Dual Panel1Nineveh, you are already surrounded by enemy armies! Sound the alarm! Man the ramparts! Muster your defenses, and keep a sharp watch for the enemy attack to begin!
2For the land of Israel lies empty and broken after your attacks, but the LORD will restore its honor and power again.
3Shields flash red in the sunlight! The attack begins! See their scarlet uniforms! Watch as their glittering chariots move into position, with a forest of spears waving above them.
4The chariots race recklessly along the streets and through the squares, swift as lightning, flickering like torches.
5The king shouts to his officers; they stumble in their haste, rushing to the walls to set up their defenses.
6But too late! The river gates are open! The enemy has entered! The palace is about to collapse!
7Nineveh’s exile has been decreed, and all the servant girls mourn its capture. Listen to them moan like doves; watch them beat their breasts in sorrow.
8Nineveh is like a leaking water reservoir! The people are slipping away. "Stop, stop!" someone shouts, but the people just keep on running.
9Loot the silver! Plunder the gold! There seems no end to Nineveh’s many treasures––its vast, uncounted wealth.
10Soon the city is an empty shambles, stripped of its wealth. Hearts melt in horror, and knees shake. The people stand aghast, their faces pale and trembling.
11Where now is that great Nineveh, lion of the nations, full of fight and boldness, where the old and feeble and the young and tender lived with nothing to fear?
12O Nineveh, you were once a mighty lion! You crushed your enemies to feed your cubs and your mate. You filled your city and your homes with captives and plunder.
13"I am your enemy!" says the LORD Almighty. "Your chariots will soon go up in smoke. The finest of your youth will be killed in battle. Never again will you bring back plunder from conquered nations. Never again will the voices of your proud messengers be heard."