1[a]The one who scatters has come up against [b]you.

Keep watch over the fortress, watch the road;

[c]Bind up your waist, [d]summon all your strength.

2For the LORD will restore the splendor of Jacob

Like the splendor of Israel,

Even though destroyers have laid waste to them

And ruined their vines.

3The shields of [e]his warriors are dyed red,

The warriors are dressed in scarlet,

The chariots are fitted with [f]flashing steel

[g]When he is prepared to march,

And the juniper spears are brandished.

4The chariots drive wildly in the streets,

They rush around in the [h]public squares;

Their appearance is like torches,

They drive back and forth like lightning flashes.

5He remembers his officers;

They stumble in their advance,

They hurry to her wall,

And the [i]mantelet is set up.

6The gates of the rivers are opened

And the palace sways back and forth.

7It is set:

She is stripped, she is led away,

And her slave women are sobbing like the sound of doves,

Beating their [j]breasts.

8Though Nineveh was like a pool of water throughout her days,

Yet they are fleeing;

“Stop, stop,”

But no one turns back.

9Plunder the silver,

Plunder the gold!

For there is no end to the treasure—

Wealth from every kind of desirable object.

10She is emptied! Yes, she is desolate and waste!

Hearts are melting and knees wobbling!

Also trembling is in [k]the entire body,

And all their faces have become pale!

11Where is the den of the lions

And the feeding place of the young lions,

Where the lion, lioness, and lion’s cub went

With nothing to disturb them?

12The lion tore enough for his cubs,

[l]Killed enough prey for his lionesses,

And filled his lairs with prey

And his dens with torn flesh.

13“Behold, I am against you,” declares the LORD of armies. “I will burn up her chariots in smoke, and a sword will devour your young lions; I will eliminate your prey from the land, and no longer will the voice of your messengers be heard.”