1[a]The onewho1scatters has come up against[b]you. Man the fortress, watch the road; Strengthen your back, summonall your strength.
2
For the LORD will restore the 2splendor of Jacob3Like the splendor of Israel, Even thoughdevastators have devastated them And 4destroyed their vinebranches.
3
The shields of his mightymen are colored red, The warriors are dressed in 5scarlet, The chariots are enveloped in flashingsteelWhen he is prepared to march, And the cypress6spears are brandished.
4
The 7chariotsracemadly in the streets, They rushwildly in the squares, Their appearance is like torches, They dash to and fro like lightningflashes.
5
He remembers his 8nobles; They 9stumble in their march, They hurry to her wall, And the mantelet is set up.
6
The gates of the rivers are opened And the palace is dissolved.
7
It is fixed: She is stripped, she is carriedaway, And her handmaids are 10moaning like the sound of doves, 11Beating on their breasts.
8
Though Nineveh was like a pool of waterthroughout her days, Now they are fleeing; "Stop, stop," But 12nooneturnsback.
9
Plunder the silver! Plunder the 13gold! For there is nolimit to the treasure - Wealth from every kind of desirableobject.
10
She is 14emptied! Yes, she is desolate and waste! 15Hearts are melting and kneesknocking! Also anguish is in the wholebody And all their 16faces are grownpale!
11
Where is the den of the lions And the feedingplace of the 17younglions, Where* the lion, lioness and lion'scubprowled, With nothing to disturb them?
12
The liontoreenough for his cubs, Killed enough for his lionesses, And filled his lairs with prey And his dens with tornflesh.
13
"Behold, 18I am against you," declares the LORD of hosts. "I will 19burn up her chariots in smoke, a sword will devour your younglions; I will 20cutoff your prey from the land, and nolonger will the voice of your messengers be heard."