Zephaniah 2
New International Reader's Version
The Lord Will Judge Judah and Jerusalem Along With the Nations
God Calls Judah to Turn Away From Their Sins
2 Gather together,
you shameful nation of Judah!
Gather yourselves together!
2 Come together before the Lord’s judgment arrives.
The day of the Lord’s judgment will sweep in
like straw blown by the wind.
Soon the Lord’s great anger will come against you.
The day of his wrath will come against you.
3 So look to him, all you people in the land
who worship him faithfully.
You always do what he commands you to do.
Continue to do what is right.
Don’t be proud.
Then perhaps the Lord will keep you safe
on the day he pours out his anger on the world.
A Message About Philistia
4 Gaza will be deserted.
Ashkelon will be destroyed.
Ashdod will be emptied out at noon.
Ekron will be pulled up by its roots.
5 How terrible it will be for you Kerethites
who live by the Mediterranean Sea!
Philistia, the Lord has spoken against you.
What happened to Canaan will happen to you.
The Lord says, “I will destroy you.
No one will be left.”
6 The land by the sea will become grasslands.
It will have wells for shepherds and pens for flocks.
7 That land will belong to those who are still left alive
among the people of Judah.
They will find grasslands there.
They will take over
the houses in Ashkelon and live in them.
The Lord their God will take care of them.
He will bless them with great success again.
A Message About Moab and Ammon
8 The Lord says,
“I have heard Moab make fun of my people.
The Ammonites also laughed at them.
They told them that bad things
would happen to their land.
9 So Moab will become like Sodom,”
announces the Lord who rules over all.
“Ammon will be like Gomorrah.
Weeds and salt pits will cover those countries.
They will be dry and empty deserts forever.
Those who are still left alive among my people
will take all their valuable things.
So they will receive those lands as their own.
And that is just as sure as I am alive.”
The Lord is the God of Israel.
10 Moab and Ammon will be judged
because they are so proud.
They made fun of the Lord’s people.
They laughed at them.
11 The Lord who rules over all will terrify Moab and Ammon.
He will destroy all the gods on earth.
Then distant nations will bow down to him.
All of them will serve him in their own lands.
A Message About Cush
12 The Lord says, “People of Cush,
you too will die by my sword.”
A Message About Assyria
13 The Lord will reach out his powerful hand against the north.
He will destroy Assyria.
He’ll leave Nineveh totally empty.
It will be as dry as a desert.
14 Flocks and herds will lie down there.
So will creatures of every kind.
Desert owls and screech owls
will rest on its pillars.
The sound of their hooting will echo through the windows.
The doorways will be full of trash.
The cedar beams will be showing.
15 Nineveh was a carefree city.
It lived in safety.
It said to itself,
“I am the one!
No one is greater than I am.”
But it has been destroyed.
Wild animals make their home there.
All those who pass by laugh
and shake their fists at it.
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
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