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2:1  The one who scatters has come up against you [Nineveh]. Man the fortress and ramparts, watch the road; Strengthen your back [prepare for battle], summon all your strength.
2:2  For the Lord will restore the splendor and majesty of Jacob Like the splendor of [ancient and united] Israel, Even though destroyers have destroyed them And ruined their vine branches.
2:3  The shields of his soldiers [of Media and Babylon] are colored red; The warriors are dressed in scarlet. The chariots blaze with fire of [flashing] steel When he is prepared to march, And the cypress spears are brandished [for battle].
2:4  The chariots race madly in the streets; They rush wildly in the broad plazas. Their appearance is like torches; They rush in various directions like forked lightning.
2:5  He remembers and summons his nobles; They stumble in their march [terrified because of the attack]. They hurry to the city wall, And the mantelet is prepared and firmly set up.
2:6  The gates of the rivers [surrounding Nineveh] are opened And the palace [of sun-dried brick] is dissolved [by the torrents].
2:7  It is decreed: Nineveh is stripped, and she is carried away, And her handmaids are moaning like the sound of doves, Beating on their breasts [in sorrow].
2:8  Though Nineveh was like a pool of water throughout her days, Now her inhabitants are fleeing; “Stop! Stop!” [a few cry,] But no one turns back.
2:9  Plunder the silver! Plunder the gold! For there is no end to the treasure— Wealth from every precious object.
2:10  She is emptied! She is desolate and waste! Hearts melting [in fear] and knees knocking! Anguish is in the whole body, And the faces of all grow pale!
2:11  Where is the den of the lions (Assyria) And the feeding place of the young lions, Where the lion, lioness, and lion’s cub prowled With nothing to fear?
2:12  The lion [of Assyria] tore enough for his cubs (Assyrian citizens), Killed [enough prey] for his lionesses, And filled his lairs with prey And his dens with torn flesh.
2:13  “Behold, I am against you [Nineveh],” declares the Lord of hosts, “and I will burn your chariots in the smoke, and the sword will devour your young lions. I will cut off your prey from the land, and the voice of your messengers will no longer be heard.”