Zephaniah 2

Chapter 2

Judgments on Judah’s Enemies

¹Gather yourselves together, yes, ^agather,

O nation ^bwithout ¹shame,

²Before the decree ¹takes effect—

The day passes ^alike the chaff—

Before the ^bburning anger of the Lord comes upon you,

Before the ^cday of the Lord’s anger comes upon you.

^3aSeek the Lord,

All you ^bhumble of the ¹earth

Who have carried out His ²ordinances;

^cSeek righteousness, seek humility.

Perhaps you will be ^dhidden

In the day of the Lord’s anger.

⁴For ^aGaza will be abandoned

And Ashkelon a desolation;

Ashdod will be driven out at noon

And Ekron will be uprooted.

⁵Woe to the inhabitants of the seacoast,

The nation of the ^1aCherethites!

The word of the Lord is ^bagainst you,

O ^cCanaan, land of the Philistines;

And I will ^ddestroy you

So that there will be ^eno inhabitant.

⁶So the seacoast will be ^apastures,

With ¹caves for shepherds and folds for flocks.

⁷And the coast will be

For the ^aremnant of the house of Judah,

They will ^bpasture on it.

In the houses of Ashkelon they will lie down at evening;

For the Lord their God will ^ccare for them

And ^drestore their fortune.

⁸“I have heard the ^1ataunting of Moab

And the ^brevilings of the sons of Ammon,

With which they have ²taunted My people

And ^3cbecome arrogant against their territory.

⁹“Therefore, as I live,” declares the Lord of hosts,

The God of Israel,

“Surely ^aMoab will be like ^bSodom

And the sons of ^cAmmon like ^dGomorrah—

A place possessed by nettles and salt pits,

And a perpetual desolation.

The remnant of My people will ^eplunder them

And the remainder of My nation will inherit them.”

¹⁰This they will have in return for their ^apride, because they have ^1btaunted and ²become arrogant against the people of the Lord of hosts.

¹¹The Lord will be ^aterrifying to them, for He will ¹starve ^ball the gods of the earth; and all the ^ccoastlands of the nations will ^dbow down to Him, everyone from his own place.

¹²“You also, O ^aEthiopians, will be slain by My sword.”

¹³And He will ^astretch out His hand against the north

And destroy ^bAssyria,

And He will make ^cNineveh a desolation,

Parched like the wilderness.

¹⁴Flocks will lie down in her midst,

¹All beasts which range in herds;

Both the ^2apelican and the hedgehog

Will lodge in ³the tops of her pillars;

⁴Birds will sing in the window,

Desolation will be on the threshold;

For He has laid bare the cedar work.

¹⁵This is the ^aexultant city

Which ^bdwells securely,

Who says in her heart,

“^cI am, and there is no one besides me.”

How she has become a ^ddesolation,

A resting place for beasts!

^eEveryone who passes by her will hiss

And wave his hand in contempt.