Zephaniah 2

1 Collect your thoughts, aye collect them, —O nation, depressed!

Be ashamed within yourselves, be ashamed,

2 Ere yet the decree, have given birth, like chaff, the day, have vanished, —ere yet shall come upon you, the glow of the anger of Yahweh, ere yet shall come upon you, the day of the anger of Yahweh.

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 Yahweh—all ye lowly of the land, who have wrought, what he appointed, —seek righteousness, seek humility, peradventure, ye shall be concealed, in the day of the anger of Yahweh?

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, forsaken, shall be, and, Ashkelon, a desolation, —Ashdod! at high noon, shall they drive her forth, and, Ekron, be uprooted:

For Gaza will be forsaken; Ashkelon a desolation; Ashdod – by noon will they rout her and Ekron be torn up!

5 Alas! for the inhabitants of the line of the sea, the nation of Kerethim, —The word of Yahweh, is against you, O Canaan of the land of the Philistines, therefore will I destroy thee, to the last inhabitant.

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 So shall the line of the sea become a meadow, the wells of shepherds, and the folds of flocks;

and you will become shepherds’ cots and folds for flocks.

7 And the line shall belong to the remnant of the house of Judah, Thereon, shall they feed their flocks, —In the houses of Ashkelon, shall they, at eventide, lie down, for Yahweh their God will visit them, and bring their captives back.

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 reproach of Moab, and the revilings of the sons of Ammon, —who have reproached my people, and have magnified themselves up to their bounds.

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 Wherefore, as I live, declareth Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, Surely, Moab, like Sodom, shall become, and, the sons of Ammon, like Gomorrah, a possession for the thorn, and a pit of salt, Yea a desolation, unto times age-abiding: The remnant of my people, shall make of them a prey, and, the residue of my nation, 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, shall they have, instead of their pride, —because they reproached and magnified themselves against the people of Yahweh of hosts.

This will they have for their pride, because they have taunted and spoken boastfully against the people of the Lord of hosts.

11 Terrible will Yahweh be against them, for he hath caused to waste away all the gods of the earth, that men may bow down to him, every one from his place, all the coastlands 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 Even ye Ethiopians, the slain of my sword were they!

You, also, Ethiopians, slain by his sword are you!

13 And may he stretch out his hand against the North, and destroy Assyria, —and may he make of Nineveh a desolation, dry as the 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 So shall lie down in her midst—flocks, each living thing of a nation, both pelican and bittern, in her capitals, shall roost, —a voice, shall resound in the window, the bustard, on the sill, for he hath destroyed, hath laid bare.

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.

15 This, is the city exultant, that sat secure, that said in her heart, I, [am]! and no one besides! How hath she become a desolation! a lair of beasts, every one passing, by her doth hiss, shaketh his hand.

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.