Zephaniah 2
Evangelical Heritage Version
2 Gather yourselves together; yes, gather together, you shameless[a] nation, 2 before the decree takes effect, before the day blows by like chaff, before the burning anger of the Lord comes upon you, before the day of the Lord’s anger comes upon you. 3 Seek the Lord, all you humble people of the earth who have carried out his commands. Seek righteousness. Seek humility. Maybe then you will be sheltered in the day of the Lord’s anger.
4 Yes, Gaza will be deserted, and Ashkelon will be desolate. Ashdod’s people will be driven out by noon, and Ekron will be uprooted. 5 Woe to the inhabitants of the seacoast, the nation of the Kerethites! The word of the Lord is against you, O Canaan, the land of the Philistines. I will destroy you so that no one is left alive! 6 The seacoast will become pastureland, with shelters for shepherds and sheep pens for flocks. 7 It will become the possession of those who remain from the house of Judah. Their flocks will pasture there. In the houses of Ashkelon they will lie down in the evening, because the Lord their God will take care of them. He will restore their fortunes.
8 I have heard the taunts from Moab and the insults from the Ammonites as they have taunted my people and made proud claims against their territory. 9 Therefore as I live, declares the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, Moab will become like Sodom, and the people of Ammon like Gomorrah, a patch of ground overgrown with weeds and a salt pit[b] that is desolate forever. The surviving remnant of my people will plunder them, and the remnant of my nation will take possession of their land. 10 This is what they will get for their pride, because they have taunted and talked arrogantly against the people of the Lord of Armies. 11 The Lord will be terrifying to them, when he will starve[c] all the gods of the earth. Then all the distant nations will bow down to him, each of them in their own country.
12 You Cushites,[d] you also will die by my sword.
13 Then he will stretch out his hand against the north and destroy Assyria. He will make Nineveh desolate, dry like the wilderness. 14 Flocks and herds will lie down there, with all sorts of other creatures. Screech owls and hedgehogs[e] will live among its columns. Owls will hoot through the windows. Rubble will cover the thresholds. Even the cedar beams will be exposed. 15 This was the smug city that lived securely, that said to herself, “I am all there is. There are none that compare to me.” What a heap of ruins she has become, a place for wild animals to lie down! Everyone who passes by taunts her and shakes his fist.
Footnotes
- Zephaniah 2:1 Or perhaps worthless
- Zephaniah 2:9 The meaning of this term is uncertain.
- Zephaniah 2:11 The meaning of this term is uncertain.
- Zephaniah 2:12 Cush is the territory south of Egypt.
- Zephaniah 2:14 The identity of these animals is uncertain. The parallelism suggests two kinds of birds, but the second Hebrew word seems to refer to a hedgehog or porcupine.
Zephaniah 2
Lexham English Bible
Judgment of Judah’s Enemies
2 Gather yourselves together! Now gather together,
O nation having no shame!
2 Before the birth of the decree,
the day flies away like chaff;
before the fierce anger of Yahweh overtakes you;
before the day of the anger of Yahweh overtakes you.
3 Seek Yahweh, all you afflicted of the land
who have fulfilled his law;
seek righteousness;
seek humility.
Perhaps you will be concealed
on the day of the anger of Yahweh.
4 For Gaza will be abandoned,
and Ashkelon as a desolation.
As for Ashdod, at noon they will drive her away,
and Ekron shall be uprooted.
5 Woe to you, inhabitants of the region of the sea,
people of the Kerethites!
The word of Yahweh is against you,
O Canaan, land of the Philistines.
I will destroy you until there is no inhabitant.[a]
6 And you, O region of the sea, shall become
pastures and meadows for shepherds
and sheep pens for the flocks.
7 And it shall become a region
for the remnant of the house of Judah;
upon them they shall graze,
and in the houses of Ashkelon
they shall lie down in the evening.
For Yahweh their God shall be mindful of them,
and he will restore their fortunes.
8 I have heard the reproaches of Moab
and the scorning of the Ammonites,[b]
with which they have taunted my nation
and made boasts against their territory.
9 “Therefore, as I live”—a declaration of Yahweh of hosts,
the God of Israel—
“Moab shall be as Sodom,
and the Ammonites[c] like Gomorrah,
a place of weeds and salt pits
and a desolation forever.
The remnant of my people shall plunder them,
and the remainder of my nation shall possess them.”
10 This shall be for them in place of their pride
because they mocked and boasted
against the people of Yahweh of hosts.
11 Yahweh will be awesome against them,
for he will destroy all the gods of the earth
and all the lands[d] of the nations;
each in its place will bow down to him.
12 You also, O Cushites,
they shall be killed by my sword.
13 And he will stretch out his hand against the north,
and he will destroy Assyria
and will make Nineveh a desolation,
a dry wasteland like the desert.
14 Herds shall lie down in her midst,
every wild animal of a nation;
even the desert owl and the screech owl
shall lodge on her capitals.
A voice shall hoot in the window;
rubble[e] on the threshold;
for the cedar is laid bare.
15 This is the city of rejoicing
that lived securely;
the one saying in her heart,
“I am, and there is none besides me.”[f]
How she has become a desolation,
a lair for wild animals!
Everyone who passes by her hisses and shakes his fist.
Footnotes
- Zephaniah 2:5 Literally “from there is not an inhabitant”
- Zephaniah 2:8 Literally “sons/children of Ammon”
- Zephaniah 2:9 Literally “sons/children of Ammon”
- Zephaniah 2:11 Or “islands”
- Zephaniah 2:14 The traditional Hebrew text has “waste,” while LXX has “a raven,” reflecting a different word with one consonant changed
- Zephaniah 2:15 Literally “I am and none me”
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