Read the Bible

¹ The destroyer^[a] is coming to attack you, Nineveh.
    Guard the defenses.
    Watch the road.
    Get ready.
    Gather all your strength!
² Destroyers have destroyed God's people
    and ruined their vines,
but the Lord will bring back Jacob's greatness
    like Israel's greatness.

³ The shields of his soldiers are red;
    the army is dressed in red.
The metal on the chariots flashes like fire
    when they are ready to attack;
    their horses are excited.
⁴ The chariots race through the streets
    and rush back and forth through the city squares.
They look like torches;
    they run like lightning.

⁵ He^[b] calls his officers,
    but they stumble on the way.
They hurry to the city wall,
    and the shield is put into place.
⁶ The river gates are thrown open,
    and the palace is destroyed.
⁷ It has been announced that the people of Nineveh
    will be captured and carried away.
The slave girls moan like doves
    and beat their breasts, because they are sad.
⁸ Nineveh is like a pool,
    and now its water is draining away.
"Stop! Stop!" the people yell,
    but no one turns back.
⁹ Take the silver!
    Take the gold!
There is no end to the treasure—
    piles of wealth of every kind.
¹⁰ Nineveh is robbed, ruined, and destroyed.
    The people lose their courage, and their knees knock.
    Stomachs ache, and everyone's face grows pale.

¹¹ Where is the lions'^[c] den
    and the place where they feed their young?
Where did the lion, lioness, and cubs go
    without being afraid?
¹² The lion killed enough for his cubs,
    enough for his mate.
He filled his cave with the animals he caught;
    he filled his den with meat he had killed.

¹³ "I am against you, Nineveh,"
    says the Lord All-Powerful.
"I will burn up your chariots in smoke,
    and the sword will kill your young lions.
    I will stop you from hunting down others on the earth,
and your messengers' voices
    will no longer be heard."