Zephaniah 2
Legacy Standard Bible
Seek Yahweh Before His Day of Anger
2 Gather yourselves together, indeed, (A)gather,
O nation (B)without [a]shame,
2 Before the decree [b]takes effect—
The day passes (C)like the chaff—
Before the (D)burning anger of Yahweh comes upon you,
Before the (E)day of Yahweh’s anger comes upon you.
3 (F)Seek Yahweh,
All you (G)humble of the [c]earth
Who have worked His justice;
(H)Seek righteousness, seek humility.
Perhaps you will be (I)hidden
In the day of Yahweh’s anger.
4 For (J)Gaza will be [d]forsaken
And Ashkelon a desolation;
(K)Ashdod will be driven out at noon,
And (L)Ekron will be uprooted.
5 Woe to the inhabitants of the seacoast,
The nation of the [e](M)Cherethites!
The word of Yahweh is (N)against you,
O (O)Canaan, land of the Philistines;
And I will (P)make you perish
So that there will be (Q)no inhabitant.
6 So the seacoast will be (R)pastures,
With [f]caves for shepherds and folds for flocks.
7 And the coast will be
For the (S)remnant of the house of Judah;
They will (T)feed upon it.
In the houses of Ashkelon they will lie down at evening;
For Yahweh their God will (U)care for them
And (V)restore their fortune.
8 “I have heard the (W)reproach of Moab
And the (X)revilings of the sons of Ammon,
With which they have reproached My people
And (Y)magnified themselves against their territory.
9 Therefore, as I live,” declares Yahweh of hosts,
The God of Israel,
“Surely (Z)Moab will be like (AA)Sodom
And the sons of (AB)Ammon like (AC)Gomorrah—
A place possessed by nettles and salt pits,
And a perpetual desolation.
The remnant of My people will (AD)plunder them,
And the remainder of My nation will inherit them.”
10 This they will have in return for their (AE)pride because they have (AF)reproached and magnified themselves against the people of Yahweh of hosts. 11 Yahweh will be (AG)fearsome to them, for He will [g]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, O (AK)Ethiopians, will be slain by My sword.”
13 And He will (AL)stretch out His hand against the north
And cause (AM)Assyria to perish,
And He will make (AN)Nineveh a desolation,
Parched like the wilderness.
14 Flocks will lie down in her midst,
All the beasts of the nation;
Both the [h](AO)pelican and the hedgehog
Will lodge in [i]the tops of her pillars;
Their voice will sing in the window,
Ruin will be on the threshold;
For He has laid bare the cedar work.
15 This is the (AP)exultant city
Which (AQ)inhabits securely,
Who says in her heart,
“(AR)I am, and there is no one besides me.”
How she has become an object of (AS)horror,
A resting place for beasts!
(AT)Everyone who passes by her will hiss
And wave his hand in contempt.
Footnotes
- Zephaniah 2:1 Or longing
- Zephaniah 2:2 Lit is born
- Zephaniah 2:3 Or land
- Zephaniah 2:4 Heb Azabah, sounds like Gaza
- Zephaniah 2:5 A segment of the Philistines with roots in Crete
- Zephaniah 2:6 Or meadows, wells
- Zephaniah 2:11 Lit make lean
- Zephaniah 2:14 Or owl, jackdaw
- Zephaniah 2:14 Lit her capitals
Zephaniah 2
International Standard Version
A Plea for Repentance to the People
2 “Gather together!
Yes, indeed, gather together,
you shameless nation!
2 Before the decree is carried out,
before the day flies away like chaff,
before the fierce anger of the Lord visits you,
before the Day of the Lord’s wrath surprises[a] you,
3 seek the Lord, all you humble people of the land,
who do what he commands.
Seek righteousness!
Seek humility!
Maybe you will be protected in the Day of the Lord’s anger.”
The Coming Destruction of Philistine Cities
4 “For Gaza will be forsaken,[b]
and Ashkelon deserted—
Ashdod will be emptied at high noon;
even Ekron will be uprooted.[c]
5 Woe to those who live along the coast,
the people of Philistia![d]
This message from the Lord is being spoken against you,
Canaan, land of the Philistines:
‘I’ll destroy you until no one lives there!’
6 The Philistine[e] coast will become meadows
for shepherds and sheep pens.
7 The survivors of Judah will find pasture on it;
at twilight they will lie down in the houses of Ashkelon,
for the Lord their God will visit them,
restoring their prosperity.”[f]
The Lord’s Rebuke to Moab and Ammon
8 “I’ve heard Moab’s insults
and the curses from those Ammonites[g]
by which they defame my people
and boast about their territory.
9 Therefore as I’m alive and living,” declares the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel,
“Moab will surely become like Sodom,
and the Ammonites[h] like Gomorrah,
a place overrun by weeds and salty marshes,
unpopulated forever.
The survivors of my people will confiscate their property,
and those who remain of my nation will inherit what was theirs.[i]
10 This they[j] will have in lieu of their pride,
because they have insulted and mocked the people of the Lord of the Heavenly Armies.
11 The Lord will incite them to terror,
because he will cause all the gods of the earth to waste away.
They will worship him,
every person in his own home,
including even the coastlands of the nations.”
The Lord’s Rebuke to Cush and Nineveh
13 “And the Lord[m] will attack[n] the north, destroying Assyria.
He will turn Nineveh into a desolate ruin,
as dry as a desert wilderness.
14 Flocks will lie down in her midst,
along with animals of every kind.
Desert owls and screeching owls will nest at the top of the pillars,
hooting through the vacant[o] windows,
‘Ruin sits at these doorsills,’
for he will expose even the cedar framework.
15 This is that carefree city that lived irresponsibly,
that told herself, ‘Me first!’[p]
and, ‘There will be no one else!’
How ruined she has become—
a habitat for wild animals!
Everyone who passes by her will sneer at her
and make obscene gestures!”[q]
Footnotes
- Zephaniah 2:2 Lit. wrath comes upon
- Zephaniah 2:4 The Heb. word forsaken sounds like the Heb. name Gaza
- Zephaniah 2:4 The Heb. word uprooted sounds like the Heb. name Ekron
- Zephaniah 2:5 Lit. of the Cherethites
- Zephaniah 2:6 Lit. Cherethite
- Zephaniah 2:7 Or them, turning away their captivity
- Zephaniah 2:8 Lit. the descendants of Ammon; so also in v. 9.
- Zephaniah 2:9 Lit. the descendants of Ammon; so also in v. 9.
- Zephaniah 2:9 Cf. Obad 19-21
- Zephaniah 2:10 I.e. the people of Edom and Moab
- Zephaniah 2:12 I.e. Sudan, Ethiopia, or southern Iraq
- Zephaniah 2:12 Lit. they
- Zephaniah 2:13 Lit. And he
- Zephaniah 2:13 Lit. stretch out his hand toward
- Zephaniah 2:14 The Heb. lacks vacant
- Zephaniah 2:15 Lit. said in her heart, ‘I’
- Zephaniah 2:15 Lit. and wag his hand
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