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.

Juda ug Jerusalem gihukman uban sa mga nasud

Pagtigum kamo, tiguma ninyo ang inyong kaugalingon, ikaw nga makauulaw nga nasud sa dili pa ang kamandoan mo-epekto ug kana nga adlaw molabay sama sa gipadpad nga uhot, sa dili pa ang makalilisang nga kasuko sa dili pa muabot ang adlaw sa kapungot sa Ginoo. Pangitaa ang Ginoo, kamong mapainubsanon diha sa yuta, kamo nga nagbuhat sa iyang mga sugo. Pangitaa ang pagkamatarong, pangitaa ang pagpaubos; tingali panalipdan ka sa adlaw sa kasuko sa Ginoo.

Ang Silot alang sa Nasod sa Philistia

Ang Gaza pagabiyaan ug ang Ahskelon gibiyaan nga lumpag. Sa udtong tutok ikaw Ashdod walay mahibilin, ug ikaw Ekron pagaibton. Alaot kamo nga nagpuyo sa daplin sa kadagatan, kamong katawhan sa Kerethite; ang pulong sa Ginoo batok kaninyo, Canaan yuta sa mga Pilistihanon. Nagaingon siya Gun-ubon ko kamo ug walay mahibilin kaninyo. Ang yuta nga daplin sa dagat mahimo kining sibsibanan dunay mga atabay sa mga magbalantay sa karnero ug torel alang sa panon. Kana nga yuta maiya kana sa mga nahabilin nga katawhan sa Juda; didto makakaplag sila ug sibsibanan. Sa kagabhion mohigda sila didto sa kabalayan sa Askhelon. Ang Ginoo nga ilang Dios moatiman kanila; iyang ibalik kanila ang ilang kabahandianon.

Moab ug Ammon

8-9 “Nadungog nako ang mga insulto sa Moab ug ang mga pagyubit sa mga taga Ammon, nga naginsulto sa akong mga katawhan ug naghimog mga bahad batok sa ilang yuta. Busa, ingon ka sigurado sa akong pagkabuhi,” nagaingon ang Ginoo nga Makagagahum, ang Dios sa Israel, “sigurado gayud nga ang Moab mahisama sa Sodoma, ug ang taga Ammon mahisama sa Gomorrah-dapit sa mga kasagbotan ug bung-aw sa asin, yuta nga walay pulos sa kahangturan. Ang nahabilin kong katawhan mohabas niini. Ang nahabiling buhi sa akong katawhan maoy manunod niini.”

10 Mao kini ang ilang maangkon isip balos sa ilang garbo, sa ilang paginsulto ug pagbiaybiay sa katawhan sa Ginoo nga Makagagahum. 11 Ang Ginoo mahimong kahadlokan alang kanila sa dihang gun-ubon na niya ang mga dios sa kalibotan. Ang mga nasud sa halayo moluhod kaniya, silang tanan didto sa ilang mga yuta.

Ang Silot alang sa Nasod sa Etiopia ug sa Nasod sa Asiria

12 Kamo usab nga mga taga Cush, pagapatyon pinaagi sa espada.

13 Iyang bakyawon ang iyang mga kamot batok sa Amihanan ug gun-ubon niya ang Asiria, biniyaan ang Nineve[a] nga walay nahabilin ug uga sama sa disyerto. 14 Panon sa mga karnero ug kahayupan mapahulay didto, binuhat nga nagkalain-lain. Kuwago sa disyerto ug ang tagming ug tingog nga kuwago mopataas sa ilang linya. Ang ilang tingog mulanog sa mga bintana, ang mga guba mipuno sa agianan sa pultahan, ang sagbayan nga cedro mapadayag. 15 Mao kini ang siyudad sa paghudyaka nga nagpuyo sa kahilwasan. Siya miingon sa iyang kaugalingon, “Ako ang usa ug wala nay laing gawas kanako. Unsa pagkalumpag ang nahitabo kaniya, laang sa mga idlas nga mananap! Ang tanan nga muagi kaniya mutamay ug mouyog sa ilang mga kumo.”

Footnotes

  1. 2:13 Nineve: Mao kini ang kapital sa Asiria.

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

A Call to Repentance

Gather(A) yourselves together, yes, gather together,
O [a]undesirable nation,
Before the decree is issued,
Or the day passes like chaff,
Before the Lord’s fierce anger comes upon you,
Before the day of the Lord’s anger comes upon you!
(B)Seek the Lord, (C)all you meek of the earth,
Who have upheld His justice.
Seek righteousness, seek humility.
(D)It may be that you will be hidden
In the day of the Lord’s anger.

Judgment on Nations

For (E)Gaza shall be forsaken,
And Ashkelon desolate;
They shall drive out Ashdod (F)at noonday,
And Ekron shall be uprooted.
Woe to the inhabitants of (G)the seacoast,
The nation of the Cherethites!
The word of the Lord is against you,
O (H)Canaan, land of the Philistines:
“I will destroy you;
So there shall be no inhabitant.”

The seacoast shall be pastures,
With [b]shelters for shepherds (I)and folds for flocks.
The coast shall be for (J)the remnant of the house of Judah;
They shall feed their flocks there;
In the houses of Ashkelon they shall lie down at evening.
For the Lord their God will (K)intervene[c] for them,
And (L)return their captives.

“I(M) have heard the reproach of Moab,
And (N)the insults of the people of Ammon,
With which they have reproached My people,
And (O)made arrogant threats against their borders.
Therefore, as I live,”
Says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel,
“Surely (P)Moab shall be like Sodom,
And (Q)the people of Ammon like Gomorrah—
(R)Overrun[d] with weeds and saltpits,
And a [e]perpetual desolation.
The residue of My people shall plunder them,
And the remnant of My people shall possess them.”

10 This they shall have (S)for their pride,
Because they have reproached and made arrogant threats
Against the people of the Lord of hosts.
11 The Lord will be awesome to them,
For He will reduce to nothing all the gods of the earth;
(T)People shall worship Him,
Each one from his place,
Indeed all (U)the shores of the nations.

12 “You(V) Ethiopians also,
You shall be slain by (W)My sword.”

13 And He will stretch out His hand against the north,
(X)Destroy Assyria,
And make Nineveh a desolation,
As dry as the wilderness.
14 The herds shall lie down in her midst,
(Y)Every beast of the nation.
Both the (Z)pelican and the bittern
Shall lodge on the capitals of her pillars;
Their voice shall sing in the windows;
Desolation shall be at the threshold;
For He will lay bare the (AA)cedar work.
15 This is the rejoicing city
(AB)That dwelt securely,
(AC)That said in her heart,
“I am it, and there is none besides me.”
How has she become a desolation,
A place for beasts to lie down!
Everyone who passes by her
(AD)Shall hiss and (AE)shake his fist.

Footnotes

  1. Zephaniah 2:1 Or shameless
  2. Zephaniah 2:6 Underground huts or cisterns, lit. excavations
  3. Zephaniah 2:7 Lit. visit them
  4. Zephaniah 2:9 Lit. Possessed by nettles
  5. Zephaniah 2:9 Or permanent ruin