Sophonias 2
1 Be ye gathered and closely joined together, O unchastened nation;
Rally yourselves together and gather, unashamed nation—
2 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.
before the decree takes effect and that day passes like the chaff, before the fierce anger of Yahweh's wrath comes upon you, before the day of the wrath of Yahweh comes upon you.
3 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.
Seek Yahweh, all you humble people on earth who obey his decrees! Seek righteousness. Seek humility, and perhaps you will be protected in the day of Yahweh's wrath.
4 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.
For Gaza will be abandoned, and Ashkelon will turn into a devastation. They will drive out Ashdod at noon, and they will uproot Ekron!
5 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.
Woe to the inhabitants of the seacoast, the nation of the Kerethites! Yahweh has spoken against you, Canaan, land of the Philistines. I will destroy you until no inhabitant remains.
6 And Crete shall be a pasture of flocks, and a fold of sheep.
So the seacoast will become pastures for shepherds and for sheep pens.
7 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.
The coastal region will belong to the remnant of the house of Judah, who will shepherd their flocks there. Their people will lie down in the evening in the houses of Ashkelon, for Yahweh their God will care for them and restore their fortunes.
8 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.
“I have heard the taunts of Moab and the reviling of the people of Ammon when they taunted my people and violated their borders.
9 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.
Therefore, as I live—this is the declaration of Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel— Moab will become like Sodom, and the people of Ammon like Gomorrah; a place of nettles and a salt pit, deserted forever. But the remnant of my people will plunder them, and the remainder of my nation will take possession of them.”
10 This is their punishment in return for their haughtiness, because they have reproached and magnified themselves against the Lord Almighty.
This will happen to Moab and Ammon because of their pride, since they taunted and mocked the people of Yahweh of hosts.
11 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.
Then they will fear Yahweh, for he will taunt all the gods of the earth. Everyone will worship him, everyone from his own place, from every seashore.
12 Ye Ethiopians also are the slain of my sword.
You Cushites also will be pierced by my sword,
13 And he shall stretch forth his hand against the north and destroy the Assyrian, and make Nineve a dry wilderness, [even] as a desert.
and God's hand will attack the north and destroy Assyria, so that Nineveh will become an abandoned devastation, as dry as the desert.
14 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.
Then herds will lie down there, every animal of the nations, both the desert owl and the screech owl will rest in the top of her columns. A call will sing out from the windows; rubble will be in the doorways; her carved cedar beams will be exposed.
This is the exultant city that lived without fear, that said in her heart, “I am, and nothing is my equal.” How she has become a horror, a place for beasts to lie down in. Everyone that passes by her will hiss and shake his fist at her.
