Zephaniah 2
2
Judgment on Judah’s Enemies
1Gather together, yes, gather,
O #Jer. 6:15shameless nation,
2 # [ch. 3:8] before the decree takes effect#2:2 Hebrew gives birth
—before the day passes away #Ps. 1:4 like chaff—
# [2 Kgs. 23:26] before there comes upon you
the burning anger of the Lord,
before there comes upon you
the day of the anger of the Lord.
3 # See Amos 5:6 Seek the Lord, #Ps. 76:9; Isa. 11:4 all you humble of the land,
who do his just commands;#2:3 Or who carry out his judgment
# [Amos 5:14, 15] seek righteousness; seek humility;
# [Amos 5:14, 15] perhaps #[Isa. 2:10; 26:20, 21]you may be hidden
on the day of the anger of the Lord.
4 #
Zech. 9:5, 6; [Jer. 47:5]; See Amos 1:6-8 For Gaza shall be deserted,
and Ashkelon shall become a desolation;
Ashdod’s people shall be driven out at noon,
and Ekron shall be uprooted.
5Woe to #Jer. 47:7; Ezek. 25:16 you inhabitants of the seacoast,
you nation of #See 1 Sam. 30:14 the Cherethites!
# [Nah. 2:13] The word of the Lord is against you,
# [Josh. 13:3] O Canaan, land of the Philistines;
and I will destroy you #ch. 3:6until no inhabitant is left.
6 # ver. 7 And you, O seacoast, #Isa. 65:10shall be pastures,
with meadows#2:6 Or caves for shepherds
and folds for flocks.
7 # [Josh. 19:29] The seacoast shall become the possession
of #[ch. 3:13; Obad. 19] the remnant of the house of Judah,
# [See ver. 6 above] on which they shall graze,
and in the houses of Ashkelon
they shall lie down at evening.
For the Lord their God #Zech. 10:3; Luke 1:68 will be mindful of them
and #ch. 3:20restore their fortunes.
8“I have heard #[Jer. 48:27] the taunts of Moab
and #Ezek. 25:3, 6 the revilings of the Ammonites,
how they have taunted my people
and made boasts #[Jer. 49:1]against their territory.
9Therefore, #Isa. 49:18; See Ezek. 16:48 as I live,” declares the Lord of hosts,
the God of Israel,
“Moab shall become #Deut. 29:23; See Isa. 13:19like Sodom,
and the Ammonites #Deut. 29:23; See Isa. 13:19like Gomorrah,
a land possessed by nettles and salt pits,
and a waste forever.
The remnant of my people shall plunder them,
and the survivors of my nation shall possess them.”
10This shall be their lot in return #Isa. 16:6for their pride,
because they taunted and boasted
against the people of the Lord of hosts.
11The Lord will be awesome against them;
# [Isa. 17:4] for he will famish all the gods of the earth,
and #Ps. 22:27 to him shall bow down,
each in its place,
all #See Gen. 10:5the lands of the nations.
12 # [ch. 3:10] You also, O Cushites,
shall be slain by my sword.
13And he will stretch out his hand against the north
# [Isa. 10:12] and destroy Assyria,
and he #Nah. 3:7will make Nineveh a desolation,
a dry waste like the desert.
14 #
Isa. 13:21, 22; 34:14 Herds shall lie down in her midst,
all kinds of beasts;#2:14 Hebrew beasts of every nation
#
Isa. 34:11 even the owl and the hedgehog#2:14 The identity of the animals rendered owl and hedgehog is uncertain
shall lodge in her capitals;
a voice shall hoot in the window;
devastation will be on the threshold;
for #[Jer. 22:14, 15]her cedar work will be laid bare.
15This is the exultant city
#
Isa. 47:8 that lived securely,
that said in her heart,
“I am, and there is no one else.”
What a desolation she has become,
# [Ezek. 25:5] a lair for wild beasts!
#
Jer. 19:8 Everyone who passes by her
hisses and #[Nah. 3:19]shakes his fist.
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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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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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