Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not desired;

Before the decree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the Lord come upon you, before the day of the Lord's anger come upon you.

Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord's anger.

For Gaza shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon a desolation: they shall drive out Ashdod at the noon day, and Ekron shall be rooted up.

Woe unto the inhabitants of the sea coast, the nation of the Cherethites! the word of the Lord is against you; O Canaan, the land of the Philistines, I will even destroy thee, that there shall be no inhabitant.

And the sea coast shall be dwellings and cottages for shepherds, and folds for flocks.

And the coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Judah; they shall feed thereupon: in the houses of Ashkelon shall they lie down in the evening: for the Lord their God shall visit them, and turn away their captivity.

I have heard the reproach of Moab, and the revilings of the children of Ammon, whereby they have reproached my people, and magnified themselves against their border.

Therefore as I live, saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Surely Moab shall be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, even the breeding of nettles, and saltpits, and a perpetual desolation: the residue of my people shall spoil them, and the remnant of my people shall possess them.

10 This shall they have for their pride, because they have reproached and magnified themselves against the people of the Lord of hosts.

11 The Lord will be terrible unto them: for he will famish all the gods of the earth; and men shall worship him, every one from his place, even all the isles of the heathen.

12 Ye Ethiopians also, ye shall be slain by my sword.

13 And he will stretch out his hand against the north, and destroy Assyria; and will make Nineveh a desolation, and dry like a wilderness.

14 And flocks shall lie down in the midst of her, all the beasts of the nations: both the cormorant and the bittern shall lodge in the upper lintels of it; their voice shall sing in the windows; desolation shall be in the thresholds; for he shall uncover the cedar work.

15 This is the rejoicing city that dwelt carelessly, that said in her heart, I am, and there is none beside me: how is she become a desolation, a place for beasts to lie down in! every one that passeth by her shall hiss, and wag his hand.

Come together!

Yes, you people, come together and think.

You do not know how to be ashamed!

2-3 The wind takes away the dry parts of a plant that covered the seed.

It will be like that when I punish you.

Before it is the time for me to punish you, look for me.

Before this time is past, look for me.

Look for me, before I become very, very angry with you.

There will be a day when the Lord will be angry. Look for me, before that day.

Yes, look for the Lord, all you people who want to make him happy.

You have done what the Lord wants.

Continue to do what is good.

But do not think that you are great.

Perhaps you will find a safe place

on the day when the Lord is angry.

The Lord will destroy the Philistines

Then, the people who have lived in Gaza city and Ashkelon city will not be there.

Enemies will also send away the people in Ashdod city at midday. And those enemies will destroy Ekron city.

Terrible trouble will come to you people who came from Crete,

you people who live beside the sea!

The Lord has said this against you:

I will kill all you Philistines who live in the land of Canaan!

You will all die. So nobody will live there.

By the sea, there will be houses for people who feed sheep.

There will be safe places for their sheep.

Those people in Judah who love God will live there, by the sea.

They will have food there.

They will lie down to sleep in Ashkelon city's houses.

The Lord, their God, will be with them.

He will stop their troubles.

The Lord will destroy the people of other countries

The Lord of all his armies says, ‘I have heard the cruel people in the countries called Moab and Ammon.

They laugh about you and they say cruel things about you, my people.

They have thought that they were greater than you.

They have come against you.’

The Lord Almighty, Israel's God, says,

‘You can be sure that I live.

In the same way, you can also be sure that my people will take everything for themselves.

God will destroy Moab as he destroyed Sodom.

He will destroy Ammon as he destroyed Gomorrah.

After this, the ground will have lots of salt on it. Weeds will grow there.

Nobody will build anything there again.

My people who are still alive will take for themselves the Ammonites' things and the Moabites' things.’

10 That will happen to all proud people.

The proud people said cruel words to God's people.

The cruel people thought that they were greater than the people of the Lord Almighty.

11 The Lord will make them afraid.

He will destroy all the false gods.

People will worship him instead. Every person, in his own place, will worship God.

They will also worship him in the places where the people now believe in false gods.

12 ‘I will also punish you people in the country called Ethiopia.

Other people will kill you with a big knife,’ the Lord says.

13 The Lord will go against the north.

There, he will destroy the country called Assyria.

He will also destroy Nineveh city. That place will become as dry as a desert.

14 Sheep will lie down there.

All the wild animals of that place will live together there.

Vultures and owls will rest on top of the high, thin parts of the buildings.

They will sing in the windows.

Bits of doors will lie on the ground.

The Lord will tear down all the things in the houses that they have made from valuable wood.

15 All this will happen to that city, the proud city.

That city's people said in their minds,

‘Here we are. We are greater than all the other people.’

But then, other people will destroy their city! Only bits of it will still be there.

Then wild animals will come and they will lie down in it. People will see this.

So any people who pass by the city will make noises with their lips.

And they will hold their fists up. In this way, they will show that they think bad things about the city.

Judgment on Judah's Enemies

Gather together, yes, gather,
    O (A)shameless nation,
(B)before the decree takes effect[a]
    —before the day passes away (C)like chaff—
(D)before there comes upon you
    the burning anger of the Lord,
before there comes upon you
    the day of the anger of the Lord.
(E)Seek the Lord, (F)all you humble of the land,
    who do his just commands;[b]
(G)seek righteousness; seek humility;
    (H)perhaps (I)you may be hidden
    on the day of the anger of the Lord.
(J)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.

Woe to (K)you inhabitants of the seacoast,
    you nation of (L)the Cherethites!
(M)The word of the Lord is against you,
    (N)O Canaan, land of the Philistines;
    and I will destroy you (O)until no inhabitant is left.
(P)And you, O seacoast, (Q)shall be pastures,
    with meadows[c] for shepherds
    and folds for flocks.
(R)The seacoast shall become the possession
    of (S)the remnant of the house of Judah,
    (T)on which they shall graze,
and in the houses of Ashkelon
    they shall lie down at evening.
For the Lord their God (U)will be mindful of them
    and (V)restore their fortunes.

“I have heard (W)the taunts of Moab
    and (X)the revilings of the Ammonites,
how they have taunted my people
    and made boasts (Y)against their territory.
Therefore, (Z)as I live,” declares the Lord of hosts,
    the God of Israel,
“Moab shall become (AA)like Sodom,
    and the Ammonites (AB)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.”
10 This shall be their lot in return (AC)for their pride,
    because they taunted and boasted
    against the people of the Lord of hosts.
11 The Lord will be awesome against them;
    (AD)for he will famish all the gods of the earth,
and (AE)to him shall bow down,
    each in its place,
    all (AF)the lands of the nations.

12 (AG)You also, O Cushites,
    shall be slain by my sword.

13 And he will stretch out his hand against the north
    (AH)and destroy Assyria,
and he (AI)will make Nineveh a desolation,
    a dry waste like the desert.
14 (AJ)Herds shall lie down in her midst,
    all kinds of beasts;[d]
(AK)even the owl and the hedgehog[e]
    shall lodge in her capitals;
a voice shall hoot in the window;
    devastation will be on the threshold;
    for (AL)her cedar work will be laid bare.
15 This is the exultant city
    (AM)that lived securely,
that said in her heart,
    “I am, and there is no one else.”
What a desolation she has become,
    (AN)a lair for wild beasts!
(AO)Everyone who passes by her
    hisses and (AP)shakes his fist.

Footnotes

  1. Zephaniah 2:2 Hebrew gives birth
  2. Zephaniah 2:3 Or who carry out his judgment
  3. Zephaniah 2:6 Or caves
  4. Zephaniah 2:14 Hebrew beasts of every nation
  5. Zephaniah 2:14 The identity of the animals rendered owl and hedgehog is uncertain