Zephaniah 2:1–15
Judah and Jerusalem Judged Along With the Nations
Judah Summoned to Repent
2 Gather together,v gather yourselves together,
you shamefulw nation,
2 before the decree takes effect
and that day passes like windblown chaff,x
before the Lord’s fierce angery
comes upon you,
before the day of the Lord’s wrathz
comes upon you.
3 Seeka the Lord, all you humble of the land,
you who do what he commands.
Seek righteousness,b seek humility;c
perhaps you will be shelteredd
on the day of the Lord’s anger.
4 Gazae will be abandoned
and Ashkelonf left in ruins.
At midday Ashdod will be emptied
and Ekron uprooted.
5 Woe to you who live by the sea,
you Kerethiteg people;
the word of the Lord is against you,h
Canaan, land of the Philistines.
He says, “I will destroy you,
and none will be left.”i
6 The land by the sea will become pastures
having wells for shepherds
and pens for flocks.j
to the remnantk 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.a l
8 “I have heard the insultsm of Moabn
and the taunts of the Ammonites,o
who insultedp my people
and made threats against their land.q
9 Therefore, as surely as I live,”
declares the Lord Almighty,
the God of Israel,
“surely Moabr will become like Sodom,s
the Ammonitest like Gomorrah—
a place of weeds and salt pits,
a wasteland forever.
The remnant of my people will plunderu them;
the survivorsv of my nation will inherit their land.w”
10 This is what they will get in return for their pride,x
for insultingy and mocking
the people of the Lord Almighty.z
11 The Lord will be awesomea to them
when he destroys all the godsb of the earth.c
Distant nations will bow down to him,d
all of them in their own lands.
will be slain by my sword.f”
13 He will stretch out his hand against the north
and destroy Assyria,g
leaving Ninevehh utterly desolate
and dry as the desert.i
14 Flocks and herdsj will lie down there,
creatures of every kind.
The desert owlk and the screech owll
will roost on her columns.
Their hooting will echo through the windows,
rubble will fill the doorways,
the beams of cedar will be exposed.
15 This is the city of revelrym
that lived in safety.n
She said to herself,
“I am the one! And there is none besides me.”o
What a ruin she has become,
a lair for wild beasts!p
All who pass by her scoffq
and shake their fists.r