Zephaniah 2
1 Come together, yes, gather together, you worthless nation—
Be you gathered and closely joined together, O unchastened nation;
2 before the decree is issued, before you wither and die like a flower, before the burning anger of the Lord falls on you, before the day of the Lord's anger comes on you.
before you 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 Look to the Lord, all you people of the land who are humble and who follow his commands. Look to do what is right; look to live in humility. Perhaps you will be protected on the day of the Lord's anger.
Seek you the Lord, all you meek of the earth; do judgment, and seek justice, and answer accordingly; that you may be hid in the day of the wrath of the Lord.
4 Gaza will be abandoned, Ashkelon will become desolate, Ashdod will be emptied by noon, Ekron will be ripped 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 What disaster is coming to you Philistines, you sea-people who live along the coast and in the land of Canaan! The Lord has passed judgment on you. I will destroy you—there will be no survivors.
Woe to them that dwell on the border of the sea, neighbors 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 Your seacoast will become pastures, with meadows for shepherds and sheep pens for flocks.
And Crete shall be a pasture of flocks, and a fold of sheep.
7 It will belong to those who remain of the people of Judah. They will graze their flocks there, and the shepherds will sleep in the abandoned houses of Ashkelon. For the Lord their God will be with them and make them prosperous again.
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 mocking taunts of the Moabites and the scornful derision of the Ammonites who have insulted my people and made threats against their territory.
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 Consequently, as I live, declares the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, the Moabites will become like Sodom, and the Ammonites like Gomorrah. Their land will become a place of weeds and salt pits and ruins forever. Those who remain of my people will plunder them and occupy their land.
Therefore, [as] I live, says 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 This is what they will receive for their pride because they mocked and threatened the people of the Lord Almighty.
This is their punishment in return for their haughtiness, because they have reproached and magnified themselves against the Lord Almighty.
11 The Lord will make them terribly afraid as he starves to death all the gods of the land. Every nation will worship the Lord wherever they are—all around the world.
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 You Ethiopians will be killed by the sword.
You Ethiopians also are the slain of my sword.
13 The Lord will strike the Assyrians in the north and destroy them. He will make Nineveh desolate, a dry wasteland like the desert.
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 Herds will lie down in the middle of the city. It will become the home for every kind of wild animal. Eagle owls and screech owls will roost on its columns. Their calls will echo through the windows. Rubble will block the doors, and the cedar woodwork will be exposed.
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 what will happen to this triumphant city that thought it was so secure. “Look at me!” it said proudly to itself. “There is no city as great as me!” But it has become a desolate place—just a home for wild animals. Everyone who passes by will point their finger and laugh in derision.
