The Fall of Nineveh
1 Nineveh, you are under attack!
The power that will shatter you has come.
Prepare the defenses!
Guard the road!
Prepare for battle!
( 2 The Lord is about to restore the glory of Israel, as it was before her enemies plundered her.)
3 The enemy soldiers carry red shields
and wear uniforms of red.
They are preparing to attack!
Their chariots flash like fire!
Their horses prance!
4 Chariots dash wildly through the streets,
rushing back and forth in the city squares.
They flash like torches
and dart about like lightning.
5 The officers are summoned;
they stumble as they press forward.
The attackers rush to the wall
and set up the shield for the battering ram.
6 The gates by the river burst open;
the palace is filled with terror.
7 The queen is taken captive;
her servants moan like doves
and beat their breasts in sorrow.
8 Like water from a broken dam
the people rush from Nineveh!
“Stop! Stop!” the cry rings out—
but no one turns back.
9 Plunder the silver!
Plunder the gold!
The city is full of treasure!
10 Nineveh is destroyed, deserted, desolate!
Hearts melt with fear;
knees tremble, strength is gone;
faces grow pale.
11 Where now is the city
that was like a den of lions,
the place where young lions were fed,
where the lion and the lioness would go
and their cubs would be safe?
12 The lion killed his prey
and tore it to pieces for his mate and her cubs;
he filled his den with torn flesh.
13 “I am your enemy!” says the Lord Almighty. “I will burn up your chariots. Your soldiers will be killed in war, and I will take away everything that you took from others. The demands of your envoys will no longer be heard.”
Etekopo lyaNinive
1 Ninive, oto ka ponokelwa!
Ehanagulo olye ku adha!
Indeni komahala gokwiipopila!
Langeleni ondjila!
Ilongekidhileni olugodhi!
2 (Omuwa okwa hala okugalula esimano lyaIsrael, ngaashi lya li nale,
manga aatondi ye inaaye li mu yuga.)
3 Aakwiita aatondi oya humbata iikandekitho iitiligane
noya zala omizalo dha fa ombinzi.
Otaa ilongekidhile eponokelo!
Omatembakwiita gawo otaga geta ga fa omulilo!
Uukambe wawo tau nuka omalondo!
4 Omatembakwiita otaga mbolokota momapandaanda,
otaga kolokota momahalandjandja goshilando.
Otaga adhima ngomalaka gomulilo
notage ende ga fa olwaadhi.
5 Aambala otaa hiywa ya gongale;
otaa tantala, sho taa endelele yu uka komeho.
Aaponokeli otaa matukile kekuma
e taa yelutha oshikandekitho
okushiga oshikumunithi shekuma.
6 Omiyelo dhopomulonga dha mwakuka;
uuwa wa shoshomekwa kuumbanda.
7 Omunyekadhi ota kwatwa omupika;
aadhike ye taa lili ya fa oonguti
notayi ikwata pontulo koluhodhi.
8 Aantu otaa gwaya mo muNinive
ongomeya taga panuka mondama.
Otaku igidhwa: “Kankameni! Thikameni!”
Ihe kape na ngoka ta galuka.
9 Yugeni oshisiliveli!
Hakaneni oshingoli!
Oshilando oshu udha omaliko!
10 Ninive otashi hanagulwa po,
tashi thigwa po, tashi mbugalekwa!
Omitima otadhi kukuta kuumbanda;
oongolo otadhi tifauka,
oonkondo dha kana;
iipala otayi pembe.
11 Oshilando oshi li peni ngashingeyi,
shoka sha li sha fa ekololo lyoonime,
ehala mpoka oonime oongundjuka dha paluthilwa,
mpoka oondumentunime noonyalinime dha wapa okweenda
nuunimegona wadho wu na okukala megameno?
12 Onime oya dhipaga oshihakanwa shayo
noye shi topolele oonkwawo
nuunimegona wayo;
oyu udhitha ekololo lyayo nonyama ya tudhwagulwa.
13 Omuwa Omupangelinkondoawike ota ti: “Ngame onda ningi omutondi gweni! Omatembakwiita geni otandi ga fike po! Aakwiita yeni otaa ka dhipagelwa miita, notandi kutha po shaa shoka mwe shi kutha yalwe. Oonkondo dheni itadhi ku uvika we muuyuni.”
