Zephaniah 2

English Standard Version

Judgment on Judah's Enemies

2 Gather together, yes, gather,
    O ^(A)shameless nation,
²^(B)before the decree takes effect^[a]
    —before the day passes away ^(C)like chaff—
^(D)before there comes upon you
    the burning anger of the Lord,
before there comes upon you
    the day of the anger of the Lord.
³^(E)Seek the Lord, ^(F)all you humble of the land,
    who do his just commands;^[b]
^(G)seek righteousness; seek humility;
    ^(H)perhaps ^(I)you may be hidden
    on the day of the anger of the Lord.
⁴^(J)For Gaza shall be deserted,
    and Ashkelon shall become a desolation;
Ashdod's people shall be driven out at noon,
    and Ekron shall be uprooted.

⁵Woe to ^(K)you inhabitants of the seacoast,
    you nation of ^(L)the Cherethites!
^(M)The word of the Lord is against you,
    ^(N)O Canaan, land of the Philistines;
    and I will destroy you ^(O)until no inhabitant is left.
⁶^(P)And you, O seacoast, ^(Q)shall be pastures,
    with meadows^[c] for shepherds
    and folds for flocks.
⁷^(R)The seacoast shall become the possession
    of ^(S)the remnant of the house of Judah,
    ^(T)on which they shall graze,
and in the houses of Ashkelon
    they shall lie down at evening.
For the Lord their God ^(U)will be mindful of them
    and ^(V)restore their fortunes.

⁸“I have heard ^(W)the taunts of Moab
    and ^(X)the revilings of the Ammonites,
how they have taunted my people
    and made boasts ^(Y)against their territory.
⁹Therefore, ^(Z)as I live,” declares the Lord of hosts,
    the God of Israel,
“Moab shall become ^(AA)like Sodom,
    and the Ammonites ^(AB)like Gomorrah,
a land possessed by nettles and salt pits,
    and a waste forever.
The remnant of my people shall plunder them,
    and the survivors of my nation shall possess them.”
¹⁰This shall be their lot in return ^(AC)for their pride,
    because they taunted and boasted
    against the people of the Lord of hosts.
¹¹The Lord will be awesome against them;
    ^(AD)for he will famish all the gods of the earth,
and ^(AE)to him shall bow down,
    each in its place,
    all ^(AF)the lands of the nations.

¹²^(AG)You also, O Cushites,
shall be slain by my sword.

¹³And he will stretch out his hand against the north
    ^(AH)and destroy Assyria,
and he ^(AI)will make Nineveh a desolation,
    a dry waste like the desert.
¹⁴^(AJ)Herds shall lie down in her midst,
    all kinds of beasts;^[d]
^(AK)even the owl and the hedgehog^[e]
    shall lodge in her capitals;
a voice shall hoot in the window;
    devastation will be on the threshold;
    for ^(AL)her cedar work will be laid bare.
¹⁵This is the exultant city
    ^(AM)that lived securely,
that said in her heart,
    “I am, and there is no one else.”
What a desolation she has become,
    ^(AN)a lair for wild beasts!
^(AO)Everyone who passes by her
    hisses and ^(AP)shakes his fist.

Footnotes

Zephaniah 2:2 Hebrew gives birth
Zephaniah 2:3 Or who carry out his judgment
Zephaniah 2:6 Or caves
Zephaniah 2:14 Hebrew beasts of every nation
Zephaniah 2:14 The identity of the animals rendered owl and hedgehog is uncertain

Haggai 2

English Standard Version

The Coming Glory of the Temple

2 ^(A)In the seventh month, on the twenty-first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet: ²“Speak now to ^(B)Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to ^(C)Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to all the remnant of the people, and say, ³^(D)‘Who is left among you who saw this house ^(E)in its former glory? How do you see it now? ^(F)Is it not as nothing in your eyes? ⁴Yet now ^(G)be strong, O ^(H)Zerubbabel, declares the Lord. ^(I)Be strong, O ^(J)Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest. ^(K)Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the Lord. ^(L)Work, for ^(M)I am with you, declares the Lord of hosts, ⁵^(N)according to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt. ^(O)My Spirit remains in your midst. ^(P)Fear not. ⁶For thus says the Lord of hosts: ^(Q)Yet once more, in a little while, ^(R)I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land. ⁷And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and ^(S)I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord of hosts. ⁸^(T)The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the Lord of hosts. ⁹^(U)The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts. And ^(V)in this place I will give peace, declares the Lord of hosts.’”

Blessings for a Defiled People

¹⁰^(W)On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, ^(X)in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, ¹¹“Thus says the Lord of hosts: ^(Y)Ask the priests about the law: ¹²‘If someone carries ^(Z)holy meat in the fold of his garment and touches with his fold bread or stew or wine or oil or any kind of food, does it become holy?’” The priests answered and said, ^(AA)“No.” ¹³Then Haggai said, ^(AB)“If someone who is unclean by contact with a dead body ^(AC)touches any of these, does it become unclean?” The priests answered and said, “It does become unclean.” ¹⁴Then Haggai answered and said, ^(AD)“So is it with this people, and with this nation before me, declares the Lord, and so with every work of their hands. And what they offer there is unclean. ¹⁵Now then, ^(AE)consider from this day onward.^[a] Before stone was placed upon stone in the temple of the Lord, ¹⁶how did you fare? ^(AF)When^[b] one came to a heap of twenty measures, there were but ten. When one came to the wine vat to draw fifty measures, there were but twenty. ¹⁷^(AG)I struck you and all the products of your toil with blight and with mildew and with hail, ^(AH)yet you did not turn to me, declares the Lord. ¹⁸^(AI)Consider from this day onward, ^(AJ)from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month. Since ^(AK)the day that the foundation of the Lord's temple was laid, ^(AL)consider: ¹⁹^(AM)Is the seed yet in the barn? Indeed, the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree have yielded nothing. But from this day on ^(AN)I will bless you.”

Zerubbabel Chosen as a Signet

²⁰The word of the Lord came a second time to Haggai ^(AO)on the twenty-fourth day of the month, ²¹“Speak to ^(AP)Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, ^(AQ)I am about to shake the heavens and the earth, ²²and ^(AR)to overthrow the throne of kingdoms. I am about to destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations, and ^(AS)overthrow the chariots and their riders. And the horses and their riders shall go down, ^(AT)every one by the sword of his brother. ²³On that day, declares the Lord of hosts, I will take you, O ^(AU)Zerubbabel ^(AV)my servant, the son of ^(AW)Shealtiel, declares the Lord, and make you ^(AX)like a^[c] signet ring, ^(AY)for I have chosen you, declares the Lord of hosts.”

Footnotes

Haggai 2:15 Or backward; also verse 18
Haggai 2:16 Probable reading (compare Septuagint); Hebrew Lord, since they were. When
Haggai 2:23 Hebrew the