Nahum 2
Conferenza Episcopale Italiana
(a Giuda)
2 Ecco sui monti i passi d'un messaggero,
un araldo di pace!
Celebra le tue feste, Giuda, sciogli i tuoi voti,
poichè non ti attraverserà più il malvagio:
egli è del tutto annientato.
2 Il Signore restaura la vigna di Giacobbe,
come la vigna d'Israele;
i briganti l'avevano depredata,
ne avevano strappato i tralci.
LA ROVINA DI NINIVE
L'assalto
3 Contro di te avanza un distruttore:
montare la guardia alla fortezza,
sorvegliare le vie, cingerti i fianchi,
raccogliere tutte le forze.
4 Lo scudo dei suoi prodi rosseggia,
i guerrieri sono vestiti di scarlatto,
come fuoco scintillano i carri di ferro
pronti all'attacco; le lance lampeggiano.
5 Per le vie tumultuano i carri,
scorazzano per le piazze,
il loro aspetto è come di fiamma,
guizzano come saette.
6 Si fa l'appello dei più coraggiosi
che accorrendo si urtano:
essi si slanciano verso le mura,
la copertura di scudi è formata.
7 Le porte dei fiumi si aprono,
la reggia è in preda allo spavento.
8 La regina è condotta in esilio,
le sue ancelle gemono come con voce di colombe
percuotendosi il petto.
9 Ninive è come una vasca d'acqua agitata
da cui sfuggono le acque.
«Fermatevi! Fermatevi!» ma nessuno si volta.
10 Saccheggiate l'argento, saccheggiate l'oro,
ci sono tesori infiniti, ammassi d'oggetti preziosi.
11 Devastazione, spogliazione, desolazione;
cuori scoraggiati, ginocchia vacillanti,
in tutti i cuori è lo spasimo
su tutti i volti il pallore.
Sentenza sul leone di Assur
12 Dov'è la tana dei leoni,
la caverna dei leoncelli?
Là si rifugiavano il leone e i leoncelli
e nessuno li disturbava.
13 Il leone rapiva per i suoi piccoli,
sbranava per le sue leonesse;
riempiva i suoi covi di preda, le sue tane di rapina.
14 Eccomi a te, dice il Signore degli eserciti,
manderò in fumo i tuoi carri
e la spada divorerà i tuoi leoncelli.
Porrò fine alle tue rapine nel paese,
non si udrà più la voce dei tuoi messaggeri.
Nahum 2
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 2
1 At this moment on the mountains
the footsteps of one bearing good news,
of one announcing peace!(A)
Celebrate your feasts, Judah,
fulfill your vows!
For never again will destroyers invade you;[a]
they are completely cut off.
The Attack on Nineveh
2 One who scatters has come up against you;[b]
guard the rampart,
Watch the road, brace yourselves,
marshal all your strength!
3 [c]The Lord will restore the vine of Jacob,
the honor of Israel,
Because ravagers have ravaged them
and ruined their branches.
4 The shields of his warriors are crimsoned,
the soldiers clad in scarlet;
Like fire are the trappings of the chariots
on the day he prepares for war;
the cavalry is agitated!
5 The chariots dash madly through the streets
and wheel in the squares,
Looking like torches,
bolting like lightning.
6 His picked troops are called,
ranks break at their charge;
To the wall they rush,
their screen[d] is set up.
7 The river gates[e] are opened,
the palace is washed away.
8 The mistress is led forth captive,
and her maidservants[f] led away,
Moaning like doves,
beating their breasts.
9 Nineveh is like a pool
whose waters escape;
“Stop! Stop!”
but none turns back.(B)
10 “Plunder the silver, plunder the gold!”
There is no end to the treasure,
to wealth in every precious thing!
11 Emptiness, desolation, waste;
melting hearts and trembling knees,
Churning in every stomach,
every face turning pale!(C)
12 Where is the lionesses’ den,
the young lions’ cave,
Where the lion[g] went in and out,
and the cub, with no one to disturb them?(D)
13 The lion tore apart enough for his cubs,
and strangled for his lionesses;
He filled his lairs with prey,
and his dens with torn flesh.
14 I now come against you—
oracle of the Lord of hosts—
I will consume your chariots in smoke,
and the sword will devour your young lions;
Your preying on the land I will bring to an end,
the cry of your lionesses will be heard no more.
Footnotes
- 2:1 For never again will destroyers invade you: prophets are not always absolutely accurate in the things they foresee. Nineveh was destroyed, as Nahum expected, but Judah was later invaded by the Babylonians and (much later) by the Romans. The prophets were convinced that Israel held a key place in God’s plan and looked for the people to survive all catastrophes, always blessed by the Lord, though the manner was not always as they expected; the “fallen hut of David” was not rebuilt as Am 9:11 suggests, except in the coming of Jesus, and in a way far different than the prophet expected. Often the prophet speaks in hyperbole, as when Second Isaiah speaks of the restored Jerusalem being built with precious stones (Is 54:12) as a way of indicating a glorious future.
- 2:2 One who scatters has come up against you: the enemy is about to crush Nineveh, dispersing and deporting its people (v. 8; 3:18).
- 2:3 This verse does not fit its context well; it may have been the conclusion for the preceding section and have once followed v. 1, or it may be a later scribal addition.
- 2:6 Their screen: that is, a mantelet, a movable military shelter protecting the besiegers.
- 2:7 River gates: a network of canals brought water into Nineveh from the Tigris and Khosr Rivers on which the city was located.
- 2:8 Mistress…and her maidservants: either the queen of Nineveh with the ladies of her court, or the city of Nineveh itself, pictured as a noblewoman (3:4).
- 2:12 The lion: the king of Assyria.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.