| New International Version | Berean Study Bible |
| 1An attacker advances against you, Nineveh. Guard the fortress, watch the road, brace yourselves, marshal all your strength! | 1One who scatters advances against you, O Nineveh. Guard the fortress! Watch the road! Brace yourselves! Summon all your strength! |
| 2The LORD will restore the splendor of Jacob like the splendor of Israel, though destroyers have laid them waste and have ruined their vines. | 2For the LORD will restore the splendor of Jacob like the splendor of Israel, though destroyers have laid them waste and ruined the branches of their vine. |
| 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. | 3The shields of his mighty men are red; the valiant warriors are dressed in scarlet. The fittings of the chariots flash like fire on the day they are prepared, and the spears of cypress have been brandished. |
| 4The chariots storm through the streets, rushing back and forth through the squares. They look like flaming torches; they dart about like lightning. | 4The chariots dash through the streets; they rush around the plazas, appearing like torches, darting about like lightning. |
| 5Nineveh summons her picked troops, yet they stumble on their way. They dash to the city wall; the protective shield is put in place. | 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 open and the palace collapses. | 6The river gates are thrown open and the palace collapses. |
| 7It is decreed that Nineveh be exiled and carried away. Her female slaves moan like doves and beat on their breasts. | 7It is decreed that the city be exiled and carried away; her maidservants moan like doves, and beat upon their breasts. |
| 8Nineveh is like a pool whose water is draining away. "Stop! Stop!" they cry, but no one turns back. | 8Nineveh has been like a pool of water throughout her days, but now it is draining away. “Stop! Stop!” they cry, but no one turns back. |
| 9Plunder the silver! Plunder the gold! The supply is endless, the wealth from all its treasures! | 9“Plunder the silver! Plunder the gold!” There is no end to the treasure, an abundance of every precious thing. |
| 10She is pillaged, plundered, stripped! Hearts melt, knees give way, bodies tremble, every face grows pale. | 10She is emptied! Yes, she is desolate and laid waste! Hearts melt, knees knock, bodies tremble, and every face grows pale! |
| 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? | 11Where is the lions’ lair or the feeding ground of the young lions, where the lion and lioness prowled with their cubs, with nothing to frighten them away? |
| 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. | 12The lion mauled enough for its cubs and strangled prey for the lioness. It filled its dens with the kill, and its lairs with mauled prey. |
| 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." | 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 messengers will no longer be heard.” |
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