51 lines
1.9 KiB
Markdown
51 lines
1.9 KiB
Markdown
# Chapter 2
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1 Your enemy is coming to crush you, Nineveh.
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Man the ramparts! Watch the roads!
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Prepare your defenses! Call out your forces!
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2 Even though the destroyer has destroyed Judah,
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the Lord will restore its honor.
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Israel’s vine has been stripped of branches,
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but he will restore its splendor.
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3 Shields flash red in the sunlight!
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See the scarlet uniforms of the valiant troops!
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Watch as their glittering chariots move into position,
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with a forest of spears waving above them.
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4 The chariots race recklessly along the streets
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and rush wildly through the squares.
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They flash like firelight
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and move as swiftly as lightning.
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5 The king shouts to his officers;
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they stumble in their haste,
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rushing to the walls to set up their defenses.
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6 The river gates have been torn open!
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The palace is about to collapse!
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7 Nineveh’s exile has been decreed,
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and all the servant girls mourn its capture.
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They moan like doves
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and beat their breasts in sorrow.
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8 Nineveh is like a leaking water reservoir!
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The people are slipping away.
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“Stop, stop!” someone shouts,
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but no one even looks back.
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9 Loot the silver!
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Plunder the gold!
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There’s no end to Nineveh’s treasures—
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its vast, uncounted wealth.
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10 Soon the city is plundered, empty, and ruined.
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Hearts melt and knees shake.
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The people stand aghast,
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their faces pale and trembling.
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11 Where now is that great Nineveh,
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that den filled with young lions?
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It was a place where people—like lions and their cubs—
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walked freely and without fear.
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12 The lion tore up meat for his cubs
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and strangled prey for his mate.
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He filled his den with prey,
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his caverns with his plunder.
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13 “I am your enemy!”
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says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
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“Your chariots will soon go up in smoke.
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Your young men will be killed in battle.
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Never again will you plunder conquered nations.
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The voices of your proud messengers will be heard no more.” |