Zephaniah 2:4-7
Expanded Bible
Philistia Will Be Punished
4 ·No one will be left in the city of Gaza [L Gaza will be abandoned; C Gaza sounds like Hebrew for “abandoned”; all four of these were cities in Philistia],
and the city of Ashkelon will be ·destroyed [desolated; a heap of ruins].
Ashdod will be empty by noon,
and the people of Ekron will be ·chased away [L uprooted; C Ekron sounds like Hebrew for “uprooted”].
5 ·How terrible it will be for [L Woe to] you who live by the ·Mediterranean Sea [L sea],
you ·Philistines [L nation of Cerethites; C either another name for the Philistines or a neighboring people group; the name suggests they came from the island of Crete; 2 Sam. 8:18; Ezek. 25:16]!
The word of the Lord is against you,
Canaan, land of the Philistines.
“I will destroy you
so that no ·one [inhabitant] will be left.”
6 The land by the ·Mediterranean Sea, in which you live [L sea],
will become pastures, ·fields [or shelters; or having wells] for shepherds, and pens for ·sheep [flocks].
7 It will ·belong to [L be for] the ·descendants of Judah who are left alive [L remnant of the house of Judah].
There they will ·let their sheep eat grass [graze; find pasture].
At night they will ·sleep [lay down]
in the houses of Ashkelon.
The Lord their God will ·pay attention to [care for] them
and will ·make their life good again [restore their fortunes; or return their exiles].
Zephaniah 2:4-7
New American Standard Bible
4 For (A)Gaza will be abandoned,
And Ashkelon will become a desolation;
The inhabitants of (B)Ashdod will be driven out at noon,
And (C)Ekron will be uprooted.
5 Woe to the inhabitants of the seacoast,
The nation of the [a](D)Cherethites!
The word of the Lord is (E)against you,
(F)Canaan, land of the Philistines;
And I will (G)eliminate you
So that there will be (H)no inhabitant.
6 So the seacoast will become (I)grazing places,
With pastures for shepherds and folds for flocks.
7 And the coast will be
For the (J)remnant of the house of Judah,
They will (K)drive sheep to pasture on it.
In the houses of Ashkelon they will lie down at evening;
For the Lord their God will (L)care for them
And (M)restore their fortunes.
Footnotes
- Zephaniah 2:5 I.e., a segment of the Philistines with roots in Crete
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New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
