| Holman Christian Standard Bible | New International Version |
| 1One who scatters is coming up against you. Man the fortifications! Watch the road! Brace yourself! Summon all your strength! | 1An attacker advances against you, Nineveh. Guard the fortress, watch the road, brace yourselves, marshal all your strength! |
| 2For the LORD will restore the majesty of Jacob, yes, the majesty of Israel, though ravagers have ravaged them and ruined their vine branches. | 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 his warriors are dyed red; the valiant men are dressed in scarlet. The fittings of the chariot flash like fire on the day of its battle preparations, and the spears are brandished. | 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. |
| 4The chariots dash madly through the streets; they rush around in the plazas. They look like torches; they dart back and forth like lightning. | 4The chariots storm through the streets, rushing back and forth through the squares. They look like flaming torches; they dart about like lightning. |
| 5He gives orders to his officers; they stumble as they advance. They race to its wall; the protective shield is set in place. | 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 opened, and the palace erodes away. | 6The river gates are thrown open and the palace collapses. |
| 7Beauty is stripped, she is carried away; her ladies-in-waiting moan like the sound of doves, and beat their breasts. | 7It is decreed that Nineveh be exiled and carried away. Her female slaves moan like doves and beat on their breasts. |
| 8Nineveh has been like a pool of water from her first days, but they are fleeing." Stop! Stop!" they cry, but no one turns back." | 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!" There is no end to the treasure, an abundance of every precious thing. | 9Plunder the silver! Plunder the gold! The supply is endless, the wealth from all its treasures! |
| 10Desolation, decimation, devastation! Hearts melt, knees tremble, loins shake, every face grows pale! | 10She is pillaged, plundered, stripped! Hearts melt, knees give way, bodies tremble, every face grows pale. |
| 11Where is the lions' lair, or the feeding ground of the young lions, where the lion and lioness prowled, and the lion's cub, with nothing to frighten them away? | 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 mauled whatever its cubs needed and strangled prey for its lionesses. It filled up its dens with the kill, and its lairs with mauled prey. | 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. |
| 13Beware, I am against you. This is the declaration of the LORD of Hosts. I will make your chariots go up in smoke and the sword will devour your young lions. I will cut off your prey from the earth, and the sound of your messengers will never be heard again. | 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." |
| Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. | New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. |
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