The Overthrow of Nineveh
One who scatters advances Jol 3:9-112Ch 25:8Jer 51:20-23Jer 51:11-12Jer 50:23Jer 46:3-10Isa 14:6Nam 3:14-15
against you, O Nineveh.
Guard the fortress!
Watch the road!
Brace yourselves! 1
Summon all your strength!
For the LORD will restore the splendor of Jacob Ezk 37:23Psa 80:12-13Zep 3:11Isa 60:15Gen 49:22-23Hos 10:1Isa 10:5-12Jer 25:29
like the splendor of Israel,
though destroyers have laid them waste
and ruined the branches of their vine.
The shields of his mighty men are red; Ezk 23:14-15Isa 63:1-3Isa 14:8Rev 12:3Rev 6:4Zec 1:8Zec 11:2Zec 6:2
the valiant warriors are dressed in scarlet.
The fittings of the chariots flash like fire
on the day they are prepared,
and the spears of cypress
have been brandished. 2
The chariots dash through the streets; Jer 4:13Ezk 26:10Isa 66:15Nam 3:2-3Dan 11:40Isa 37:24
they rush around the plazas,
appearing like torches,
darting about like lightning.
He summons his nobles; Jer 46:12Isa 21:5Isa 5:27Jer 50:29Jer 51:27-28Nam 3:18Nam 3:3
they stumble as they advance.
They race to its wall;
the protective shield is set in place.
The river gates are thrown open Isa 45:1-22Pe 3:10-11
and the palace collapses.
It is decreed that the city be exiled Isa 38:14Isa 59:11Isa 32:12Luk 23:27Luk 23:48
and carried away;
her maidservants moan like doves,
and beat upon their breasts.
Nineveh has been like a pool of water Gen 10:11Isa 13:14Isa 47:13Isa 48:20Jer 46:5Jer 50:16Jer 51:13Jer 51:30
throughout her days,
but now it is draining away.
“Stop! Stop!” they cry,
but no one turns back.
“Plunder the silver! 2Ch 36:10Dan 11:8Ezk 26:12Isa 33:4Jer 25:34Jer 51:56Nam 2:12-13Isa 33:1
Plunder the gold!”
There is no end to the treasure,
an abundance of every precious thing.
She is emptied! Dan 5:6Jol 2:6Psa 22:14Isa 13:7-8Jer 30:6Isa 21:3Isa 24:1Zep 2:13-15
Yes, she is desolate and laid waste!
Hearts melt, knees knock,
bodies tremble, and every face grows pale!
Where is the lions’ lair Isa 5:29Jer 2:15Ezk 19:2-8Gen 49:9Isa 31:4Jer 4:7Jer 50:17Jer 50:44
or the feeding ground of the young lions,
where the lion and lioness prowled with their cubs,
with nothing to frighten them away?
The lion mauled enough for its cubs Jer 51:34Isa 10:6-14Psa 17:12
and strangled prey for the lioness.
It filled its dens with the kill,
and its lairs with mauled prey.
“Behold, I am against you,” Jer 21:13Nam 3:5Psa 46:92Ki 19:232Ki 19:9Ezk 5:8Isa 49:24-25Jos 11:9
declares the LORD of Hosts.
“I will send your chariots up in smoke,
and the sword will devour your young lions.
I will cut off your prey from the earth,
and the voices of your messengers
will no longer be heard.”