Zephaniah 2

English Standard Version

Judgment on Judah's Enemies

2 Gather together, yes, gather,
    O ^(A)shameless nation,
²^(B)before the decree takes effect^[a]
    —before the day passes away ^(C)like chaff—
^(D)before there comes upon you
    the burning anger of the Lord,
before there comes upon you
    the day of the anger of the Lord.
³^(E)Seek the Lord, ^(F)all you humble of the land,
    who do his just commands;^[b]
^(G)seek righteousness; seek humility;
    ^(H)perhaps ^(I)you may be hidden
    on the day of the anger of the Lord.
⁴^(J)For Gaza shall be deserted,
    and Ashkelon shall become a desolation;
Ashdod's people shall be driven out at noon,
    and Ekron shall be uprooted.

⁵Woe to ^(K)you inhabitants of the seacoast,
    you nation of ^(L)the Cherethites!
^(M)The word of the Lord is against you,
    ^(N)O Canaan, land of the Philistines;
    and I will destroy you ^(O)until no inhabitant is left.
⁶^(P)And you, O seacoast, ^(Q)shall be pastures,
    with meadows^[c] for shepherds
    and folds for flocks.
⁷^(R)The seacoast shall become the possession
    of ^(S)the remnant of the house of Judah,
    ^(T)on which they shall graze,
and in the houses of Ashkelon
    they shall lie down at evening.
For the Lord their God ^(U)will be mindful of them
    and ^(V)restore their fortunes.

⁸“I have heard ^(W)the taunts of Moab
    and ^(X)the revilings of the Ammonites,
how they have taunted my people
    and made boasts ^(Y)against their territory.
⁹Therefore, ^(Z)as I live,” declares the Lord of hosts,
    the God of Israel,
“Moab shall become ^(AA)like Sodom,
    and the Ammonites ^(AB)like Gomorrah,
a land possessed by nettles and salt pits,
    and a waste forever.
The remnant of my people shall plunder them,
    and the survivors of my nation shall possess them.”
¹⁰This shall be their lot in return ^(AC)for their pride,
    because they taunted and boasted
    against the people of the Lord of hosts.
¹¹The Lord will be awesome against them;
    ^(AD)for he will famish all the gods of the earth,
and ^(AE)to him shall bow down,
    each in its place,
    all ^(AF)the lands of the nations.

¹²^(AG)You also, O Cushites,
shall be slain by my sword.

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

Footnotes

Zephaniah 2:2 Hebrew gives birth
Zephaniah 2:3 Or who carry out his judgment
Zephaniah 2:6 Or caves
Zephaniah 2:14 Hebrew beasts of every nation
Zephaniah 2:14 The identity of the animals rendered owl and hedgehog is uncertain