Zephaniah 2:1-3:7

New American Standard Bible

Judgments on Judah’s Enemies

2 Gather yourselves together, yes, ^(A)join together,
You nation ^(B)without ^[a]shame,
²Before the decree ^[b]takes effect—
The day passes ^(C)like chaff—
Before the ^(D)burning anger of the Lord comes upon you,
Before the ^(E)day of the Lord’s anger comes upon you.
³^(F)Seek the Lord,
All you ^(G)humble of the ^[c]earth
Who have practiced His ^[d]ordinances;
^(H)Seek righteousness, seek humility.
Perhaps you will ^(I)remain hidden
On the day of the Lord’s anger.

⁴For ^(J)Gaza will be abandoned,
And Ashkelon will become a desolation;
The inhabitants of ^(K)Ashdod will be driven out at noon,
And ^(L)Ekron will be uprooted.
⁵Woe to the inhabitants of the seacoast,
The nation of the ^[e]^(M)Cherethites!
The word of the Lord is ^(N)against you,
^(O)Canaan, land of the Philistines;
And I will ^(P)eliminate you
So that there will be ^(Q)no inhabitant.
⁶So the seacoast will become ^(R)grazing places,
With pastures for shepherds and folds for flocks.
⁷And the coast will be
For the ^(S)remnant of the house of Judah,
They will ^(T)drive sheep to pasture on it.
In the houses of Ashkelon they will lie down at evening;
For the Lord their God will ^(U)care for them
And ^(V)restore their fortunes.

⁸“I have heard the ^(W)taunting of Moab
And the ^(X)abusive speech of the sons of Ammon,
With which they have taunted My people
And ^(Y)boasted against their territory.
⁹Therefore, as I live,” declares the Lord of armies,
The God of Israel,
“^(Z)Moab will assuredly be like ^(AA)Sodom,
And the sons of ^(AB)Ammon like ^(AC)Gomorrah—
Ground overgrown with weeds and full of salt mines,
And a permanent desolation.
The remnant of My people will ^(AD)plunder them,
And the remainder of My nation will inherit them.”

¹⁰This they will have in return for their ^(AE)arrogance, because they have ^(AF)taunted and boasted against the people of the Lord of armies. ¹¹The Lord will be ^(AG)terrifying to them, for He will ^[f]starve ^(AH)all the gods of the earth; and all the ^(AI)coastlands of the nations will ^(AJ)bow down to Him, everyone from his own place.

¹²“You also, ^(AK)Ethiopians, will be slain by My sword.”
¹³And He will ^(AL)stretch out His hand against the north
And eliminate ^(AM)Assyria,
And He will make ^(AN)Nineveh a desolation,
Parched like the wilderness.
¹⁴Flocks will lie down in her midst,
^[g]All animals that range in herds;
Both the ^[h]^(AO)pelican and the hedgehog
Will spend their nights in ^[i]the tops of her pillars;
^[j]Birds will sing in the window,
Devastation will be on the threshold;
For He has uncovered the cedar work.
¹⁵This is the ^(AP)presumptuous city
That ^(AQ)dwells securely,
Who says in her heart,
“^(AR)I am, and there is no one besides me.”
How she has become a ^(AS)desolation,
A resting place for animals!
^(AT)Everyone who passes by her will ^[k]hiss
And wave his hand in contempt.

Woe to Jerusalem and the Nations

3 Woe to her who is ^(AU)rebellious and ^(AV)defiled,
The ^(AW)oppressive city!
²She ^(AX)obeyed no voice,
She ^(AY)accepted no discipline.
She did not ^(AZ)trust in the Lord,
She did not ^(BA)approach her God.
³Her ^(BB)leaders within her are roaring lions,
Her judges are ^(BC)wolves at evening;
They have no bones to gnaw in the morning.
⁴Her prophets are ^(BD)insolent, treacherous men;
Her ^(BE)priests have profaned the sanctuary.
They have done violence to the Law.
⁵The Lord is ^(BF)righteous ^(BG)within her;
He will ^(BH)do no injustice.
^(BI)Every morning He brings His justice to light;
He ^[l]does not fail.
But the ^[m]criminal ^(BJ)knows no shame.
⁶“I have eliminated nations;
Their corner towers are deserted.
I have ^(BK)laid waste their streets,
With no one passing by;
Their ^(BL)cities have been laid waste,
Without a person, ^(BM)without an inhabitant.
⁷I said, ‘You will certainly revere Me,
You will ^(BN)accept discipline.’
So her dwelling will ^(BO)not be eliminated
In accordance with everything that I have stipulated for her.
Instead, they were eager to ^(BP)corrupt all their deeds.

Footnotes

Zephaniah 2:1 Or longing
Zephaniah 2:2 Lit gives birth
Zephaniah 2:3 Or land
Zephaniah 2:3 Or justice
Zephaniah 2:5 I.e., a segment of the Philistines with roots in Crete
Zephaniah 2:11 Lit allow to dwindle
Zephaniah 2:14 Or All kinds of beasts in crowds; lit Every kind of beast of a nation
Zephaniah 2:14 Or owl; or jackdaw
Zephaniah 2:14 Lit her capitals
Zephaniah 2:14 Lit A voice
Zephaniah 2:15 Or whistle
Zephaniah 3:5 Lit is not missing
Zephaniah 3:5 Or sinner