Zephaniah 2
2
1#This oracle is a classic description of the day of the Lord as an overwhelming disaster, concluding with a call for repentance and reform. Nation without shame: Judah.Gather, gather yourselves together,
O nation without shame!
2Before you are driven away,
like chaff that disappears;
Before there comes upon you
the blazing anger of the Lord;
Before there comes upon you
the day of the Lord’s anger.
3Seek the Lord,
all you humble of the land,
who have observed his law;
Seek justice,
seek humility;
Perhaps you will be sheltered
on the day of the Lord’s anger.#Am 5:14–15.
II. Judgment on the Nations
4For Gaza shall be forsaken,
and Ashkelon shall be a waste,
Ashdod they shall drive out at midday,
and Ekron#Gaza…Ashkelon…Ashdod…Ekron: cities of the Philistine confederation. shall be uprooted.#Jer 47:5; Am 1:6–8.
5Ah! You who dwell by the seacoast,
the nation of Cherethites,#Cherethites: a synonym for, or subgroup of, the Philistines, which may be associated with Crete, a part of the larger Aegean area from which the Philistines came.
the word of the Lord is against you!
O Canaan, land of the Philistines,
I will leave you to perish without an inhabitant!
6You shall become fields for shepherds,
and folds for flocks.
7The seacoast shall belong
to the remnant of the house of Judah;
by the sea they shall pasture.
In the houses of Ashkelon
they shall lie down in the evening.
For the Lord their God will take care of them,
and bring about their restoration.
8I have heard the taunts uttered by Moab,
and the insults of the Ammonites,#Moab…Ammonites: Judah’s neighbors to the East across the Jordan.
When they taunted my people
and made boasts against their territory.#Jer 48:1; 49:1.
9Therefore, as I live—
oracle of the Lord of hosts—
the God of Israel,
Moab shall become like Sodom,
the Ammonites like Gomorrah:
A field of weeds,
a salt pit,
a waste forever.
The remnant of my people shall plunder them,
the survivors of my nation dispossess them.
10This will be the recompense for their pride,
because they taunted and boasted against
the people of the Lord of hosts.
11The Lord shall inspire them with terror
when he makes all the gods of earth waste away;
Then the distant shores of the nations,
each from its own place,
shall bow down to him.
12You too, O Cushites,#Cushites: the Ethiopians, who had ruled Egypt a generation before Zephaniah’s career.
shall be slain by the sword of the Lord.#2 Chr 14:7–14.
13He will stretch out his hand against the north,
to destroy Assyria;
He will make Nineveh a waste,
dry as the desert.#Na 3:7.
14In her midst flocks shall lie down,
all the wild life of the hollows;
The screech owl and the desert owl
shall roost in her columns;
The owl shall hoot from the window,
the raven croak from the doorway.#Is 34:11.
15Is this the exultant city#The exultant city: Nineveh. Hiss, and shake their fists: gestures of derision.
that dwelt secure,
That told itself,
“I and there is no one else”?
How it has become a waste,
a lair for wild animals!
Those who pass by it
hiss, and shake their fists!
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Zephaniah 2: NABRE
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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc
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.
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