Add parallel Print Page Options

13 And he will stretch out his hand against the north,
    and he will destroy Assyria
and will make Nineveh a desolation,
    a dry wasteland like the desert.
14 Herds shall lie down in her midst,
    every wild animal of a nation;
even the desert owl and the screech owl
    shall lodge on her capitals.
A voice shall hoot in the window;
    rubble[a] on the threshold;
for the cedar is laid bare.
15 This is the city of rejoicing
    that lived securely;
the one saying in her heart,
    I am, and there is none besides me.”[b]
How she has become a desolation,
    a lair for wild animals!
Everyone who passes by her hisses and shakes his fist.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Zephaniah 2:14 The traditional Hebrew text has “waste,” while LXX has “a raven,” reflecting a different word with one consonant changed
  2. Zephaniah 2:15 Literally “I am and none me”

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.

Read full chapter

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