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

5He remembers his nobles;
         They stumble in their march,
         They hurry to her wall,
         And the mantelet is set up.

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

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

8Though Nineveh was like a pool of water throughout her days,
         Now they are fleeing;
         “Stop, stop,”
         But no one turns back.

9Plunder the silver!
         Plunder the gold!
         For there is no limit to the treasure—
         Wealth from every kind of desirable object.

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

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

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

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

NASB ©1995