Behold on the hillsThe footsteps of a heraldAnnouncing good fortune!“Celebrate your festivals, O Judah,Fulfill your vows.Never again shall scoundrels invade you,They have totally vanished.”

aThis verse would read well after v. 3. A shatterer has come up against you.byou I.e., Nineveh; cf. 1.1. Put up the guard posts,Watch the road;Steady your loins,Brace all your strength!

For GOD has restored the PridecPride Emendation yields “vine.” of JacobdJacob…Israel Respectively, the northern kingdom (cf. Amos 6.8; 8.7) and the southern kingdom. The latter is regarded as the remnant of Israel after the fall of the northern kingdom (cf. Mic. 1.13–15). As well as the PrideePride See first note at this verse. of Israel,Though marauders have laid them wasteAnd ravaged their branches.

HisfHis I.e., the shatterer in v. 2. warriors’ shields are painted red,And the soldiers are clothed in crimson;The chariots are like flaming torches,gtorches Understanding peladoth as equivalent to lappidoth. On the day they are made ready.The [arrows of] cypress wood are poisoned,hThe [arrows of] cypress wood are poisoned Meaning of Heb. uncertain. Emendation yields “The cavalry charge”; cf. 3.3.

The chariots dash about frenzied in the fields,They rush through the meadows.They appear like torches,They race like streaks of lightning.

iMeaning of verse uncertain. He commands his burly men;They stumble as they advance,They hasten up to her wall,Where wheeled sheltersjwheeled shelters To protect the crews that swung the battering rams. are set up.

The floodgates are opened,And the palace is deluged.kThe floodgates are opened, / And the palace is deluged I.e., the walls are breached and the palace is overrun.

And Huzzab is exiled and carried away,lAnd Huzzab is exiled and carried away Meaning of Heb. uncertain. Emendation yields “And its mistress is led out and exiled.” While her handmaidens escort [her]mescort [her] Emendation yields “moan.” As with the voices of doves,Beating their breasts.

Nineveh has been like a [placid] pool of waterFrom earliest times;nFrom earliest times Meaning of Heb. uncertain. Now they flee.“Stop! Stop!”—But none can turn them back.

“Plunder silver! Plunder gold!”There is no limit to the treasure;It is a hoard of all precious objects.

Desolation, devastation, and destruction!Spirits sink,Knees buckle,All loins tremble,All faces turn ashen.oturn ashen Meaning of Heb. uncertain; cf. note at Joel 2.6.

What has become of that lions’ den,That pastureppasture Emendation yields “cave.” of great beasts,Where lion and lion’s breed walked,And lion’s cub—with none to disturb them?

[Where is] the lion that tore victims for its cubsAnd strangled for the lionesses,And filled its lairs with preyAnd its dens with mangled flesh?

I am going to deal with you—declares GOD of Hosts:I will burn down her chariots in smoke,qher chariots in smoke Emendation yields “your thicket in fire.” And the sword shall devour your great beasts;I will stamp out your killings from the earth,And the sound of your messengersrmessengers Emendation yields “devouring.” Shall be heard no more.

Ah, city of crime,Utterly treacherous,Full of violence,Where killing never stops!

Crack of whipAnd rattle of wheel,Galloping steedAnd bounding chariot!

Charging cavalry,Flashing swords,And glittering spears!Hosts of slainAnd heaps of corpses,Dead bodies without number—They stumble over bodies.

Because of the countless whoredoms of the whore,The winsome mistress of sorcery,Who ensnaredaensnared Meaning of Heb. uncertain. nations with her whoredomsAnd peoples with her sorcery,

I am going to deal with you—declares GOD of Hosts.I will lift up your skirts over your faceAnd display your nakedness to the nationsAnd your shame to kingdoms.

I will throw loathsome things over youAnd disfigure youAnd make a spectacle of you.

All who see you will recoil from youAnd will say,“Nineveh has been ravaged!”Who will console her?Where shall I look forAnyone to comfort you?

Were you any better than No-amon,bNo-amon Amon was the tutelary deity of No (Thebes; cf. Jer. 46.25), which the Assyrians had sacked in 663 BCE. Which sat by the Nile,Surrounded by water—Its rampart a river,criver Heb. “sea.” Its wall consisting of sea?

Populous CushAnd teeming Egypt,Put and the Libyans—They were herdher Heb. “your.” helpers.

Yet even she was exiled,She went into captivity.Her babes, too, were dashed in piecesAt every street corner.Lots were cast for her nobles,And all her dignitaries were bound in chains.

You too shall be drunkAnd utterly overcome;eovercome Meaning of Heb. uncertain. You too shall seekA refuge from the enemy.

All your forts are fig treesWithfWith Emendation yields “Your troops are”; cf. next verse. ripe fruit;If shaken they will fallInto the mouths of devourers.

Truly, the troops within you are women;The gates of your land have opened themselvesTo your enemies;Fire has consumed your gate bars.

Draw water for the siege,Strengthen your forts;Tread the clay,Trample the mud,Grasp the brick mold!

There fire will devour you,The sword will put an end to you;It will devour you like the grub.Multiply like grubs,Multiply like locusts!gMultiply like grubs, Multiply like locusts Meaning of Heb. uncertain.

You had more tradersThan the sky has stars—The grubs cast their skins and fly away.

Your guards were like locusts,Your marshals like piles of hoppersThat settle on the stone fencesOn a chilly day;When the sun comes out, they fly away,And where they are nobody knows.

Your shepherds are slumbering,O king of Assyria;Your sheepmasters are lying inert;hlying inert Lit. “dwelling”; emendation yields “asleep.” Your people are scatterediscattered Meaning of Heb. uncertain. over the hills,And there is none to gather them.

There is no healingjhealing Heb. kehah, a variant of gehah; see Prov. 17.22. for your injury;Your wound is grievous.All who hear the news about youClap their hands over you.For who has not sufferedFrom your constant malice?