Philistia

Gaza(A) will be abandoned
    and Ashkelon(B) left in ruins.
At midday Ashdod will be emptied
    and Ekron uprooted.
Woe to you who live by the sea,
    you Kerethite(C) people;
the word of the Lord is against you,(D)
    Canaan, land of the Philistines.
He says, “I will destroy you,
    and none will be left.”(E)
The land by the sea will become pastures
    having wells for shepherds
    and pens for flocks.(F)
That land will belong
    to the remnant(G) 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](H)

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Footnotes

  1. Zephaniah 2:7 Or will bring back their captives

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.
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.
So the seacoast will become (I)grazing places,
With pastures for shepherds and folds for flocks.
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.

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Footnotes

  1. Zephaniah 2:5 I.e., a segment of the Philistines with roots in Crete