Read the Bible

¹ Nineveh, you are under attack!
The power that will shatter you has come.
    Prepare the defenses!
    Guard the road!
    Prepare for battle!
² The Lord is about to restore the glory of Israel, as it was before her enemies plundered her.
³ The enemy soldiers carry red shields
    and wear uniforms of red.
They are preparing to attack!
    Their chariots flash like fire!
    Their horses^[a] prance!

⁴ Chariots dash wildly through the streets,
    rushing back and forth in the city squares.
They flash like torches
    and dart about like lightning.
⁵ The officers are summoned;
    they stumble as they press forward.

The attackers rush to the wall
    and set up the shield for the battering ram.
⁶ The gates by the river burst open;
    the palace is filled with terror.
⁷ The queen is taken captive;
    her servants moan like doves
    and beat their breasts in sorrow.
⁸ Like water from a broken dam
    the people rush from Nineveh!^[b]
"Stop! Stop!" the cry rings out—
    but no one turns back.

⁹ Plunder the silver!
    Plunder the gold!
The city is full of treasure!

¹⁰ Nineveh is destroyed, deserted, desolate!
    Hearts melt with fear;
    knees tremble, strength is gone;
    faces grow pale.

¹¹ Where now is the city
    that was like a den of lions,
    the place where young lions were fed,
    where the lion and the lioness would go
    and their cubs would be safe?
¹² The lion killed his prey
    and tore it to pieces for his mate and her cubs;
    he filled his den with torn flesh.