Philistia

Gaza(A) will be abandoned
    and Ashkelon(B) left in ruins.
At midday Ashdod will be emptied
    and Ekron uprooted.
Woe to you who live by the sea,
    you Kerethite(C) people;
the word of the Lord is against you,(D)
    Canaan, land of the Philistines.
He says, “I will destroy you,
    and none will be left.”(E)
The land by the sea will become pastures
    having wells for shepherds
    and pens for flocks.(F)
That land will belong
    to the remnant(G) 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](H)

Moab and Ammon

“I have heard the insults(I) of Moab(J)
    and the taunts of the Ammonites,(K)
who insulted(L) my people
    and made threats against their land.(M)
Therefore, as surely as I live,”
    declares the Lord Almighty,
    the God of Israel,
“surely Moab(N) will become like Sodom,(O)
    the Ammonites(P) like Gomorrah—
a place of weeds and salt pits,
    a wasteland forever.
The remnant of my people will plunder(Q) them;
    the survivors(R) of my nation will inherit their land.(S)

10 This is what they will get in return for their pride,(T)
    for insulting(U) and mocking
    the people of the Lord Almighty.(V)
11 The Lord will be awesome(W) to them
    when he destroys all the gods(X) of the earth.(Y)
Distant nations will bow down to him,(Z)
    all of them in their own lands.

Cush

12 “You Cushites,[b](AA) too,
    will be slain by my sword.(AB)

Assyria

13 He will stretch out his hand against the north
    and destroy Assyria,(AC)
leaving Nineveh(AD) utterly desolate
    and dry as the desert.(AE)
14 Flocks and herds(AF) will lie down there,
    creatures of every kind.
The desert owl(AG) and the screech owl(AH)
    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(AI)
    that lived in safety.(AJ)
She said to herself,
    “I am the one! And there is none besides me.”(AK)
What a ruin she has become,
    a lair for wild beasts!(AL)
All who pass by her scoff(AM)
    and shake their fists.(AN)

Jerusalem

Woe to the city of oppressors,(AO)
    rebellious(AP) and defiled!(AQ)
She obeys(AR) no one,
    she accepts no correction.(AS)
She does not trust(AT) in the Lord,
    she does not draw near(AU) to her God.
Her officials within her
    are roaring lions;(AV)
her rulers are evening wolves,(AW)
    who leave nothing for the morning.(AX)
Her prophets are unprincipled;
    they are treacherous people.(AY)
Her priests profane the sanctuary
    and do violence to the law.(AZ)
The Lord within her is righteous;(BA)
    he does no wrong.(BB)
Morning by morning(BC) he dispenses his justice,
    and every new day he does not fail,(BD)
    yet the unrighteous know no shame.(BE)

Jerusalem Remains Unrepentant

“I have destroyed nations;
    their strongholds are demolished.
I have left their streets deserted,
    with no one passing through.
Their cities are laid waste;(BF)
    they are deserted and empty.
Of Jerusalem I thought,
    ‘Surely you will fear me
    and accept correction!’(BG)
Then her place of refuge[c] would not be destroyed,
    nor all my punishments come upon[d] her.
But they were still eager
    to act corruptly(BH) in all they did.
Therefore wait(BI) for me,”
    declares the Lord,
    “for the day I will stand up to testify.[e]
I have decided to assemble(BJ) the nations,(BK)
    to gather the kingdoms
and to pour out my wrath(BL) on them—
    all my fierce anger.(BM)
The whole world will be consumed(BN)
    by the fire of my jealous anger.

Footnotes

  1. Zephaniah 2:7 Or will bring back their captives
  2. Zephaniah 2:12 That is, people from the upper Nile region
  3. Zephaniah 3:7 Or her sanctuary
  4. Zephaniah 3:7 Or all those I appointed over
  5. Zephaniah 3:8 Septuagint and Syriac; Hebrew will rise up to plunder

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