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Zephaniah 2
New American Bible (Revised Edition)

Chapter 2

1 [a]Gather, gather yourselves together,
    O nation without shame!
2 Before 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.
3 Seek 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.(A)

Judgment on the Nations

4 For Gaza shall be forsaken,
    and Ashkelon shall be a waste,
Ashdod they shall drive out at midday,
    and Ekron[b] shall be uprooted.(B)
5 Ah! You who dwell by the seacoast,
    the nation of Cherethites,[c]
    the word of the Lord is against you!
O Canaan, land of the Philistines,
    I will leave you to perish without an inhabitant!
6 You shall become fields for shepherds,
    and folds for flocks.
7 The 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.

8 I have heard the taunts uttered by Moab,
    and the insults of the Ammonites,[d]
When they taunted my people
    and made boasts against their territory.(C)
9 Therefore, 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.
10 This will be the recompense for their pride,
    because they taunted and boasted against
    the people of the Lord of hosts.
11 The 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.

12 You too, O Cushites,[e]
    shall be slain by the sword of the Lord.(D)
13 He will stretch out his hand against the north,
    to destroy Assyria;
He will make Nineveh a waste,
    dry as the desert.(E)
14 In 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.(F)
15 Is this the exultant city[f]
    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!

Footnotes

  1. 2:1–3 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.
  2. 2:4 Gaza…Ashkelon…Ashdod…Ekron: cities of the Philistine confederation.
  3. 2:5 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.
  4. 2:8 Moab…Ammonites: Judah’s neighbors to the East across the Jordan.
  5. 2:12 Cushites: the Ethiopians, who had ruled Egypt a generation before Zephaniah’s career.
  6. 2:15 The exultant city: Nineveh. Hiss, and shake their fists: gestures of derision.
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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

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
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Zephaniah 1
Zephaniah 3
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New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)

Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

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