Zephaniah 2:4-3:13

English Standard Version

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

⁸ “I have heard ^(N)the taunts of Moab
    and ^(O)the revilings of the Ammonites,
how they have taunted my people
    and made boasts ^(P)against their territory.
⁹ Therefore, ^(Q)as I live,” declares the Lord of hosts,
    the God of Israel,
“Moab shall become ^(R)like Sodom,
    and the Ammonites ^(S)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.”
¹⁰ This shall be their lot in return ^(T)for their pride,
    because they taunted and boasted
    against the people of the Lord of hosts.
¹¹ The Lord will be awesome against them;
    ^(U)for he will famish all the gods of the earth,
and ^(V)to him shall bow down,
    each in its place,
    all ^(W)the lands of the nations.

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

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

^3 (AK)Her officials within her
    are roaring lions;
her judges are ^(AL)evening wolves
    that leave nothing till the morning.
^4 (AM)Her prophets are fickle, treacherous men;
^(AN)her priests ^(AO)profane what is holy;
    they do violence to the law.
⁵ The Lord within her ^(AP)is righteous;
    he does no injustice;
every morning he shows forth his justice;
    each dawn he does not fail;
    but ^(AQ)the unjust knows no shame.

^6 (AR)“I have cut off nations;
    their battlements are in ruins;
I have laid waste their streets
    ^(AS)so that no one walks in them;
their cities have been made desolate,
    without a man, without an inhabitant.
^7 (AT)I said, ‘Surely you will fear me;
    ^(AU)you will accept correction.
Then your^[d] dwelling would not be cut off
    according to all that I have appointed against you.’^[e]
But ^(AV)all the more they were eager
    to make all their deeds corrupt.

⁸ “Therefore ^(AW)wait for me,” declares the Lord,
    “for the day when I rise up to seize the prey.
For my decision is ^(AX)to gather nations,
    to assemble kingdoms,
to pour out upon them my indignation,
    all my burning anger;
for in the fire of my jealousy
    ^(AY)all the earth shall be consumed.

^11 (BC)“On that day ^(BD)you shall not be put to shame
    because of the deeds by which you have rebelled against me;
for then ^(BE)I will remove from your midst
    your proudly exultant ones,
and ^(BF)you shall no longer be haughty
    in my holy mountain.
¹² But I will leave in your midst
    a people ^(BG)humble and lowly.
^(BH)They shall seek refuge in the name of the Lord,
^{13     (BI)}those who are left in Israel;
they ^(BJ)shall do no injustice
    and speak no lies,
^(BK)nor shall there be found in their mouth
    a deceitful tongue.
^(BL)For they shall graze and lie down,
    and none shall make them afraid.”