Nineveh Will Fall
1 Nineveh, someone is coming
to attack and scatter you.
Guard your fortresses!
Watch the road! Be brave!
Prepare for battle!
2 Judah and Israel are like trees
with branches broken
by their enemies.
But the Lord is going to restore
their power and glory.
* 3 Nineveh, on this day of attack,
your enemies' shields are red;
their uniforms are crimson.
4 Their horses prance,
and their armored chariots
dart around like lightning
or flaming torches.
5 An officer gives a command.
But his soldiers stumble,
as they hasten to build
a shelter to protect themselves
against rocks thrown down
from the city wall.
6 The river gates fly open,
and panic floods the palace.
7 Nineveh is disgraced.
The queen is dragged off.
Her servant women mourn;
they moan like doves,
and they beat their breasts
in sorrow.
8 Nineveh is like a pond
with leaking water.
Shouts of “Stop! Don't go!”
can be heard everywhere.
But everyone is leaving.
9 Enemy soldiers shout,
“The city is full of treasure
and all kinds of wealth.
Steal her silver! Grab her gold!”
10 Nineveh is doomed! Destroyed!
Her people tremble with fear;
their faces turn pale.
11 What happened to this city?
They were safer there
than powerful lions in a den,
with no one to disturb them.
12 These are the same lions
that ferociously attacked
their victims,
then dragged away the flesh
to feed their young.
13 The Lord All-Powerful
is against you, Nineveh.
God will burn your chariots
and send an army to kill
those young lions of yours.
You will never again
make victims of others
or send messengers to threaten
everyone on this earth.
1 The destroyer is come before thy face: keepe the munition: looke to the way: make thy loynes strong: increase thy strength mightily. 2 For the Lord hath turned away the glorie of Iaakob, as the glorie of Israel: for the emptiers haue emptied them out, and marred their vine branches. 3 The shield of his mightie men is made red: the valiant men are in skarlet: the charets shalbe as in the fire and flames in the day of his preparation, and the firre trees shall tremble. 4 The charets shall rage in the streetes: they shall runne to and from in the hie wayes: they shall seeme like lampes: they shall shoote like the lightning. 5 He shall remember his strong men: they shall stumble as they goe: they shall make haste to the walles thereof, and the defence shall bee prepared. 6 The gates of the riuers shalbe opened, and the palace shall melt. 7 And Huzzab the Queene shalbe led away captiue, and her maides shall leade her as with the voyce of doues, smiting vpon their breastes. 8 But Nineueh is of olde like a poole of water: yet they shall flee away. Stande, stande, shall they crie: but none shall looke backe. 9 Spoyle ye the siluer, spoyle the golde: for there is none ende of the store, and glorie of all the pleasant vessels. 10 She is emptie and voyde and waste, and the heart melteth, and the knees smite together, and sorowe is in all loynes, and the faces of the all gather blackenesse. 11 Where is the dwelling of the lyons, and the pasture of the lyons whelpes? where the lyon, and the lionesse walked, and the lyons whelpe, and none made them afrayde. 12 The lyon did teare in pieces ynough for his whelpes, and woryed for his lyonesse, and filled his holes with praye, and his dennes with, spoyle. 13 Beholde, I come vnto thee, sayeth the Lord of hostes, and I will burne her charets in the smoke, and the sworde shall deuoure thy yong lyons, and I will cut off thy spoyle from the earth, and the voyce of thy messengers shall no more be heard.