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

Judah and Jerusalem Judged Along With the Nations

Judah Summoned to Repent

Gather together,(A) gather yourselves together,
    you shameful(B) nation,
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.
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

Gaza(J) will be abandoned
    and Ashkelon(K) left in ruins.
At midday Ashdod will be emptied
    and Ekron uprooted.
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)
The land by the sea will become pastures
    having wells for shepherds
    and pens for flocks.(O)
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

“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)
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

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

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

  1. Zephaniah 2:7 Or will bring back their captives
  2. Zephaniah 2:12 That is, people from the upper Nile region

呼吁百姓悔改

1-2 不知羞耻的国民哪,
趁命令尚未发出,
日子流逝如糠秕,
耶和华的烈怒尚未临到你们,
他发怒的日子未到以先,
你们应当聚集,聚集起来。
世上遵守耶和华典章的谦卑人哪,
你们都当寻求耶和华,
寻求公义,寻求谦卑;
或许在耶和华发怒的日子得以隐藏。

以色列邻国的结局

迦萨必遭遗弃[a]
亚实基伦必然荒凉;
亚实突人必在正午被赶出,
以革伦也要连根拔除[b]
祸哉,住沿海之地的基利提人!
迦南非利士人之地啊,耶和华的话攻击你们:
我必毁灭你,以致无人居住。
沿海之地要变为草场,
牧人的住处[c]和羊群的圈。
这地必为犹大家的余民所得;
他们要在那里放牧,
晚上躺卧在亚实基伦的房屋中;
因为耶和华—他们的 神必眷顾他们,
使被掳的人归回。

我听见摩押毁谤,亚扪人辱骂;
他们辱骂我的百姓,
自夸自大,侵犯他们的疆土。”
万军之耶和华—以色列的 神说:
因此,我指着我的永生起誓:
摩押必如所多玛
亚扪人必像蛾摩拉
都变为刺草、盐坑、永远荒废之地。
我百姓中剩余的必掳掠他们,
我国中的幸存者必得他们的地。

10 这事临到他们是因他们的骄傲,
他们自夸自大,
辱骂万军之耶和华的百姓。
11 耶和华必向他们显为可畏,
因他使地上的众神衰微;
列国的海岛各在自己的地方敬拜他。

12 你们古实[d]人,
也是被我的刀所杀的。

13 耶和华要伸手攻击北方,
毁灭亚述
使尼尼微荒凉,
干旱如同旷野。
14 群畜,就是各类[e]的走兽必卧在其中,
鹈鹕和豪猪要宿在柱顶;
窗户有鸣叫的声音,
门槛毁坏[f]
他要毁坏香柏木板[g]
15 这素来欢乐、安然居住的城,
心里说:“惟有我,除我以外再没有别的”,
现在竟然荒凉,成为野兽躺卧之处!
凡经过的人都必摇着手嗤笑它。

Footnotes

  1. 2.4 “遗弃”与“迦萨”的希伯来话发音相近。
  2. 2.4 “连根拔除”与“以革伦”的希伯来话发音相近。
  3. 2.6 “住处”或译“井”或“牧场”。
  4. 2.12 “古实”包括苏丹的大部分和埃塞俄比亚的一部分。
  5. 2.14 “类”:原文是“国”。
  6. 2.14 “门槛毁坏”:七十士译本是“乌鸦在门槛”。
  7. 2.14 “他要毁坏香柏木板”:原文另译“香柏木板显露”。

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.