Zephaniah 2
1 Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation that has no shame;
Be ye gathered and closely joined together, O unchastened nation;
2 before the decree bring forth, before the day passes as the chaff, before the fierce anger of Jehovah comes upon you, before the day of Jehovah's anger comes upon you.
before ye become as the flower that passes away, before the anger of the Lord come upon you, before the day of the wrath of the Lord come upon you.
3 Seek ye Jehovah, all ye meek of the earth who have kept his ordinances. Seek righteousness, seek meekness. It may be ye will be hid in the day of Jehovah's anger.
Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth; do judgment, and seek justice, and answer accordingly; that ye may be hid in the day of the wrath of the Lord.
4 For Gaza shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon a desolation. They shall drive out Ashdod at noonday, and Ekron shall be rooted up.
For Gaza shall be utterly spoiled, and Ascalon shall be destroyed; and Azotus shall be cast forth at noon-day, and Accaron shall be rooted up.
5 Woe to the inhabitants of the seacoast, the nation of the Cherethites! The word of Jehovah is against you, O Canaan, the land of the Philistines. I will destroy thee, that there shall be no inhabitant.
Woe to them that dwell on the border of the sea, neighbours of the Cretans! the word of the Lord is against you, O Chanaan, land of the Philistines, and I will destroy you out of [your] dwelling-place.
6 And the seacoast shall be pastures, with cottages for shepherds and folds for flocks.
And Crete shall be a pasture of flocks, and a fold of sheep.
7 And the coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Judah. They shall feed their flocks upon it. In the houses of Ashkelon they shall lie down in the evening. For Jehovah their God will visit them, and bring back their captivity.
And the sea cost shall be for the remnant of the house of Juda; they shall pasture upon them in the houses of Ascalon; they shall rest in the evening because of the children of Juda; for the Lord their God has visited them, and he will turn away their captivity.
8 I have heard the reproach of Moab, and the revilings of the sons of Ammon, with which they have reproached my people, and magnified themselves against their border.
I have heard the revilings of Moab, and the insults of the children of Ammon, wherewith they have reviled my people, and magnified themselves against my coasts.
9 Therefore as I live, says Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, Surely Moab shall be as Sodom, and the sons of Ammon as Gomorrah, a possession of nettles, and salt pits, and a perpetual desolation. The residue of my people shall make a prey of them, and the remnant of my nation shall inherit them.
Therefore, [as] I live, saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Moab shall be as Sodoma, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrha; and Damascus [shall be] left as a heap of the threshing-floor, and desolate for ever: and the remnant of my people shall plunder them, and the remnant of my nations shall inherit them.
10 They shall have this for their pride, because they have reproached and magnified themselves against the people of Jehovah of hosts.
This is their punishment in return for their haughtiness, because they have reproached and magnified themselves against the Lord Almighty.
11 Jehovah will be terrible to them, for he will famish all the gods of the earth. And men shall worship him, everyone from his place, even all the isles of the nations.
The Lord shall appear against them, and shall utterly destroy all the gods of the nations of the earth; and they shall worship him every one from his place, [even] all the islands of the nations.
12 Ye Ethiopians also, ye shall be slain by my sword.
Ye Ethiopians also are the slain of my sword.
13 And he will stretch out his hand against the north, and destroy Assyria, and will make Nineveh a desolation, and dry like the wilderness.
And he shall stretch forth his hand against the north and destroy the Assyrian, and make Nineve a dry wilderness, [even] as a desert.
14 And herds shall lie down in the midst of her. All the beasts of the nations, both the pelican and the porcupine shall lodge in the capitals of it. Their voice shall sing in the windows. Desolation shall be in the thresholds. For he has laid bare the cedar work.
And flocks, and all the wild beasts of the land, and chameleons shall feed in the midst thereof: and hedgehogs shall lodge in the ceilings thereof; and wild beasts shall cry in the breaches thereof, and ravens in her porches, whereas her loftiness was [as] as cedar.
15 This is the joyous city that dwelt carelessly, that said in her heart, I am, and there is none besides me. How she has become a desolation, a place for beasts to lie down in! Everyone who passes by her shall hiss, and wag his hand.
