Zephaniah 2
2
1Gather together and assemble yourselves, shameless nation,
2before the decision is made—the day vanishes like chaff#2.2 Heb uncertain—
before the burning anger of the LORD comes against you,
before the day of the LORD’s anger comes against you.
3Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land who practice his justice;
seek righteousness;
seek humility.
Maybe you will be hidden on the day of the LORD’s anger.
Oracles against foreign nations
4Gaza will certainly be abandoned;
and Ashkelon destroyed.
Ashdod will be driven out at noon;
Ekron will be uprooted.
5Doom, inhabitants of the seacoast,
nation of Cretans.
The LORD’s word is against you,
Canaan, land of the Philistines.
I will exterminate you, leaving no inhabitant.
6The seacoast will become pastureland,
with wells for shepherds and pens for the flocks.
7The coast will belong to the survivors from the house of Judah;
they will pasture beside the sea;#2.7 Or they will pasture by them.
in the houses of Ashkelon they will lie down in the evening.
The LORD their God will visit them and restore their possessions.
8I have heard the taunting of Moab
and the defamation of the Ammonites;
they taunted my people
and enlarged their borders.
9Therefore, as I live—
says the LORD of heavenly forces, the God of Israel—
Moab will become like Sodom
and the Ammonites like Gomorrah:
a plot of weeds, salt pits, and devastation forever.
The few remaining from my people will plunder them;
the rest of my nation will possess them.
10This will happen on account of their pride,
because they taunted and boasted over the people of the LORD of heavenly forces.
11The LORD will terrify them;
he will make all the gods of the earth disappear.
All the coastlands of the nations will bow down to the LORD,
each one in its own place.
12Moreover, you too, Cushites, will be pierced by my sword.
13He will stretch out his hand against the north
and will cause Assyria to perish.
Let him make Nineveh a desolation,
a desolate place like the wilderness.
14Flocks will lie down in its midst,
every living thing of the nation.
Moreover, the owl and the porcupine will spend the night on its columns.
A bird’s call will resound from the window.
Desolation will be on the sill,
for the cedar will be stripped bare.
15This is the jubilant city,
the one dwelling securely,
the one saying in her heart,
I, and no one else, will endure forever.
How she has become a desolation,
a resting place for the wild animals.
All those who pass through her hiss and shake their fist.
Currently Selected:
Zephaniah 2: CEB
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
2011 Common English Bible. All rights reserved.
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.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.