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Judgment against Philistia

Gaza and Ashkelon will be abandoned,
    Ashdod and Ekron torn down.
And what sorrow awaits you Philistines[a]
    who live along the coast and in the land of Canaan,
    for this judgment is against you, too!
The Lord will destroy you
    until not one of you is left.
The Philistine coast will become a wilderness pasture,
    a place of shepherd camps
    and enclosures for sheep and goats.
The remnant of the tribe of Judah will pasture there.
    They will rest at night in the abandoned houses in Ashkelon.
For the Lord their God will visit his people in kindness
    and restore their prosperity again.

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Footnotes

  1. 2:5 Hebrew Kerethites.

The Coming Destruction of Philistine Cities

“For Gaza will be forsaken,[a]
    and Ashkelon deserted—
Ashdod will be emptied at high noon;
    even Ekron will be uprooted.[b]
Woe to those who live along the coast,
    the people of Philistia![c]
This message from the Lord is being spoken against you,
    Canaan, land of the Philistines:
        ‘I’ll destroy you until no one lives there!’
The Philistine[d] coast will become meadows
    for shepherds and sheep pens.
The survivors of Judah will find pasture on it;
    at twilight they will lie down in the houses of Ashkelon,
for the Lord their God will visit them,
    restoring their prosperity.”[e]

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Footnotes

  1. Zephaniah 2:4 The Heb. word forsaken sounds like the Heb. name Gaza
  2. Zephaniah 2:4 The Heb. word uprooted sounds like the Heb. name Ekron
  3. Zephaniah 2:5 Lit. of the Cherethites
  4. Zephaniah 2:6 Lit. Cherethite
  5. Zephaniah 2:7 Or them, turning away their captivity