The commander ¹  orders ²  his officers; they stumble ³  as they advance; ⁴  they rush to the city wall ⁵  and they set up ⁶  the covered siege tower. ⁷ 

Woe to the city guilty of bloodshed! ¹  She is full of lies; ²  she is filled with plunder; ³  she has hoarded her spoil! ⁴ 

I am against you,” declares the Lord who commands armies. ¹  “I will strip off your clothes! ²  I will show your nakedness to the nations and your shame to the kingdoms;

Her conquerors cry out: ¹  “Plunder the silver! Plunder the gold!” There is no end to the treasure; riches of every kind of precious thing.

The Lord is slow to anger ¹  but great in power; ²  the Lord will certainly not ³  allow the wicked ⁴  to go unpunished.He marches out ⁵  in the whirlwind and the raging storm; dark storm clouds billow like dust ⁶  under his feet. ⁷ 

Draw yourselves water for a siege! ¹  Strengthen your fortifications! Trample the mud ²  and tread the clay! Make mud bricks to strengthen your walls! ³ 

Your shepherds ¹  are sleeping, O king of Assyria! Your officers ²  are slumbering! ³  Your people are scattered like sheep ⁴  on the mountains and there is no one to regather them!

Your warriors will be like women in your midst; the gates of your land will be wide open ¹  to your enemies; fire will consume ²  the bars of your gates. ³ 

Yet she went into captivity as an exile; ¹  even her infants were smashed to pieces ²  at the head of every street. They cast lots ³  for her nobility; ⁴  all her dignitaries were bound with chains.

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!” ¹ 

The Lord has issued a decree against you: ¹  “Your dynasty will come to an end. ²  I will destroy the idols and images in the temples of your gods. I will desecrate ³  your grave – because you are accursed!” ⁴ 

(2:1) ¹  Look! A herald is running ²  on the mountains! A messenger is proclaiming deliverance: ³  “Celebrate your sacred festivals, O Judah! Fulfill your sacred vows to praise God! ⁴  For never again ⁵  will the wicked ⁶  Assyrians ⁷  invade ⁸  you, they ⁹  have been completely destroyed.”

Your destruction is like an incurable wound; ¹  your demise is like a fatal injury! ²  All who hear what has happened to you ³  will clap their hands for joy, ⁴  for no one ever escaped your endless cruelty! ⁵ 

(2:2) The watchmen of Nineveh shout: ¹  “An enemy who will scatter you ²  is marching out ³  to attack you!” ⁴  “Guard ⁵  the rampart! ⁶  Watch the road! Prepare yourselves for battle! ⁷  Muster your mighty strength!” ⁸ 

The lion tore apart as much prey as his cubs needed ¹  and strangled prey to provide food ²  for his lionesses; he filled ³  his lairs with prey and his dens with torn flesh.

Whatever ¹  you plot ²  against the Lord, he will completely destroy! ³  Distress ⁴  will not arise ⁵  a second time.

Where now is the den of the lions, ¹  the feeding place ²  of the young lions, where ³  the lion, lioness, ⁴  and lion cub once prowled ⁵  and no one disturbed them? ⁶ 

The oracle against Nineveh; ¹  the book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite: ² 

The chariots ¹  race madly ²  through the streets, they rush back and forth ³  in the broad plazas; they look ⁴  like lightning bolts, ⁵  they dash here and there ⁶  like flashes of lightning. ⁷ 

The sluice gates ¹  are opened; the royal palace is deluged ²  and dissolves. ³