1An attacker advances against you, Nineveh.

Guard the fortress,

watch the road,

brace yourselves,

marshal all your strength!

2The Lord will restore the splendor of Jacob

like the splendor of Israel,

though destroyers have laid them waste

and have ruined their vines.

3The shields of the soldiers are red;

the warriors are clad in scarlet.

The metal on the chariots flashes

on the day they are made ready;

the spears of juniper are brandished.^a

4The chariots storm through the streets,

rushing back and forth through the squares.

They look like flaming torches;

they dart about like lightning.

5Nineveh summons her picked troops,

yet they stumble on their way.

They dash to the city wall;

the protective shield is put in place.

6The river gates are thrown open

and the palace collapses.

7It is decreed^b that Nineveh

be exiled and carried away.

Her female slaves moan like doves

and beat on their breasts.

8Nineveh is like a pool

whose water is draining away.

“Stop! Stop!” they cry,

but no one turns back.

9Plunder the silver!

Plunder the gold!

The supply is endless,

the wealth from all its treasures!

10She is pillaged, plundered, stripped!

Hearts melt, knees give way,

bodies tremble, every face grows pale.

11Where now is the lions’ den,

the place where they fed their young,

where the lion and lioness went,

and the cubs, with nothing to fear?

12The lion killed enough for his cubs

and strangled the prey for his mate,

filling his lairs with the kill

and his dens with the prey.

13“I am against you,”

declares the Lord Almighty.

“I will burn up your chariots in smoke,

and the sword will devour your young lions.

I will leave you no prey on the earth.

The voices of your messengers

will no longer be heard.”