2:2 For the Lord will restore 1 the majesty 2 of Jacob,
as well as 3 the majesty of Israel,
though 4 their enemies have plundered them 5
and have destroyed their fields. 6
2:4 The chariots 7 race madly 8 through the streets,
they rush back and forth 9 in the broad plazas;
they look 10 like lightning bolts, 11
they dash here and there 12 like flashes of lightning. 13
2:5 The commander 14 orders 15 his officers;
they stumble 16 as they advance; 17
they rush to the city wall 18
and they set up 19 the covered siege tower. 20
2:6 The sluice gates 21 are opened;
the royal palace is deluged 22 and dissolves. 23
2:7 Nineveh 24 is taken into exile 25 and is led away; 26
her slave girls moan 27 like doves 28 while they beat 29 their breasts. 30
2:8 Nineveh was like a pool 31 of water 32 throughout her days, 33
but now 34 her people 35 are running away; 36
she cries out: 37 “Stop! Stop!” –
but no one turns back. 38
2:9 Her conquerors cry out: 39
“Plunder the silver! Plunder the gold!”
There is no end to the treasure;
riches of every kind of precious thing.
2:10 Destruction, devastation, and desolation! 40
Their hearts faint, 41
their knees tremble, 42
each stomach churns, 43 each face 44 turns 45 pale! 46
2:11 Where now is the den of the lions, 47
the feeding place 48 of the young lions,
where 49 the lion, lioness, 50 and lion cub once prowled 51
and no one disturbed them? 52
2:12 The lion tore apart as much prey as his cubs needed 53
and strangled prey to provide food 54 for his lionesses;
he filled 55 his lairs with prey
and his dens with torn flesh.
2:13 “I am against you!” declares 56 the Lord who commands armies: 57
“I will burn your chariots 58 with fire; 59
the sword will devour your young lions; 60
you will no longer prey upon the land; 61
the voices of your messengers 62 will no longer be heard.”