Zephaniah 2
2
A Call for Judah to Turn Away from Sin
1Gather yourselves together!
Yes, gather together, you shameless nation,
2before the decree is carried out
⌞and⌟ the day passes like windblown husks,
before the Lord’s burning anger comes to you,
before the day of the Lord’s anger comes to you.
3Search for the Lord, all you humble people in the land
who carry out his justice.
Search for what is right.
Search for humility.
Maybe you will find shelter on the day of the Lord’s anger.
The LORD Will Judge His People’s Enemies
4Gaza will be deserted,
and Ashkelon will be destroyed.
Ashdod will be driven out at noon,
and Ekron will be torn out by the roots.
5How horrible it will be for those who live on the seacoast,
for the nation from Crete.
The Lord’s word is against you, Canaan, the land of the Philistines:
“I will destroy you so that no one will be living there.”
6The seacoast will become pastureland
with meadows for shepherds
and fenced-off places for sheep.
7The coast will belong to the faithful few from the nation of Judah.
There they will graze their sheep.
In the evening they will lie down in the houses of Ashkelon.
The Lord their God will take care of them
and will restore their fortunes.
8“I have heard the insults from Moab and the mockery from Ammon.
They insulted my people and bragged about their territory.
9Therefore, I solemnly swear, as I live,”
declares the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel,
“Moab will become like Sodom, and Ammon will become like Gomorrah:
a place of weeds, salt pits, and ruins forever.
The faithful few of my people will loot them,
and those who are left in my nation will take possession of them.”
10This is what they will get for their sinful pride,
because they insulted the people who belong to the Lord of Armies
and made themselves greater than them.
11The Lord will terrify them,
because he will make all the gods of the earth waste away.
So every person from every coast and nation will bow to him.
12“Even you, the people from Sudan,
you will also die by my sword.”
13The Lord will use his power against the north and destroy Assyria.
He will turn Nineveh into a deserted ruin,
a dried up wasteland like the desert.
14Flocks will lie down in it along with animals of every kind.
Even pelicans and herons will nest on top of its columns.
Listen! A bird will sing in a window.
The doorway will be in ruins,
because the Lord will expose the cedar beams.
15Is this the arrogant city?
Is this the city that used to live securely,
the city that used to think to itself,
“I’m the only one, and no one else exists but me”?
What a wasteland it is now, a resting place for wild animals!
All who pass by it will hiss and make an obscene gesture.
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Zephaniah 2: GW
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GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.
Zephaniah 2
2
1Bend yourselves, yea, bend ye, O nation not desired,
2Before the bringing forth of a statute, As chaff hath the day passed on, While yet not come in upon you doth the heat of the anger of Jehovah, While yet not come in upon you doth a day of the anger of Jehovah,
3Seek Jehovah, all ye humble of the land, Who His judgment have done, Seek ye righteousness, seek humility, It may be ye are hidden in a day of the anger of Jehovah.
4For Gaza is forsaken, And Ashkelon [is] for a desolation, Ashdod! at noon they do cast her forth, And Ekron is rooted up.
5Ho! O inhabitants of the sea-coast, Nation of the Cherethites, A word of Jehovah [is] against you, Canaan, land of the Philistines, And I have destroyed thee without an inhabitant.
6And the sea-coast hath been habitations, Cottages [for] shepherds, and folds [for] a flock.
7And the coast hath been for the remnant of the house of Judah, By them they have pleasure, In houses of Ashkelon at even they lie down, For inspect them doth Jehovah their God, And He hath turned back [to] their captivity.
8I have heard the reproach of Moab, And the revilings of the sons of Ammon, Wherewith they reproached My people, And magnify [themselves] against their border.
9Therefore, I live, An affirmation of Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel, Surely, Moab is as Sodom, And the sons of Ammon as Gomorrah, An overrunning of nettles and salt-pits, And a desolation — unto the age. A residue of My people do seize them, And a remnant of My nation inherit them.
10This [is] to them for their arrogancy, Because they have reproached, And they magnify [themselves] against the people of Jehovah of Hosts.
11Fearful [is] Jehovah against them, For He made bare all gods of the land, And bow themselves to Him, each from his place, Do all islanders of the nations.
12Also ye, O Cushim, pierced of My sword [are] they.
13And He stretcheth His hand against the north, And doth destroy Asshur, And he setteth Nineveh for a desolation, A dry land like a wilderness.
14And crouched in her midst have droves, Every beast of the nation, Both pelican and hedge-hog in her knobs lodge, A voice doth sing at the window, ‘Destruction [is] at the threshold, For the cedar-work is exposed.’
15This [is] the exulting city that is dwelling confidently, That is saying in her heart, ‘I [am], and beside me there is none,’ How hath she been for a desolation, A crouching-place for beasts, Every one passing by her doth hiss, He doth shake his hand!
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