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Zephaniah 2
New International Version
Zephaniah 2
New International Version
Judah and Jerusalem Judged Along With the Nations
Judah Summoned to Repent
2 Gather together,(A) gather yourselves together,
you shameful(B) nation,
2 before the decree takes effect
and that day passes like windblown chaff,(C)
before the Lord’s fierce anger(D)
comes upon you,
before the day of the Lord’s wrath(E)
comes upon you.
3 Seek(F) the Lord, all you humble of the land,
you who do what he commands.
Seek righteousness,(G) seek humility;(H)
perhaps you will be sheltered(I)
on the day of the Lord’s anger.
Philistia
4 Gaza(J) will be abandoned
and Ashkelon(K) left in ruins.
At midday Ashdod will be emptied
and Ekron uprooted.
5 Woe to you who live by the sea,
you Kerethite(L) people;
the word of the Lord is against you,(M)
Canaan, land of the Philistines.
He says, “I will destroy you,
and none will be left.”(N)
6 The land by the sea will become pastures
having wells for shepherds
and pens for flocks.(O)
7 That land will belong
to the remnant(P) of the people of Judah;
there they will find pasture.
In the evening they will lie down
in the houses of Ashkelon.
The Lord their God will care for them;
he will restore their fortunes.[a](Q)
Moab and Ammon
8 “I have heard the insults(R) of Moab(S)
and the taunts of the Ammonites,(T)
who insulted(U) my people
and made threats against their land.(V)
9 Therefore, as surely as I live,”
declares the Lord Almighty,
the God of Israel,
“surely Moab(W) will become like Sodom,(X)
the Ammonites(Y) like Gomorrah—
a place of weeds and salt pits,
a wasteland forever.
The remnant of my people will plunder(Z) them;
the survivors(AA) of my nation will inherit their land.(AB)”
10 This is what they will get in return for their pride,(AC)
for insulting(AD) and mocking
the people of the Lord Almighty.(AE)
11 The Lord will be awesome(AF) to them
when he destroys all the gods(AG) of the earth.(AH)
Distant nations will bow down to him,(AI)
all of them in their own lands.
Cush
Assyria
13 He will stretch out his hand against the north
and destroy Assyria,(AL)
leaving Nineveh(AM) utterly desolate
and dry as the desert.(AN)
14 Flocks and herds(AO) will lie down there,
creatures of every kind.
The desert owl(AP) and the screech owl(AQ)
will roost on her columns.
Their hooting will echo through the windows,
rubble will fill the doorways,
the beams of cedar will be exposed.
15 This is the city of revelry(AR)
that lived in safety.(AS)
She said to herself,
“I am the one! And there is none besides me.”(AT)
What a ruin she has become,
a lair for wild beasts!(AU)
All who pass by her scoff(AV)
and shake their fists.(AW)
Footnotes
- Zephaniah 2:7 Or will bring back their captives
- Zephaniah 2:12 That is, people from the upper Nile region
Zephaniah 2
International Standard Version
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
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
International Standard Version (ISV) 
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.