Nahum 2:4-13

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.”