Zephaniah 2

1 Gather your selues, euen gather you, O nation not worthie to be loued,

Assemble, be gathered together, O people not worthy to be loved.

2 Before the decree come foorth, and ye be as chaffe that passeth in a day, and before the fierce wrath of the Lord come vpon you, and before the day of the Lords anger come vpon you.

Until the decree settles accounts, the day like dust is passing away, before which the wrath of the fury of the Lord may overcome you, before which the day of the anger of the Lord may overcome you.

3 Seeke yee the Lord all the meeke of the earth, which haue wrought his iudgement: seeke righteousnesse, seeke lowlinesse, if so bee that ye may be hid in the day of the Lords wrath.

Seek the Lord, all you meek of the earth; you who have been working are his judgment. Seek the just, seek the meek. So then, in some way, you might be hidden in the day of the fury of the Lord.

4 For Azzah shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon desolate: they shall driue out Ashdod at the noone day, and Ekron shalbe rooted vp.

For Gaza will be destroyed, and Ashkelon will be in the desert; they will expel Ashdod at midday, and Ekron will be eradicated.

5 Wo vnto the inhabitants of the sea coast. the nation of the Cherethims, the worde of the Lord is against you: O Canaan, the lande of the Philistims, I will euen destroye thee without an inhabitant.

Woe to you who inhabit the coast of the sea, you people of perdition. The word of the Lord is over you, Canaan, the land of the Philistines, and I will disperse you, so that not one inhabitant will be left.

6 And the sea coast shall be dwellings and cotages for shepheardes and sheepefoldes.

And the coastline of the sea will be a resting place for shepherds and a fence line for cattle.

7 And that coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Iudah, to feede thereupon: in the houses of Ashkelon shall they lodge toward night: for the Lord their God shall visite them, and turne away their captiuitie.

And it will be the line of him who will remain from the house of Judah. There they will pasture. In the houses of Ashkelon, they will rest towards evening. For the Lord their God will visit them, and he will turn away their captivity.

8 I haue heard the reproch of Moab, and the rebukes of the children of Ammon, whereby they vpbraided my people, and magnified themselues against their borders.

I have heard about the disgrace of Moab and the blasphemies of the sons of Ammon, by which they have defamed my people and have been magnified beyond their borders.

9 Therefore, as I liue, saith the Lord of hostes, the God of Israel, Surely Moab shall bee as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorah, euen the breeding of nettels and salt pittes, and a perpetuall desolation: the residue of my folke shall spoyle them, and the remnant of my people shall possesse them.

Because of this, as I live, says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Moab will be like Sodom, and the sons of Ammon like Gomorrah, like the dryness of thorns, and piles of salt, and a desert, all the way to eternity. The remnant of my people will despoil them, and the residue of my nation will possess them.

10 This shall they haue for their pride, because they haue reproched and magnified themselues against the Lord of hostes people.

This will come upon them for their arrogance, because they have blasphemed and have been magnified over the people of the Lord of hosts.

11 The Lord will be terrible vnto them: for he wil consume all the gods of the earth, and euery man shall worship him from his place, euen all the yles of the heathen.

The Lord will be a horror over them, and he will reduce all the gods of the earth. And they will adore him, each man from his own place, all the islands of the Gentiles.

12 Ye Morians also shalbe slaine by my sword with them.

Even so, you Ethiopians, you will be executed by my sword.

13 And he wil stretch out his hand against the North, and destroy Asshur, and will make Nineueh desolate, and waste like a wildernesse.

And he will extend his hand over the North, and he will destroy Assur. And he will set the Beautiful in the wilderness, and in an impassable place, and like a desert.

14 And flockes shall lie in the middes of her, and all the beastes of the nations, and the pelicane, and the owle shall abide in the vpper postes of it: the voyce of birdes shall sing in the windowes, and desolations shalbe vpon the postes: for the cedars are vncouered.

And flocks will lie down in its midst, all the beasts of the Gentiles. And the pelican and the hedgehog will stay at its threshold; the voice of the singing bird will be at the window, with the crow above its threshold, for I will diminish her strength.

15 This is the reioycing citie that dwelt carelesse, that said in her heart, I am, and there is none besides me: how is she made waste, and the lodging of the beastes! euery one that passeth by her, shall hisse and wagge his hand.

This is the glorious city, dwelling in trust, which said in her heart, “I am and there is no one other than me.” How has she become a lair for beasts in the desert? All who pass through her will hiss and wag their hand.