Zephaniah 2:4–7

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.

Woe to you inhabitants of the seacoast,

you nation of the Cherethites!

The word of the Lord is against you,

O Canaan, land of the Philistines;

and I will destroy you until no inhabitant is left.

And you, O seacoast, shall be pastures,

with meadows for shepherds

and folds for flocks.

The seacoast shall become the possession

of the remnant of the house of Judah,

on which they shall graze,

and in the houses of Ashkelon

they shall lie down at evening.

For the Lord their God will be mindful of them

and restore their fortunes.

Gaza will be abandoned

and Ashkelon left in ruins.

At midday Ashdod will be emptied

and Ekron uprooted.

Woe to you who live by the sea,

you Kerethite people;

the word of the Lord is against you,

Canaan, land of the Philistines.

He says, “I will destroy you,

and none will be left.”

The land by the sea will become pastures

having wells for shepherds

and pens for flocks.

That land will belong

to the remnant 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.

Gaza and Ashkelon will be abandoned,

Ashdod and Ekron torn down.

And what sorrow awaits you Philistines

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.

For Gaza will be abandoned,

and Ashkelon as a desolation.

As for Ashdod, at noon they will drive her away,

and Ekron shall be uprooted.

Woe to you, inhabitants of the region of the sea,

people of the Kerethites!

The word of Yahweh is against you,

O Canaan, land of the Philistines.

I will destroy you until there is no inhabitant.

And you, O region of the sea, shall become

pastures and meadows for shepherds

and sheep pens for the flocks.

And it shall become a region

for the remnant of the house of Judah;

upon them they shall graze,

and in the houses of Ashkelon

they shall lie down in the evening.

For Yahweh their God shall be mindful of them,

and he will restore their fortunes.

For Gaza shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon a desolation:

They shall drive out Ashdod at the noon day, and Ekron shall be rooted up.

Woe unto the inhabitants of the sea coast, the nation of the Cherethites!

The word of the Lord is against you;

O Canaan, the land of the Philistines,

I will even destroy thee, that there shall be no inhabitant.

And the sea coast shall be dwellings and cottages for shepherds, and folds for flocks.

And the coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Judah;

They shall feed thereupon:

In the houses of Ashkelon shall they lie down in the evening:

For the Lord their God shall visit them, and turn away their captivity.