Nahum 2

The Fall of Nineveh

Your enemy is coming to crush you, Nineveh. Man the ramparts! Watch the roads! Prepare your defenses! Call out your forces!H6327H5927H6440H5341H4694H6822H1870H4975H2388H553H3581H39662Even though the destroyer has destroyed Judah, the Lord will restore its honor. Israel’s vine has been stripped of branches, but he will restore its splendor.H3068H7725H1347H3290H1347H3478H1238H1238H7843H21563Shields flash red in the sunlight! See the scarlet uniforms of the valiant troops! Watch as their glittering chariots move into position, with a forest of spears waving above them.H4043H1368H119H2428H582H8529H7393H784H6393H3117H3559H1265H74774The chariots race recklessly along the streets and rush wildly through the squares. They flash like firelight and move as swiftly as lightning.H7393H1984H2351H8264H7339H4758H3940H7323H13005The king shouts to his officers; they stumble in their haste, rushing to the walls to set up their defenses.H2142H117H3782H1979H4116H2346H5526H35596The river gates have been torn open! The palace is about to collapse!H8179H5104H6605H1964H41277Nineveh’s exile has been decreed, and all the servant girls mourn its capture. They moan like doves and beat their breasts in sorrow.H5324H1540H5927H519H5090H6963H3123H8608H38248Nineveh is like a leaking water reservoir! The people are slipping away. “Stop, stop!” someone shouts, but no one even looks back.H5210H3117H1295H4325H5127H5975H5975H64379Loot the silver! Plunder the gold! There’s no end to Nineveh’s treasures—its vast, uncounted wealth.H962H3701H962H2091H7097H8498H3519H2532H362710Soon the city is plundered, empty, and ruined. Hearts melt and knees shake. The people stand aghast, their faces pale and trembling.H950H4003H1110H3820H4549H1290H6375H2479H4975H6440H6908H628911Where now is that great Nineveh, that den filled with young lions? It was a place where people—like lions and their cubs—walked freely and without fear.H4583H738H4829H3715H738H3833H1980H738H1482H272912The lion tore up meat for his cubs and strangled prey for his mate. He filled his den with prey, his caverns with his plunder.H738H2963H1767H1484H2614H3833H4390H2356H2964H4585H296613“I am your enemy!” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “Your chariots will soon go up in smoke. Your young men

will be killed in battle. Never again will you plunder conquered nations. The voices of your proud messengers will be heard no more.”H5002H3068H6635H1197H7393H6227H2719H398H3715H3772H2964H776H6963H4397H8085