< Zephaniah 2 >

1 Come ye togidere, be gaderid, ye folc not worthi to be loued,
Gather yourselves, gather together, O shameful nation,
2 bifore that comaundyng brynge forth as dust passyng dai; bifore that wraththe of strong veniaunce of the Lord come on you, bifor that the dai of his indignacioun come on you.
before the decree takes effect and the day passes like chaff, before the burning anger of the LORD comes upon you, before the Day of the LORD’s anger comes upon you.
3 Alle myelde men of erthe, seke ye the Lord, whiche han wrouyt the doom of hym; seke ye the iust, seke ye the mylde, if ony maner ye be hid in the dai of strong veniaunce of the Lord.
Seek the LORD, all you humble of the earth who carry out His justice. Seek righteousness; seek humility. Perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the LORD’s anger.
4 For Gasa schal be distried, and Ascalon schal be in to desert; thei schulen caste out Azotus in myddai, and Accaron schal be drawun out bi the root.
For Gaza will be abandoned, and Ashkelon left in ruins. Ashdod will be driven out at noon, and Ekron will be uprooted.
5 Wo to you that dwellen in the litil part of the see, a folc of loste men. The word of the Lord on you, Canaan, the lond of Filisteis, and Y schal distrie thee, so that a dwellere be not;
Woe to the dwellers of the seacoast, O nation of the Cherethites! The word of the LORD is against you, O Canaan, land of the Philistines: “I will destroy you, and no one will be left.”
6 and the litil part of the see schal be reste of scheepherdis, and foldis of scheep.
So the seacoast will become a land of pastures, with wells for shepherds and folds for sheep.
7 And it schal be a litil part of hym, that schal be left of the hous of Juda, there thei schulen be fed in the housis of Ascalon; at euentid thei schulen reste, for the Lord God of hem schal visite hem, and schal turne awei the caitifte of hem.
The coast will belong to the remnant of the house of Judah; there they will find pasture. They will lie down in the evening among the houses of Ashkelon, for the LORD their God will attend to them and restore their captives.
8 Y herde the schenschip of Moab, and blasfemyes of sones of Amon, whiche thei seiden schentfuli to my puple, and thei weren magnefied on the termes of hem.
“I have heard the reproach of Moab and the insults of the Ammonites, who have taunted My people and threatened their borders.
9 Therfor Y lyue, seith the Lord of oostis, God of Israel, for Moab schal be as Sodom, and the sones of Amon as Gomorre; drynesse of thornes, and hepis of salt, and desert, til in to withouten ende. The relifs of my puple schulen rauysche hem, the residues of my folc schulen welde hem.
Therefore, as surely as I live,” declares the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, “surely Moab will be like Sodom and the Ammonites like Gomorrah— a place of weeds and salt pits, a perpetual wasteland. The remnant of My people will plunder them; the remainder of My nation will dispossess them.”
10 Sotheli this thing schal come to hem for her pride, for thei blasfemeden, and weren magnefied on the puple of the Lord of oostis.
This they shall have in return for their pride, for taunting and mocking the people of the LORD of Hosts.
11 The Lord schal be orible on hem, and he schal make feble alle goddis of erthe; and men of her place schulen worschipe hym, alle the ilis of hethene men.
The LORD will be terrifying to them when He starves all the gods of the earth. Then the nations of every shore will bow in worship to Him, each in its own place.
12 But and ye, Ethiopiens, schulen be slayn bi my swerd.
“You too, O Cushites, will be slain by My sword.”
13 And he schal stretche forth his hond on the north, and schal leese Assur; and he schal putte the feir citee Nynyue in to wildirnesse, and into with out weie, and as desert.
And He will stretch out His hand against the north and destroy Assyria; He will make Nineveh a desolation, as dry as a desert.
14 And flockis, and alle the beestis of folkis, schulen ligge in the myddil therof; and onacratalus, and irchun schulen dwelle in threshfoldis therof; vois of the syngynge in wyndow, and crow in the lyntil, for Y schal make thinne the strengthe therof.
Herds will lie down in her midst, creatures of every kind. Both the desert owl and screech owl will roost atop her pillars. Their calls will sound from the window, but desolation will lie on the threshold, for He will expose the beams of cedar.
15 This is the gloriouse citee dwellynge in trist, which seide in hir herte, Y am, and ther is noon other more withouten me. Hou is it maad vnto desert, a couche of beeste; ech man that schal passe bi it, schal hisse, and schal moue his hond.
This carefree city that dwells securely, that thinks to herself: “I am it, and there is none besides me,” what a ruin she has become, a resting place for beasts. Everyone who passes by her hisses and shakes his fist.

< Zephaniah 2 >