Sophonias 2
1 Be you gathered and closely joined together, O unchastened nation;
Be ashamed within yourselves, be ashamed,
2 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.
before you become as the drifting chaff, before the anger of the Lord comes upon you, before the day of the Lord’s wrath comes upon you.
3 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.
Seek the Lord all you meek of the earth, you who obey his law; Seek righteousness, seek meekness; perhaps you may be hidden in the day of the Lord’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 forsaken; Ashkelon a desolation; Ashdod – by noon will they rout her and Ekron be torn up!
5 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.
Woe to those who live by the sea coast, people of the Cherethites! The word of the Lord is against you, Canaan, land of the Philistines! I will destroy you so that you will be without inhabitants,
6 And Crete shall be a pasture of flocks, and a fold of sheep.
and you will become shepherds’ cots and folds for flocks.
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 sea coast will belong to the survivors of the house of Judah. They will pasture their flocks there. In the house of Ashkelon they will lie down at evening. The Lord their God will be with 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 revilings of the Ammonites, how they have taunted my people, and spoken boastfully concerning their border.
9 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.
Therefore as I live, says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Moab will be like Sodom, and the Ammonites like Gomorrah, a pile of nettles and saltpits, and a desolation, forever. The residue of my people will plunder them, and the survivors of my nation will inherit them.
10 This is their punishment in return for their haughtiness, because they have reproached and magnified themselves against the Lord Almighty.
This will they have for their pride, because they have taunted and spoken boastfully against the people of the Lord 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.
The Lord will terrify them; he will reduce all the gods of the earth; then all the peoples of the nations will worship him, each in their own land.
12 You Ethiopians also are the slain of my sword.
You, also, Ethiopians, slain by his sword are you!
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 he will stretch out his hand against the north and destroy Assyria; And he will make Nineveh a desolation, dry as the wilderness.
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.
Herds will lie down in it, every beast of the earth, Desert owl and screech owl will lodge in its capitals. The owl will hoot in the window, the raven on the doorstep, all stripped bare of cedar.
This is the exultant city which sat secure. The city who said to herself, I am and there is none else! How has she become a desolation! A lair of beasts! Every passerby hisses at her, shakes their hand.
