Zephaniah 2
1 Rally yourselves together and gather, unashamed nation—
You people [of Judah] who ought to be ashamed, gather together [DOU].
2 before the decree takes effect and that day passes like the chaff, before the fierce anger of Yahweh's wrath comes upon you, before the day of the wrath of Yahweh comes upon you.
Yahweh is extremely angry with you, [so gather together now], before it is time for him to punish [MTY] you and blow you away like [SIM] [the wind blows away] chaff.
3 Seek Yahweh, all you humble people on earth who obey his decrees! Seek righteousness. Seek humility, and perhaps you will be protected in the day of Yahweh's wrath.
All you people in Judah who are humble, worship Yahweh, and obey what he has commanded. Try to do what is right and to be humble. [If you do that], perhaps Yahweh will protect/spare you on the day when he punishes [MTY] people.
4 For Gaza will be abandoned, and Ashkelon will turn into a devastation. They will drive out Ashdod at noon, and they will uproot Ekron!
[When Yahweh punishes Philistia], Gaza and Ashkelon [cities] will be deserted/abandoned. Ashdod [city] will be attacked and the people expelled at noon [when people are resting]; the [people of Ekron city] will [also] be driven out.
5 Woe to the inhabitants of the seacoast, the nation of the Kerethites! Yahweh has spoken against you, Canaan, land of the Philistines. I will destroy you until no inhabitant remains.
And terrible things will happen to you people of Philistia who live near the sea, because Yahweh has decided [MTY] that he will punish [MTY] you, [also]. He will get rid of all of you; not one person will (survive/remain alive).
6 So the seacoast will become pastures for shepherds and for sheep pens.
The land [of Philistia] near the sea will become a pasture, a place for shepherds and their sheep pens.
7 The coastal region will belong to the remnant of the house of Judah, who will shepherd their flocks there. Their people will lie down in the evening in the houses of Ashkelon, for Yahweh their God will care for them and restore their fortunes.
The people of Judah who (survive/are still alive) will possess that land. At night they will sleep in the [deserted] houses in Ashkelon. Yahweh will take care of them; he will enable them to prosper again.
8 “I have heard the taunts of Moab and the reviling of the people of Ammon when they taunted my people and violated their borders.
The Commander of the armies of angels, the God to whom [we] Israeli people [belong], says [this]: “I have heard the people of Moab and Ammon when they insulted [DOU] my people, and when they said that they would conquer my people’s country.
9 Therefore, as I live—this is the declaration of Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel— Moab will become like Sodom, and the people of Ammon like Gomorrah; a place of nettles and a salt pit, deserted forever. But the remnant of my people will plunder them, and the remainder of my nation will take possession of them.”
So now, [as surely] as I live, [I will destroy] Moab and Ammon like [SIM] [I destroyed] Gomorrah [city]. Their land will be a place were there are nettles and salt pits; it will be ruined forever. My Israeli people who survive will take away all their valuable possessions and [also] occupy their land.”
10 This will happen to Moab and Ammon because of their pride, since they taunted and mocked the people of Yahweh of hosts.
The people of Moab and Ammon will get what they deserve for being proud, because they made fun of the people who belong to the Commander of the armies of angels.
11 Then they will fear Yahweh, for he will taunt all the gods of the earth. Everyone will worship him, everyone from his own place, from every seashore.
Yahweh will cause them to be terrified [when] he destroys all the gods of their countries. Then [even the people who live on] islands throughout the world will worship Yahweh, each in their own countries.
12 You Cushites also will be pierced by my sword,
[Yahweh says that] he will also slaughter the people of Ethiopia.
13 and God's hand will attack the north and destroy Assyria, so that Nineveh will become an abandoned devastation, as dry as the desert.
Yahweh will punish [IDM] and destroy Assyria, [that land] northeast of us. He will cause [its capital] Nineveh to become ruined and deserted, a place that will be as dry as the desert.
14 Then herds will lie down there, every animal of the nations, both the desert owl and the screech owl will rest in the top of her columns. A call will sing out from the windows; rubble will be in the doorways; her carved cedar beams will be exposed.
[Flocks of sheep and] herds [of cattle] and many kinds of wild animals will lie down there. Owls and crows will sit on the columns/pillars [of the destroyed buildings], and they will (hoot/cry out) through the windows. There will be rubble in the doorways, and the [valuable] cedar boards will be taken [from the ruined houses].
15 This is the exultant city that lived without fear, that said in her heart, “I am, and nothing is my equal.” How she has become a horror, a place for beasts to lie down in. Everyone that passes by her will hiss and shake his fist at her.
[The people of] Nineveh were [previously] happy and proud, thinking that they were very safe. They were [always] saying, “Our city is the greatest city; there is no city as great as ours!” But now it will become a ruins, a place where wild animals make their dens. And everyone who passes by there will hiss [and scorn/ridicule that city], and shake their fists [to show that they detest that city very much].
