Zephaniah 2
2
Judgment of Judah’s Enemies
1Gather yourselves together! Now gather together,
O nation having no shame!
2Before the birth of the decree,
the day flies away like chaff;
before the fierce anger of Yahweh overtakes you;
before the day of the anger of Yahweh overtakes you.
3Seek Yahweh, all you afflicted of the land
who have fulfilled his law;
seek righteousness;
seek humility.
Perhaps you will be concealed
on the day of the anger of Yahweh.
4For Gaza will be abandoned,
and Ashkelon as a desolation.
As for Ashdod, at noon they will drive her away,
and Ekron shall be uprooted.
5Woe to you, inhabitants of the region of the sea,
people of the Kerethites!
The word of Yahweh is against you,
O Canaan, land of the Philistines.
I will destroy you until there is no inhabitant.#Literally “from there is not an inhabitant”
6And you, O region of the sea, shall become
pastures and meadows for shepherds
and sheep pens for the flocks.
7And it shall become a region
for the remnant of the house of Judah;
upon them they shall graze,
and in the houses of Ashkelon
they shall lie down in the evening.
For Yahweh their God shall be mindful of them,
and he will restore their fortunes.
8I have heard the reproaches of Moab
and the scorning of the Ammonites,#Literally “sons/children of Ammon”
with which they have taunted my nation
and made boasts against their territory.
9“Therefore, as I live”—a declaration of Yahweh of hosts,
the God of Israel—
“Moab shall be as Sodom,
and the Ammonites#Literally “sons/children of Ammon” like Gomorrah,
a place of weeds and salt pits
and a desolation forever.
The remnant of my people shall plunder them,
and the remainder of my nation shall possess them.”
10This shall be for them in place of their pride
because they mocked and boasted
against the people of Yahweh of hosts.
11Yahweh will be awesome against them,
for he will destroy all the gods of the earth
and all the lands#Or “islands” of the nations;
each in its place will bow down to him.
12You also, O Cushites,
they shall be killed by my sword.
13And he will stretch out his hand against the north,
and he will destroy Assyria
and will make Nineveh a desolation,
a dry wasteland like the desert.
14Herds shall lie down in her midst,
every wild animal of a nation;
even the desert owl and the screech owl
shall lodge on her capitals.
A voice shall hoot in the window;
rubble#The traditional Hebrew text has “waste,” while LXX has “a raven,” reflecting a different word with one consonant changed on the threshold;
for the cedar is laid bare.
15This is the city of rejoicing
that lived securely;
the one saying in her heart,
“I am, and there is none besides me.”#Literally “I am and none me”
How she has become a desolation,
a lair for wild animals!
Everyone who passes by her hisses and shakes his fist.
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Zephaniah 2: LEB
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Zephaniah 2
2
God Asks People to Change
1Gather together,
you unwanted people.
2Do it before it’s too late.
Do it before you are blown away like chaff.
Do it before the Lord’s terrible anger reaches you.
Do it before the day of the Lord’s anger comes to you.
3All you who are not proud, come to the Lord.
You who obey his laws, come to him.
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.
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!
This message from the Lord is for you,
people of Canaan, land of the Philistines.
“I will destroy you.
No one will be left.”
6You live in the land by the Mediterranean Sea.
It will be a place for shepherds and sheep.
7Your land 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 come to be with them.
He will give them back their riches.
Moab and Ammon Will Be Punished
8“I heard the country of Moab insult my people.
The country of Ammon threatened to take their land.”
9So the Lord of heaven’s armies, the God of Israel, says,
“As surely as I live,
Moab will be destroyed like Sodom.
Ammon will be destroyed like Gomorrah.# Two cities God destroyed because the people were so evil.
Their land will be covered with weeds and salt.
It will be destroyed 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.
This will happen because they insulted and made fun of the people of the Lord of heaven’s armies.
11Those people will be afraid of the Lord.
He will destroy all the gods of the earth.
Then those people in faraway places
will worship the Lord in their own countries.
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 punish Assyria.
He will destroy Nineveh.
It will be dry like a desert.
14Sheep and goats will lie down there.
Wild animals will live there.
The owls and crows will sit
on the stone pillars that are left standing.
Their calls will be heard through the windows.
Trash will be in the doorways.
The wooden boards of the buildings will be gone.
15This is the happy and safe city.
It thinks there is no one else as strong as it is.
But that city will be destroyed.
Only animals will stay there.
Those who pass by will make fun
and shake their fists.
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