Zephaniah 2
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Judgment on Israel’s Enemies
2 Gather together, gather,
O shameless nation,(A)
2 before you are driven away[a]
like the drifting chaff,[b]
before there comes upon you
the fierce anger of the Lord,
before there comes upon you
the day of the Lord’s wrath.(B)
3 Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land
who do his commands;
seek righteousness, seek humility;
perhaps you may be hidden
on the day of the Lord’s wrath.(C)
4 For Gaza shall be deserted,
and Ashkelon shall become a desolation;
Ashdod’s people shall be driven out at noon,
and Ekron shall be uprooted.(D)
5 Woe, inhabitants of the seacoast,
you nation of the Cherethites!
The word of the Lord is against you,
O Canaan, land of the Philistines,
and I will destroy you until no inhabitant is left.(E)
6 And you, O seacoast, shall be pastures,
meadows for shepherds,
and folds for flocks.(F)
7 The seacoast shall become the possession
of the remnant of the house of Judah,
on which they shall pasture,
and in the houses of Ashkelon
they shall lie down at evening.
For the Lord their God will be mindful of them
and restore their fortunes.(G)
8 I have heard the taunts of Moab
and the revilings of the Ammonites,
how they have taunted my people
and made boasts against their territory.(H)
9 Therefore, as I live, says the Lord of hosts,
the God of Israel,
Moab shall become like Sodom
and the Ammonites 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.(I)
10 This shall be their lot in return for their pride,
because they scoffed and boasted
against the people of the Lord of hosts.(J)
11 The Lord will be terrible against them;
he will shrivel all the gods of the earth,
and to him shall bow down
each in its place,
all the coasts and islands of the nations.(K)
12 You also, O Cushites,
shall be killed by my sword.(L)
13 And he will stretch out his hand against the north
and destroy Assyria,
and he will make Nineveh a desolation,
a dry waste like the desert.(M)
14 Herds shall lie down in it,
every wild animal of the earth;[c]
the desert owl[d] and the screech owl[e]
shall lodge on its capitals;
the owl[f] shall hoot at the window,
the raven[g] croak on the threshold,
for its cedar work will be laid bare.(N)
15 Is this the exultant city
that lived secure,
that said to itself,
“I am, and there is no one else”?
What a desolation it has become,
a lair for wild animals!
Everyone who passes by it
hisses and shakes the fist.(O)
Zephaniah 2
Christian Standard Bible
A Call to Repentance
2 Gather yourselves together;
gather together, undesirable[a] nation,
2 before the decree(A) takes effect
and the day passes like chaff,
before the burning of the Lord’s anger(B) overtakes you,
before the day of the Lord’s anger overtakes you.(C)
3 Seek the Lord,(D) all you humble(E) of the earth,
who carry out what he commands.
Seek righteousness, seek humility;
perhaps you will be concealed(F)
on the day of the Lord’s anger.
Judgment against the Nations
4 For Gaza will be abandoned,
and Ashkelon will become a ruin.
Ashdod will be driven out at noon,
and Ekron will be uprooted.(G)
5 Woe, inhabitants of the seacoast,
nation of the Cherethites
The word of the Lord is against you,(I)
Canaan, land of the Philistines:
I will destroy you until there is no one left.(J)
6 The seacoast will become pasturelands
with caves for shepherds and pens for sheep.
7 The coastland will belong
to the remnant of the house of Judah;
they will find pasture there.
They will lie down in the evening
among the houses of Ashkelon,
for the Lord their God will return to them
and restore their fortunes.(K)
8 I have heard the taunting(L) of Moab
and the insults of the Ammonites,(M)
who have taunted my people
and threatened their territory.
9 Therefore, as I live—
this is the declaration of the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel—
Moab will be like Sodom(N)
and the Ammonites like Gomorrah:(O)
a place overgrown with weeds,
a salt pit, and a perpetual wasteland.
The remnant of my people will plunder them;
the remainder of my nation will dispossess them.
10 This is what they get for their pride,
because they have taunted and acted arrogantly(P)
against the people of the Lord of Armies.
11 The Lord will be terrifying to them
when he starves all the gods of the earth.
Then all the distant coasts and islands of the nations
will bow in worship to him,
each in its own place.
12 You Cushites will also be slain by my sword.(Q)
13 He will also stretch out his hand against the north
and destroy Assyria;
he will make Nineveh a desolate ruin,(R)
dry as the desert.
14 Herds will lie down in the middle of it,
every kind of wild animal.[c]
Both eagle owls[d] and herons[e]
will roost in the capitals of its pillars.
Their calls will sound[f] from the window,
but devastation[g] will be on the threshold,
for he will expose the cedar work.[h]
15 This is the jubilant(S) city
that lives in security,
that says to herself:
I exist, and there is no one else.
What a desolation she has become,
a place for wild animals to lie down!
Everyone who passes by her
scoffs[i] and shakes his fist.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.