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Tzefanyah 2
Orthodox Jewish Bible
Tzefanyah 2
Orthodox Jewish Bible
2 Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O shameful nation;
2 Before the decree brings forth, before the day passes like the chaff, before the charon af Hashem comes upon you, before the Yom Af Hashem (Day of Hashem’s Anger) comes upon you;
3 Seek ye Hashem, all ye anvei ha’aretz (humble of the land), which have wrought His mishpat; seek tzedek, seek anavah (meekness, humility); it may be ye shall be hid in the Yom Af Hashem.
4 For Azah (Gaza) shall be abandoned, and Ashkelon a desolation; they shall drive out Ashdod in broad day, and Ekron shall be uprooted.
5 Hoy (Woe) unto the inhabitants of the seacoast, the nation of the Keretim (Cretans)! The Devar Hashem is against you, O Kena’an, eretz of the Pelishtim (Philistines). I will even destroy thee, that there no inhabitant remains.
6 And the seacoast shall be dwellings and meadows for ro’im (shepherds), and pens for tzon.
7 And the coast shall be for the she’erit Bais Yehudah; they shall feed thereupon; in the batim (houses) of Ashkelon shall they lie down in the erev; for Hashem Eloheichem shall visit them, and restore their fortunes.
8 I have heard the reproach of Moav, and the revilings of the Bnei Ammon, whereby they have reproached My nation, and magnified themselves against their territory.
9 Therefore as I live, saith Hashem Tzva’os, Elohei Yisroel, Surely Moav shall be as Sodom, and the Bnei Ammon as Amora (Gomorrah), a place of weeds and salt pits, and desolation ad olam; the She’erit Ami shall plunder them, and the remnant of My nation shall possess them.
10 This shall they have in return for their ga’on (pride), because they have reproached and magnified themselves against the Am Hashem Tzva’os.
11 Hashem will be terrible unto them; for He will reduce to nothing all the elohei ha’aretz (g-ds of the land); and men shall worship Hashem, everyone from his place, even all the coasts and islands of the Goyim.
12 Ye Ethiopians also, ye shall be slain by My cherev.
13 And Hashem will stretch out His hand against the tzafon (north), and destroy Assyria; and will make Nineveh a desolation, a dry waste like a midbar.
14 And herds shall lie down in the midst of it, all the beasts of the Goyim; both the desert owl and the screech owl will roost on her columns; their voice shall hoot in the windows; desolation shall be in the thresholds; the beams of cedar will be exposed.
15 This is HaIr HaAlizah (the rejoicing city) that dwelt carelessly, that said in her lev, I am, and there is none beside me; how is she become a desolation, a place for beasts to lie down in! Every one that passeth by her shall hiss, and shake his fist.
Zephaniah 2
New International Version
Zephaniah 2
New International Version
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
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
- Zephaniah 2:7 Or will bring back their captives
- Zephaniah 2:12 That is, people from the upper Nile region
Orthodox Jewish Bible (OJB)
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