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
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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