1One who scatters advancesagainst you, O Nineveh.Guard the fortress!Watch the road!Brace yourselves!Summon all your strength!2For the LORD will restore the splendor of Jacoblike the splendor of Israel,though destroyers have laid them wasteand ruined the branches of their vine.3The shields of his mighty men are red;the valiant warriors are dressed in scarlet.The fittings of the chariots flash like fireon the day they are prepared,and the spears of cypresshave been brandished.4The chariots dash through the streets;they rush around the plazas,appearing like torches,darting about like lightning.5He summons his nobles;they stumble as they advance.They race to its wall;the protective shield is set in place.6The river gates are thrown openand the palace collapses.7It is decreed that the city be exiledand carried away;her maidservants moan like doves,and beat upon their breasts.8Nineveh has been like a pool of waterthroughout her days,but now it is draining away.“Stop! Stop!” they cry,but no one turns back.9“Plunder the silver!Plunder the gold!”There is no end to the treasure,an abundance of every precious thing.10She is emptied!Yes, she is desolate and laid waste!Hearts melt, knees knock,bodies tremble, and every face grows pale!11Where is the lions’ lairor the feeding ground of the young lions,where the lion and lioness prowled with their cubs,with nothing to frighten them away?12The lion mauled enough for its cubsand strangled prey for the lioness.It filled its dens with the kill,and its lairs with mauled prey.13“Behold, I am against you,”declares the LORD of Hosts.“I will send your chariots up in smoke,and the sword will devour your young lions.I will cut off your prey from the earth,and the voices of your messengerswill no longer be heard.”