## Yahweh's Destruction of Nineveh 

###### 1
The one who scatters has come up against you. Guard the fortification, watch the road; Strengthen your loins, instill _your_ power with exceeding courage. 

###### 2
For Yahweh will restore the majesty of Jacob Like the majesty of Israel, Even though those who empty _them_ have emptied them to destruction And ruined their vine branches. 

###### 3
The shields of his mighty men are _colored_ red, The valiant men are dressed in scarlet, The chariots are _enveloped_ in flashing steel When he is set up _to march_, And the cypress _spears_ are brandished. 

###### 4
The chariots race madly in the streets; They rush wildly in the squares; Their appearance is like torches; They dash to and fro like lightning flashes. 

###### 5
He remembers his mighty ones; They stumble 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 melted away. 

###### 7
So it stands fixed: She is exiled, she is carried away, And her maidservants are moaning like the sound of doves, Beating on their hearts. 

###### 8
Though Nineveh _was_ like a pool of water throughout her days, Now they are fleeing; "Stand! Stand!" But no one turns back. 

###### 9
Plunder the silver! Plunder the gold! And there is no limit to the treasure-- Wealth from every kind of desirable object. 

###### 10
She is emptied! Yes, she is emptied out and eviscerated! Hearts are melting and knees knocking! Also anguish is in all _their_ loins, And all their faces turn pale! 

###### 11
Where is the den of the lions And the feeding place of the young lions, Where the lion, lioness, and lion's cub prowled, With nothing to make _them_ tremble? 

###### 12
The lion tore enough for its cubs And strangled _enough_ for its lionesses And filled its lairs with torn up prey And its dens with torn up flesh. 

###### 13
"Behold, I am against you," declares Yahweh of hosts. "And I will burn up her chariots in smoke, and a sword will devour your young lions; and I will cut off your prey from the land, and no longer will the voice of your messengers be heard."