thought to herself, “I am unique! No one can compare to me!”

What a heap of ruins she has become, a place where wild animals live!

Everyone who passes by her taunts her and shakes his fist.