Nahum 2:1-3

Amplified Bible

The Overthrow of Nineveh

2 ^[a]The one who scatters has come up against you [Nineveh].
Man the fortress and ramparts, watch the road;
^[b]Strengthen your back [prepare for battle], summon all your strength.
²
For the Lord will restore the splendor and majesty of Jacob
Like the splendor of [ancient and united] Israel,
Even though destroyers have destroyed them
And ruined their vine branches.^(A)

³
The shields of his soldiers [of ^[c]Media and Babylon] are colored red;
The warriors are dressed in scarlet.
The chariots blaze with fire of [flashing] steel
When he is prepared to march,
And the cypress spears are brandished [for battle].

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Footnotes

Nahum 2:1 Nahum begins his message to Nineveh with a brief sarcastic statement (v 1) referring to the Medes, the Babylonians, and the Scythians who were allied against Assyria.
Nahum 2:1 Lit Make strong your loins.
Nahum 2:3 The Medes were an ancient Iranian people who lived in the area that is now the northwestern part of modern day Iran. After they joined with the Chaldeans of Babylonia to defeat the Assyrians, they established their own empire. It was the largest empire of its day until Cyrus the Great united the Medes and the Persians to form the Archaemenid Empire which stretched over several million square miles.