Zephaniah 2

1 Search yourselves; yea, search, O nation without shame!

Assemble yourselves together, be gathered together, O nation not worthy to be loved:

2 Before the decree bring forth, Before the day come upon you like chaff; Before the fierce anger of Jehovah come upon you, Before the day of the anger of Jehovah come upon you.

Before the decree bring forth the day as dust passing away, before the fierce anger of the Lord come upon you, before the day of the Lord’s indignation come upon you.

3 Seek ye Jehovah, all ye lowly of the land, Ye, who obey his commands! Seek righteousness; seek lowliness; It may be that ye shall be hid in the day of the anger of Jehovah.

Seek the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, you that have wrought his judgment: seek the just, seek the meek: if by any means you may be hid in the day of the Lord’s indignation.

4 For Gaza shall be forsaken, And Askelon a desolation; Ashdod shall be driven out at noonday, And Ekron shall be rooted up.

For Gaza shall be destroyed, and Ascalon shall be a desert, they shall cast out Azotus at noonday, and Accaron shall be rooted up.

5 Woe to the inhabitants of the sea-coasts, the nation of the Cherethites! This is the word of Jehovah against you, O Canaan, land of the Philistines: “I will destroy thee, that there shall be no inhabitant.”

Woe to you that inhabit the sea coast, O nation of reprobates: the word of the Lord upon you, O Chanaan, the land of the Philistines, and I will destroy thee, so that there shall not be an inhabitant.

6 And the sea-coast shall be pastures full of habitations for shepherds, and folds for flocks.

And the sea coast shall be the resting place of shepherds, and folds for cattle:

7 The coast shall be for the residue of the house of Judah; Thereon shall they feed; In the houses of Askelon shall they lie down in the evening; For Jehovah their God will look upon them, and bring back their captives.

And it shall be the portion of him that shall remain of the house of Juda, there they shall feed: in the houses of Ascalon they shall rest in the evening: because the Lord their God will visit them, and bring back 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 exalted themselves against their borders.

I have heard the reproach of Moab, and the blasphemies of the children of Ammon, with which they reproached my people, and have magnified themselves upon their borders.

9 Therefore, as I live, saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, Moab shall be as Sodom, And the sons of Ammon as Gomorrah, A possession for thorns, and a pit for salt, and a perpetual desolation. The residue of my people shall spoil them, And the remainder of my nation shall possess them.

Therefore as I live, saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel, Moab shall be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrha, the dryness of thorns, and heaps of salt, and a desert even for ever: the remnant of my people shall make a spoil of them, and the residue of my nation shall possess them.

10 This shall come upon them for their pride, Because they have uttered reproaches, and exalted themselves against the people of Jehovah of hosts.

This shall befall them for their pride: because they have blasphemed, and have been magnified against the people of the Lord of hosts.

11 Jehovah will be terrible against them; For he will destroy all the gods of the earth; And before him shall worship, every one from his place, All the islands of the nations.

The Lord shall be terrible upon them, and shall consume all the gods of the earth: and they shall adore him every man from his own place, all the islands of the Gentiles.

12 Ye, also, O Ethiopians! Ye shall be slain by my sword!

You Ethiopians, also shall be slain with my sword.

13 He will also stretch out his hand against the North, And destroy Assyria, And make Nineveh a desolation, Even dry like a desert.

And he will stretch out his hand upon the north, and will destroy Assyria: and he will make the beautiful city a wilderness, and as a place not passable, and as a desert.

14 And flocks shall lie down in the midst of her, Yea, all the tribes of wild beasts; The pelican and the hedgehog shall lodge in the capitals of her pillars; A cry shall resound in the window; Desolation shall be upon the threshold; For her cedar-work shall be laid bare.

And flocks shall lie down in the midst thereof, all the beasts of the nations: and the bittern and the urchin shall lodge in the threshold thereof: the voice of the singing bird in the window, the raven on the upper post, for I will consume her strength.

15 This is the rejoicing city that dwelt in security, That said in her heart, “I, and none besides me!” Now is she become a desolation, a resting-place for wild beasts! Every one that passeth by her shall hiss, and wag his hand.

This is the glorious city that dwelt in security: that said in her heart: I am, and there is none beside me: how is she become a desert, a place for beasts to lie down in? every one that passeth by her, shall hiss, and wag his hand.