Zephaniah 2
2
The Lord Asks People to Change
1Gather together, gather,
you unwanted people.
2Do it before it’s too late,
before you are blown away like chaff,
before the Lord’s terrible anger reaches you,
before the day of the Lord’s anger comes to you.
3Come to the Lord, all you who are not proud,
who obey his laws.
Do what is right. Learn to be humble.
Maybe you will escape
on the day the Lord shows his anger.
Philistia Will Be Punished
4No one will be left in the city of Gaza,
and the city of Ashkelon will be destroyed.
Ashdod will be empty by noon,
and the people of Ekron will be chased away.
5How terrible it will be for you who live by the Mediterranean Sea,
you Philistines!
The word of the Lord is against you,
Canaan, land of the Philistines.
“I will destroy you
so that no one will be left.”
6The land by the Mediterranean Sea, in which you live,
will become pastures, fields for shepherds, and pens for sheep.
7It will belong to the descendants of Judah who are left alive.
There they will let their sheep eat grass.
At night they will sleep
in the houses of Ashkelon.
The Lord their God will pay attention to them
and will make their life good again.
Moab and Ammon Will Be Punished
8“I have heard the insults of the country of Moab
and the threats of the people of Ammon.
They have insulted my people
and have taken their land.”
9So the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, says,
“As surely as I live,
Moab will be destroyed like Sodom,
and Ammon will be destroyed like Gomorrah—
a heap of weeds, a pit of salt,
and a ruin forever.
Those of my people who are left alive will take whatever they want from them;
those who are left from my nation will take their land.”
10This is what Moab and Ammon get for being proud,
because they insulted and made fun of the people of the Lord All-Powerful.
11The Lord will frighten them,
because he will destroy all the gods of the earth.
Then everyone in faraway places
will worship him wherever they are.
Cush and Assyria Will Be Destroyed
12“You Cushites also
will be killed by my sword.”
13Then the Lord will turn against the north
and destroy Assyria.
He will make Nineveh
a ruin as dry as a desert.
14Flocks and herds will lie down there,
and all wild animals.
The owls and crows will sit
on the stone pillars.
The owl will hoot through the windows,
trash will be in the doorways,
and the wooden boards of the buildings will be gone.
15This is the happy and safe city
that thinks there is no one else as strong as it is.
But what a ruin it will be,
a place where wild animals live.
All those who pass by will make fun
and shake their fists.
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Zephaniah 2
2
A Call to Repentance
1Gather#2 Chr. 20:4; Joel 1:14; 2:16 yourselves together, yes, gather together,
O undesirable nation,
2Before the decree is issued,
Or the day passes like chaff,
Before the Lord’s fierce anger comes upon you,
Before the day of the Lord’s anger comes upon you!
3#Ps. 105:4; Amos 5:6Seek the Lord, #Ps. 76:9all you meek of the earth,
Who have upheld His justice.
Seek righteousness, seek humility.
#Joel 2:14; Amos 5:14, 15It may be that you will be hidden
In the day of the Lord’s anger.
Judgment on Nations
4For #Jer. 47:1, 5; Amos 1:7, 8; Zech. 9:5Gaza shall be forsaken,
And Ashkelon desolate;
They shall drive out Ashdod #Jer. 6:4at noonday,
And Ekron shall be uprooted.
5Woe to the inhabitants of #Ezek. 25:15–17the seacoast,
The nation of the Cherethites!
The word of the Lord is against you,
O #Josh. 13:3Canaan, land of the Philistines:
“I will destroy you;
So there shall be no inhabitant.”
6The seacoast shall be pastures,
With shelters for shepherds #Is. 17:2and folds for flocks.
7The coast shall be for #(Mic. 5:7, 8)the remnant of the house of Judah;
They shall feed their flocks there;
In the houses of Ashkelon they shall lie down at evening.
For the Lord their God will #Luke 1:68intervene for them,
And #Jer. 29:14return their captives.
8“I#Jer. 48:27; Amos 2:1–3 have heard the reproach of Moab,
And #Ezek. 25:3; Amos 1:13the insults of the people of Ammon,
With which they have reproached My people,
And #Jer. 49:1made arrogant threats against their borders.
9Therefore, as I live,”
Says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel,
“Surely #Is. 15:1–9; Jer. 48:1–47Moab shall be like Sodom,
And #Amos 1:13the people of Ammon like Gomorrah—
#Deut. 29:23Overrun with weeds and saltpits,
And a perpetual desolation.
The residue of My people shall plunder them,
And the remnant of My people shall possess them.”
10This they shall have #Is. 16:6for their pride,
Because they have reproached and made arrogant threats
Against the people of the Lord of hosts.
11The Lord will be awesome to them,
For He will reduce to nothing all the gods of the earth;
#Mal. 1:11People shall worship Him,
Each one from his place,
Indeed all #Gen. 10:5the shores of the nations.
12“You#Is. 18:1–7; Ezek. 30:4, 5 Ethiopians also,
You shall be slain by #Ps. 17:13My sword.”
13And He will stretch out His hand against the north,
#Is. 10:5–27; 14:24–27; Mic. 5:5, 6Destroy Assyria,
And make Nineveh a desolation,
As dry as the wilderness.
14The herds shall lie down in her midst,
#Is. 13:21Every beast of the nation.
Both the #Is. 14:23; 34:11pelican and the bittern
Shall lodge on the capitals of her pillars;
Their voice shall sing in the windows;
Desolation shall be at the threshold;
For He will lay bare the #Jer. 22:14cedar work.
15This is the rejoicing city
#Is. 47:8That dwelt securely,
#Rev. 18:7That said in her heart,
“I am it, and there is none besides me.”
How has she become a desolation,
A place for beasts to lie down!
Everyone who passes by her
#Lam. 2:15Shall hiss and #Nah. 3:19shake his fist.
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The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.