Nahum 2:5

Modern

He summons his nobles; they stumble as they advance. They race to its wall; the protective shield is set in place.

Traditional

He shall recount his worthies: they shall stumble in their walk; they shall make haste to the wall thereof, and the defence shall be prepared.

Literal

He summons his nobles, they stumble in their walk; they hurry to her wall, and the siege-cover is prepared.

Latin

Recordabitur fortium suorum; ruent in itineribus suis: velociter ascendent muros ejus, et præparabitur umbraculum.

Hebrew

English

He summons his nobles; they stumble as they advance. They race to its wall; the protective shield is set in place.

The Assyrian king recovers from the surprise attack on Nineveh and calls out to his officers. He and the city are unprepared, so they hurry to the walls to stop the siege.
the protective shield is set in place (literally the covering is prepared): The meaning of the Hebrew term here is unclear. Covering probably refers to something that attackers or defenders used for protection. It helped shield them from weapons thrown through the air.

Jeremiah 46:12
The nations have heard of your shame, and your outcry fills the earth, because warrior stumbles over warrior and both of them have fallen together.”
Isaiah 5:27
None of them grows weary or stumbles; no one slumbers or sleeps. No belt is loose and no sandal strap is broken.
Jeremiah 51:27–28
“Raise a banner in the land! Blow the ram’s horn among the nations! Prepare the nations against her. Summon the kingdoms against her—Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz. Appoint a captain against her; bring up horses like swarming locusts.
Isaiah 21:5
They prepare a table, they lay out a carpet, they eat, they drink! Rise up, O princes, oil the shields!
Nahum 3:18
O king of Assyria, your shepherds slumber; your officers sleep. Your people are scattered on the mountains with no one to gather them.
Nahum 3:3
Charging horseman, flashing sword, shining spear; heaps of slain, mounds of corpses, dead bodies without end—they stumble over their dead—
Jeremiah 50:29
Summon the archers against Babylon, all who string the bow. Encamp all around her; let no one escape. Repay her according to her deeds; do to her as she has done. For she has defied the LORD, the Holy One of Israel.