Zephaniah 2
1 Come ye togidere, be gaderid, ye folc not worthi to be loued,
Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation without desire [for repentance];
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 is brought forth—like the chaff the day passeth away—before yet there be come over you the fierce anger of the Lord, before yet there be come over you the day of the anger of the Lord.
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 ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, who have fulfilled his ordinances; seek righteousness, seek meekness: perhaps ye will be protected 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 Gazzah shall become forsaken, and Ashkelon a desolate place: Ashdod shall they drive out at the noon of day, and Ekron shall be rooted up.
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 unto the inhabitants of the district by the sea, the nation of the Kerethites! the word of the Lord is against you, O Canaan, the land of the Philistines, I will even destroy thee, that no inhabitant shall remain.
6 and the litil part of the see schal be reste of scheepherdis, and foldis of scheep.
And the district by the sea shall become places for pens of shepherds, and folds for flocks.
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.
And this district shall be for the remnant of the house of Judah; thereupon shall they feed their flocks: in the houses of Ashkelon shall they lie down in the evening; for the Lord their God will think of them, and bring back their captivity.
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 revilings of the children of 'Ammon, wherewith they have reproached my people, and made themselves great against their border.
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 I live, saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Surely Moab shall become like Sodom, and the children of 'Ammon like Gomorrah, overgrown with nettles, and [filled with] salt-pits, and a desolation to eternity; the residue of my people shall plunder them, and the remnant of my nation shall possess 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 shall they have in recompense for their pride; because they have reproached and made themselves great against 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.
Terrible will the Lord [appear] over them; for he will cause to vanish all the gods of the earth; and then shall prostrate themselves before him, every one from its place, all the isles of the nations.
12 But and ye, Ethiopiens, schulen be slayn bi my swerd.
Also ye Ethiopians shall be those 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; and he will make Nineveh a desolate place, dry, like the wilderness.
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.
And there shall lie down in the midst of her flocks, all the beasts of the nations; both the pelican and the hedgehog shall lodge in the capitals of her columns; singing-birds shall sing in the windows; ruin shall be on the thresholds; for the cedar wainscoting shall be torn away.
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 is the joyful city that dwelt in security, that said in her heart, I am, and there is none else beside me: how is she become desolate, a resting-place for beasts! every one that passeth by her will hiss, and shake his hand.
