Tsephanyah (Zephaniah) 2
2
1Gather together, gather together, O nation without shame,
2before the law gives birth – the day shall pass on like chaff – before the burning wrath of יהוה comes upon you, before the day of wrath of יהוה comes upon you!
3Seek יהוה, all you meek ones of the earth, who have done His right-ruling. Seek righteousness, seek meekness, if so be that you are hidden in the day of wrath of יהוה.
4For Azzah is abandoned and Ashqelon laid waste, Ashdoḏ is driven out at noonday and Eqron is uprooted.
5Woe to the inhabitants of the seacoast, the nation of the Kerĕthites! The word of יהוה is against you, O Kena‛an, land of the Philistines, “And I shall destroy you, so that there is no inhabitant.”
6And the seacoast shall be pastures, shepherds’ meadows and enclosures for flocks.
7And the coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Yehuḏah. They shall feed their flocks on it, at evening they lie down in the houses of Ashqelon. For יהוה their Elohim shall visit them and turn back their captivity.
8“I have heard the reproach of Mo’aḇ, and the revilings of the children of Ammon, with which they have reproached My people, and exalted themselves against their borders.
9“Therefore, as I live,” declares יהוה of hosts, the Elohim of Yisra’ĕl, “Mo’aḇ shall be like Seḏom, and the children of Ammon like Amorah – a possession for weeds and a pit of salt, and a waste forever, the remnant of My people plunder them, and the rest of My nation possess them.”
10This is what they get for their pride, because they have reproached and exalted themselves against the people of יהוה of hosts.
11יהוה shall be awesome to them, for He shall make all the mighty ones of the earth to shrivel, while all the coastlands of the nations bow down to Him, each one from his place.
12“You too, O Kushites, are to be slain by My sword.”
13And He shall stretch out His hand against the north, and destroy Ashshur, and make Ninewĕh a waste, as dry as a wilderness.
14And droves shall lie down in her midst, every beast of the nation, both pelican and bittern lodge in the tops of her columns, a voice singing at the window, ruin be at the threshold, for the cedar work is exposed.
15This is the exultant city that is dwelling in safety, that said in her heart, “I am it, and there is none but me.” How has she become a waste, a place for beasts to lie down! Everyone who passes by her whistles and shakes his fist.
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Tsephanyah (Zephaniah) 2: TS2009
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Copyright© 1993 – 2015 by the Institute for Scripture Research (ISR). All rights reserved.
Zephaniah 2
2
A Call to Repentance
1Gather together—yes, gather together,
you shameless nation.
2Gather before judgment begins,
before your time to repent is blown away like chaff.
Act now, before the fierce fury of the Lord falls
and the terrible day of the Lord’s anger begins.
3Seek the Lord, all who are humble,
and follow his commands.
Seek to do what is right
and to live humbly.
Perhaps even yet the Lord will protect you—
protect you from his anger on that day of destruction.
Judgment against Philistia
4Gaza and Ashkelon will be abandoned,
Ashdod and Ekron torn down.
5And what sorrow awaits you Philistines#2:5 Hebrew Kerethites.
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.
6The Philistine coast will become a wilderness pasture,
a place of shepherd camps
and enclosures for sheep and goats.
7The 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.
Judgment against Moab and Ammon
8“I have heard the taunts of the Moabites
and the insults of the Ammonites,
mocking my people
and invading their borders.
9Now, as surely as I live,”
says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel,
“Moab and Ammon will be destroyed—
destroyed as completely as Sodom and Gomorrah.
Their land will become a place of stinging nettles,
salt pits, and eternal desolation.
The remnant of my people will plunder them
and take their land.”
10They will receive the wages of their pride,
for they have scoffed at the people of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
11The Lord will terrify them
as he destroys all the gods in the land.
Then nations around the world will worship the Lord,
each in their own land.
Judgment against Ethiopia and Assyria
12“You Ethiopians#2:12 Hebrew Cushites. will also be slaughtered
by my sword,” says the Lord.
13And the Lord will strike the lands of the north with his fist,
destroying the land of Assyria.
He will make its great capital, Nineveh, a desolate wasteland,
parched like a desert.
14The proud city will become a pasture for flocks and herds,
and all sorts of wild animals will settle there.
The desert owl and screech owl will roost on its ruined columns,
their calls echoing through the gaping windows.
Rubble will block all the doorways,
and the cedar paneling will be exposed to the weather.
15This is the boisterous city,
once so secure.
“I am the greatest!” it boasted.
“No other city can compare with me!”
But now, look how it has become an utter ruin,
a haven for wild animals.
Everyone passing by will laugh in derision
and shake a defiant fist.
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