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

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Footnotes

  1. Zephaniah 2:14 Hebrew beasts of every nation
  2. Zephaniah 2:14 The identity of the animals rendered owl and hedgehog is uncertain

13 He will also stretch out His hand against the north
and destroy Assyria;
He will make Nineveh a desolate ruin,(A)
dry as the desert.
14 Herds will lie down in the middle of it,
every kind of wild animal.[a]
Both the desert owl[b] and the screech owl[c]
will roost in the capitals of its pillars.
Their calls will sound[d] from the window,
but devastation[e] will be on the threshold,
for He will expose the cedar work.[f]
15 This is the self-assured(B) city
that lives in security,
that thinks to herself:
I exist, and there is no one else.
What a desolation she has become,
a place for wild animals to lie down!
Everyone who passes by her
jeers[g] and shakes his fist.

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Footnotes

  1. Zephaniah 2:14 Lit every wild animal of a nation
  2. Zephaniah 2:14 Or the pelican
  3. Zephaniah 2:14 Or the hedgehog
  4. Zephaniah 2:14 Lit sing
  5. Zephaniah 2:14 LXX, Vg read ravens
  6. Zephaniah 2:14 Hb obscure
  7. Zephaniah 2:15 Or hisses