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The Overthrow of Nineveh

^1 (F1)The one who ^(C1)scatters has come up against ^(F2)you.
Man the fortress, watch the road;
^(F3)Strengthen your back, ^(F4)summon all your strength.

² For the LORD will restore the ^(C1)splendor of Jacob
^(C2)Like the splendor of Israel,
Even though devastators have devastated them
And ^(C3)destroyed their vine branches.

³ The shields of ^(F1)his mighty men are colored red,
The warriors are dressed in ^(C1)scarlet,
The chariots are enveloped in ^(F2)flashing steel
^(F3)When he is prepared to march,
And the cypress ^(C2)spears are brandished.

⁴ The ^(C1)chariots race madly in the streets,
They rush wildly in the ^(F1)squares,
Their appearance is like torches,
They dash to and fro like lightning flashes.

⁵ He remembers his ^(C1)nobles;
They ^(C2)stumble in their march,
They hurry to her wall,
And the ^(F1)mantelet is set up.

⁶ The gates of the rivers are opened
And the palace is dissolved.

⁷ It is fixed:
She is stripped, she is carried away,
And her handmaids are ^(C1)moaning like the sound of doves,
^(C2)Beating on their ^(F1)breasts.

⁸ Though Nineveh was like a pool of water throughout her days,
Now they are fleeing;
"Stop, stop,"
But ^(C1)no one turns back.

⁹ Plunder the silver!
Plunder the ^(C1)gold!
For there is no limit to the treasure--
Wealth from every kind of desirable object.

¹⁰ She is ^(C1)emptied! Yes, she is desolate and waste!
^(C2)Hearts are melting and knees knocking!
Also anguish is in ^(F1)the whole body
And all their ^(C3)faces are grown pale!

¹¹ Where is the den of the lions
And the feeding place of the ^(C1)young lions,
Where the lion, lioness and lion's cub prowled,
With nothing to disturb them?

¹² The lion tore enough for his cubs,
^(F1)Killed enough for his lionesses,
And filled his lairs with prey
And his dens with torn flesh.

¹³ "Behold, ^(C1)I am against you," declares the LORD of hosts. "I will ^(C2)burn up her chariots in smoke, a sword will devour your young lions; I will ^(C3)cut off your prey from the land, and no longer will the voice of your messengers be heard."