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NAHUM 2
page 828
for your wicked enemies will never invade
your land again.
They will be completely destroyed!
6
— promises —
from God
The Lord is good, a strong
refuge when trouble comes.
He is close to those who
trust in him.
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NA H U M 1:7
The Fall of Nineveh
1*Your enemy is coming to crush you,
Nineveh.
Man the ramparts! Watch the roads!
Prepare your defenses! Call out your
forces!
2
2
Even though the destroyer has destroyed
Judah,
the Lord will restore its honor.
Israel’s vine has been stripped of branches,
but he will restore its splendor.
3
Shields flash red in the sunlight!
See the scarlet uniforms of the valiant
troops!
Watch as their glittering chariots move into
position,
with a forest of spears waving above
them.*
The chariots race recklessly along the streets
and rush wildly through the squares.
They flash like firelight
and move as swiftly as lightning.
The king shouts to his officers;
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• Comfort
NAH U M 1 :7
When we get hungry, we go to a
restaurant or grocery store. When
we want to buy a car, we go to a car
dealership. When we want medication,
we go to a pharmacy. When we need
comfort, God is the place to go. We are
not strangers to him; he knows us and
our needs before we even come to him.
Out of his goodness, God has provided
a refuge—himself—where we can find
peace and take a rest from the world’s
chaos. Where do you go when you
need comfort?
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13
they stumble in their haste,
rushing to the walls to set up their
defenses.
The river gates have been torn open!
The palace is about to collapse!
Nineveh’s exile has been decreed,
and all the servant girls mourn its capture.
They moan like doves
and beat their breasts in sorrow.
Nineveh is like a leaking water reservoir!
The people are slipping away.
“Stop, stop!” someone shouts,
but no one even looks back.
Loot the silver!
Plunder the gold!
There’s no end to Nineveh’s treasures—
its vast, uncounted wealth.
Soon the city is plundered, empty, and
ruined.
Hearts melt and knees shake.
The people stand aghast,
their faces pale and trembling.
Where now is that great Nineveh,
that den filled with young lions?
It was a place where people—like lions
and their cubs—
walked freely and without fear.
The lion tore up meat for his cubs
and strangled prey for his mate.
He filled his den with prey,
his caverns with his plunder.
“I am your enemy!”
says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
“Your chariots will soon go up in smoke.
Your young men* will be killed in battle.
Never again will you plunder conquered
nations.
The voices of your proud messengers
will be heard no more.”
The LORD’s Judgment against Nineveh
1 What sorrow awaits Nineveh,
the city of murder and lies!
She is crammed with wealth
and is never without victims.
2 Hear the crack of whips,
the rumble of wheels!
Horses’ hooves pound,
and chariots clatter wildly.
3 See the flashing swords and
glittering spears
as the charioteers charge past!
There are countless casualties,
heaps of bodies—
so many bodies that
people stumble over them.
4 All this because Nineveh,
the beautiful and faithless city,
3
2:1 Verses 2:1-13 are numbered 2:2-14 in Hebrew text.
2:3 Greek and Syriac versions read into position, / the horses
whipped into a frenzy. 2:13 Hebrew young lions.