Zephaniah 2 - New International Version (NIV)

Judah and Jerusalem Judged Along With the Nations

Judah Summoned to Repent

2 Gather together,(A) gather yourselves together,
you shameful(B) nation,
2 before the decree takes effect
and that day passes like windblown chaff,(C)
before the Lord’s fierce anger(D)
comes upon you,
before the day of the Lord’s wrath(E)
comes upon you.
3 Seek(F) the Lord, all you humble of the land,
you who do what he commands.
Seek righteousness,(G) seek humility;(H)
perhaps you will be sheltered(I)
on the day of the Lord’s anger.

Philistia

4 Gaza(J) will be abandoned
and Ashkelon(K) left in ruins.
At midday Ashdod will be emptied
and Ekron uprooted.
5 Woe to you who live by the sea,
you Kerethite(L) people;
the word of the Lord is against you,(M)
Canaan, land of the Philistines.
He says, “I will destroy you,
and none will be left.”(N)
6 The land by the sea will become pastures
having wells for shepherds
and pens for flocks.(O)
7 That land will belong
to the remnant(P) of the people of Judah;
there they will find pasture.
In the evening they will lie down
in the houses of Ashkelon.
The Lord their God will care for them;
he will restore their fortunes.[a](Q)

Moab and Ammon

8 “I have heard the insults(R) of Moab(S)
and the taunts of the Ammonites,(T)
who insulted(U) my people
and made threats against their land.(V)
9 Therefore, as surely as I live,”
declares the Lord Almighty,
the God of Israel,
“surely Moab(W) will become like Sodom,(X)
the Ammonites(Y) like Gomorrah—
a place of weeds and salt pits,
a wasteland forever.
The remnant of my people will plunder(Z) them;
the survivors(AA) of my nation will inherit their land.(AB)”

10 This is what they will get in return for their pride,(AC)
for insulting(AD) and mocking
the people of the Lord Almighty.(AE)
11 The Lord will be awesome(AF) to them
when he destroys all the gods(AG) of the earth.(AH)
Distant nations will bow down to him,(AI)
all of them in their own lands.

Cush

12 “You Cushites,[b](AJ) too,
will be slain by my sword.(AK)”

Assyria

13 He will stretch out his hand against the north
and destroy Assyria,(AL)
leaving Nineveh(AM) utterly desolate
and dry as the desert.(AN)
14 Flocks and herds(AO) will lie down there,
creatures of every kind.
The desert owl(AP) and the screech owl(AQ)
will roost on her columns.
Their hooting will echo through the windows,
rubble will fill the doorways,
the beams of cedar will be exposed.
15 This is the city of revelry(AR)
that lived in safety.(AS)
She said to herself,
“I am the one! And there is none besides me.”(AT)
What a ruin she has become,
a lair for wild beasts!(AU)
All who pass by her scoff(AV)
and shake their fists.(AW)

Footnotes

  1. Zephaniah 2:7 Or will bring back their captives
  2. Zephaniah 2:12 That is, people from the upper Nile region

Cross references

  1. Zephaniah 2:1 : 2Ch 20:4; Joel 1:14
  2. Zephaniah 2:1 : S Jer 3:3; 6:15
  3. Zephaniah 2:2 : Isa 17:13; Hos 13:3
  4. Zephaniah 2:2 : S Jer 10:25; S La 4:11
  5. Zephaniah 2:2 : S Jer 4:4; S Eze 7:19
  6. Zephaniah 2:3 : S Am 5:6
  7. Zephaniah 2:3 : S Isa 1:17
  8. Zephaniah 2:3 : Ps 45:4
  9. Zephaniah 2:3 : Ps 57:1
  10. Zephaniah 2:4 : S Ge 10:19; S Am 1:6, 7-8; Zec 9:5-7
  11. Zephaniah 2:4 : Jer 47:5
  12. Zephaniah 2:5 : S 1Sa 30:14
  13. Zephaniah 2:5 : S Lev 26:31; Am 3:1
  14. Zephaniah 2:5 : S Isa 14:30
  15. Zephaniah 2:6 : S Isa 5:17
  16. Zephaniah 2:7 : S Ge 45:7
  17. Zephaniah 2:7 : S Dt 30:3; Ps 126:4; Jer 32:44; S Hos 6:11; S Joel 3:1; Am 1:6-8
  18. Zephaniah 2:8 : S Jer 48:27
  19. Zephaniah 2:8 : S Ge 19:37; S Isa 16:6
  20. Zephaniah 2:8 : S Eze 21:28
  21. Zephaniah 2:8 : Eze 25:3
  22. Zephaniah 2:8 : S La 3:61
  23. Zephaniah 2:9 : S Dt 23:6; Isa 15:1-16:14; Jer 48:1-47; Eze 25:8-11
  24. Zephaniah 2:9 : Dt 29:23; Isa 13:19; Jer 49:18
  25. Zephaniah 2:9 : Jer 49:1-6; Eze 25:1-7
  26. Zephaniah 2:9 : S Isa 11:14
  27. Zephaniah 2:9 : S 2Ki 19:31
  28. Zephaniah 2:9 : S Am 2:1-3
  29. Zephaniah 2:10 : S Job 40:12; S Isa 16:6
  30. Zephaniah 2:10 : S Jer 48:27
  31. Zephaniah 2:10 : S Ps 9:6
  32. Zephaniah 2:11 : S Joel 2:11
  33. Zephaniah 2:11 : S Zep 1:4
  34. Zephaniah 2:11 : S 1Ch 19:1; Eze 25:6-7
  35. Zephaniah 2:11 : Ps 86:9; S Isa 12:4; Zep 3:9
  36. Zephaniah 2:12 : S Ge 10:6; S Isa 20:4
  37. Zephaniah 2:12 : S Jer 46:10
  38. Zephaniah 2:13 : S Isa 10:5
  39. Zephaniah 2:13 : S Ge 10:11; S Na 1:1
  40. Zephaniah 2:13 : S Mic 5:6; Zec 10:11
  41. Zephaniah 2:14 : S Isa 5:17
  42. Zephaniah 2:14 : S Isa 14:23
  43. Zephaniah 2:14 : S Ps 102:6; Rev 18:2
  44. Zephaniah 2:15 : S Isa 32:9
  45. Zephaniah 2:15 : Isa 47:8
  46. Zephaniah 2:15 : Eze 28:2
  47. Zephaniah 2:15 : Jer 49:33
  48. Zephaniah 2:15 : S Isa 28:22; S Na 3:19
  49. Zephaniah 2:15 : S Eze 27:36

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