Zephaniah 2
2
1 Assemble, be gathered together, O people not worthy to be loved.
2 Until the decree settles accounts, the day like dust is passing away, before which the wrath of the fury of the Lord may overcome you, before which the day of the anger of the Lord may overcome you.
3 Seek the Lord, all you meek of the earth; you who have been working are his judgment. Seek the just, seek the meek. So then, in some way, you might be hidden in the day of the fury of the Lord.
4 For Gaza will be destroyed, and Ashkelon will be in the desert; they will expel Ashdod at midday, and Ekron will be eradicated.
5 Woe to you who inhabit the coast of the sea, you people of perdition. The word of the Lord is over you, Canaan, the land of the Philistines, and I will disperse you, so that not one inhabitant will be left.
6 And the coastline of the sea will be a resting place for shepherds and a fence line for cattle.
7 And it will be the line of him who will remain from the house of Judah. There they will pasture. In the houses of Ashkelon, they will rest towards evening. For the Lord their God will visit them, and he will turn away their captivity.
8 I have heard about the disgrace of Moab and the blasphemies of the sons of Ammon, by which they have defamed my people and have been magnified beyond their borders.
9 Because of this, as I live, says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Moab will be like Sodom, and the sons of Ammon like Gomorrah, like the dryness of thorns, and piles of salt, and a desert, all the way to eternity. The remnant of my people will despoil them, and the residue of my nation will possess them.
10 This will come upon them for their arrogance, because they have blasphemed and have been magnified over the people of the Lord of hosts.
11 The Lord will be a horror over them, and he will reduce all the gods of the earth. And they will adore him, each man from his own place, all the islands of the Gentiles.
12 Even so, you Ethiopians, you will be executed by my sword.
13 And he will extend his hand over the North, and he will destroy Assur. And he will set the Beautiful in the wilderness, and in an impassable place, and like a desert.
14 And flocks will lie down in its midst, all the beasts of the Gentiles. And the pelican and the hedgehog will stay at its threshold; the voice of the singing bird will be at the window, with the crow above its threshold, for I will diminish her strength.
15 This is the glorious city, dwelling in trust, which said in her heart, "I am and there is no one other than me." How has she become a lair for beasts in the desert? All who pass through her will hiss and wag their hand.
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Zephaniah 2: CPDV
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Zephaniah 2
2
Turn to the Lord
1You disgraceful nation,
gather around,
2before it's too late.
The Lord has set a time
when his fierce anger
will strike like a storm
and sweep you away.
3If you humbly obey the Lord,
then come and worship him.
If you do right and are humble,
perhaps you will be safe
on that day when the Lord
turns loose his anger.
Judgment on Philistia
4 #
Is 14.29-31; Jr 47.1-7; Ez 25.15-17; Jl 3.4-8; Am 1.6-8; Zec 9.5-7. Gaza and Ashkelon
will be deserted
and left in ruins.
Ashdod will be emptied
in broad daylight,
and Ekron#2.4 Gaza … Ekron: Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron, and Gath (not mentioned because it was already destroyed) were the five major Philistine towns. uprooted.
5To you people of Philistia#2.5 people of Philistia: The Hebrew text also mentions “Canaan” and “Cherethites,” which are other ways of referring to the Philistines.
who live along the coast,
the Lord has this to say:
“I am now your enemy,
and I'll wipe you out!”
6Your seacoast will be changed
into pastureland
and sheep pens.#2.6 pens: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 6.
7The Lord God hasn't forgotten
those survivors in Judah,
and he will help them—
his people will take your land
to use for pasture.
And when evening comes,
they will rest
in houses at Ashkelon.#2.7 Ashkelon: A Philistine town; see the note at 2.4.
Judgment on Moab and Ammon
* 8#Is 15.1—16.14; 25.10-12; Jr 48.1-47; Ez 25.8-11; Am 1.13-15; Jr 49.1-6; Ez 21.28-32; 25.1-7; Am 1.13-15. The Lord All-Powerful,
the God of Israel, said:
I've heard Moab and Ammon
insult my people
and threaten their nation.#2.8 threaten their nation: Or “boast about their own nation.”
9 #
Gn 19.24. And so, I swear by my very life
that Moab and Ammon will end up
like Sodom and Gomorrah—
covered with thornbushes
and salt pits forever.
Then my people who survive
will take their land.
10This is how Moab and Ammon
will at last be repaid
for their pride—
and for sneering at the nation
that belongs to me,
the Lord All-Powerful.
11I will fiercely attack.
Then every god on this earth
will shrink to nothing,
and everyone of every nation
will bow down to me,
right where they are.
Judgment on Ethiopia
12 #
Is 18.1-7. People of Ethiopia,#2.12 Ethiopia: The Hebrew text has “Cush,” which was a region south of Egypt that included parts of the present countries of Ethiopia and Sudan.
the sword of the Lord
will slaughter you!
Judgment on Assyria
13 #
Is 10.5-34; 14.24-27; Nh 1.1—3.19. The Lord will reach to the north
to crush Assyria
and overthrow Nineveh.#2.13 Nineveh: The capital of Assyria; Nineveh was protected by a moat filled with water from the nearby Tigris River.
14Herds of wild animals
will live in its rubble;
all kinds of desert owls
will perch on its stones
and hoot in the windows.
Noisy ravens will be heard
inside its buildings,
stripped bare of cedar.#2.14 stripped … cedar: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
15This is the glorious city
that felt secure and said,
“I am the only one!”
Now it's merely ruins,
a home for wild animals.
Every passerby simply sneers
and makes vulgar signs.
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
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