Zephaniah 2:4-6

Easy-to-Read Version

The Lord Will Punish Israel’s Neighbors

⁴No one will be left in Gaza. Ashkelon will be destroyed. By noon, the people will be forced to leave Ashdod. Ekron^[a] will be empty.^[b] ⁵You Cretans^[c] living by the sea, this message from the Lord is about you. Canaan, land of the Philistines, you will be destroyed—no one will live there! ⁶Your land by the sea will become empty fields for shepherds and their sheep.

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Footnotes

Zephaniah 2:4 Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron Philistine cities. In Hebrew, Zephaniah is making wordplays on the names of these cities.
Zephaniah 2:4 empty In Hebrew this word is like the word meaning “Philistines.” Also in verse 6.
Zephaniah 2:5 Cretans People from Crete. The Philistines came from that island.