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Man the fortifications! Watch the road! Brace yourselves! Gather all your strength!
2 For the Lord will restore the splendour of Jacob,
the splendour of Israel,
though ravagers have ravaged them
and have ruined their vines.
3 The shields of his warriors are red;
the valiant men are clad in scarlet.
The metal on their chariots flashes
like fire on the day they are prepared for battle,
and the spears are brandished.
4 The chariots race through the streets;
they rush back and forth through the squares.
They look like flaming torches;
they dash about like lightning.
5 He summons his officers,
yet they stumble as they move forward.
They hasten to the walls,
and the defensive shield is established.
6 The river gates are opened,
and the palace collapses.
7 It is decreed that the city
be carried off into exile.
Her slave girls moan like the sound of doves,
and beat upon their breasts.
8 Ninevah has been like a pool of water from the first,
but now the waters are draining.
“Stop! Stop!” they cry,
but no one turns back.
9 Plunder the silver!
Plunder the gold!
There is no end to the treasure,
or abundance of every precious thing!
10 She is stripped empty, decimated, and laid waste!
Hearts melt, knees tremble,
loins shake, every face grows pale.
11 Where is the lion’s den,
or the feeding place of the young lions,
where the lion prowls,
and the lioness takes her cubs,
without anything to frighten them away?
12 The lion tore in pieces enough for his cubs
and strangled prey for his lionesses,
filling his lair with the kill
and his dens with the flesh.
13 “Behold, I am against you,”
declares the Lord of Hosts.
“I will burn your chariots up 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.”