Zephaniah 2

1 Bend yourselves, yea, bend ye, O nation not desired,

Be ye gathered and closely joined together, O unchastened nation;

2 Before the bringing forth of a statute, As chaff hath the day passed on, While yet not come in upon you doth the heat of the anger of Jehovah, While yet not come in upon you doth a day of the anger of Jehovah,

before ye become as the flower that passes away, before the anger of the Lord come upon you, before the day of the wrath of the Lord come upon you.

3 Seek Jehovah, all ye humble of the land, Who His judgment have done, Seek ye righteousness, seek humility, It may be ye are hidden in a day of the anger of Jehovah.

Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth; do judgment, and seek justice, and answer accordingly; that ye may be hid in the day of the wrath of the Lord.

4 For Gaza is forsaken, And Ashkelon [is] for a desolation, Ashdod! at noon they do cast her forth, And Ekron is rooted up.

For Gaza shall be utterly spoiled, and Ascalon shall be destroyed; and Azotus shall be cast forth at noon-day, and Accaron shall be rooted up.

5 Ho! O inhabitants of the sea-coast, Nation of the Cherethites, A word of Jehovah [is] against you, Canaan, land of the Philistines, And I have destroyed thee without an inhabitant.

Woe to them that dwell on the border of the sea, neighbours of the Cretans! the word of the Lord is against you, O Chanaan, land of the Philistines, and I will destroy you out of [your] dwelling-place.

6 And the sea-coast hath been habitations, Cottages [for] shepherds, and folds [for] a flock.

And Crete shall be a pasture of flocks, and a fold of sheep.

7 And the coast hath been for the remnant of the house of Judah, By them they have pleasure, In houses of Ashkelon at even they lie down, For inspect them doth Jehovah their God, And He hath turned back [to] their captivity.

And the sea cost shall be for the remnant of the house of Juda; they shall pasture upon them in the houses of Ascalon; they shall rest in the evening because of the children of Juda; for the Lord their God has visited them, and he will turn away their captivity.

8 I have heard the reproach of Moab, And the revilings of the sons of Ammon, Wherewith they reproached My people, And magnify [themselves] against their border.

I have heard the revilings of Moab, and the insults of the children of Ammon, wherewith they have reviled my people, and magnified themselves against my coasts.

9 Therefore, I live, An affirmation of Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel, Surely, Moab is as Sodom, And the sons of Ammon as Gomorrah, An overrunning of nettles and salt-pits, And a desolation — unto the age. A residue of My people do seize them, And a remnant of My nation inherit them.

Therefore, [as] I live, saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Moab shall be as Sodoma, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrha; and Damascus [shall be] left as a heap of the threshing-floor, and desolate for ever: and the remnant of my people shall plunder them, and the remnant of my nations shall inherit them.

10 This [is] to them for their arrogancy, Because they have reproached, And they magnify [themselves] against the people of Jehovah of Hosts.

This is their punishment in return for their haughtiness, because they have reproached and magnified themselves against the Lord Almighty.

11 Fearful [is] Jehovah against them, For He made bare all gods of the land, And bow themselves to Him, each from his place, Do all islanders of the nations.

The Lord shall appear against them, and shall utterly destroy all the gods of the nations of the earth; and they shall worship him every one from his place, [even] all the islands of the nations.

12 Also ye, O Cushim, pierced of My sword [are] they.

Ye Ethiopians also are the slain of my sword.

13 And He stretcheth His hand against the north, And doth destroy Asshur, And he setteth Nineveh for a desolation, A dry land like a wilderness.

And he shall stretch forth his hand against the north and destroy the Assyrian, and make Nineve a dry wilderness, [even] as a desert.

14 And crouched in her midst have droves, Every beast of the nation, Both pelican and hedge-hog in her knobs lodge, A voice doth sing at the window, 'Destruction [is] at the threshold, For the cedar-work is exposed.'

And flocks, and all the wild beasts of the land, and chameleons shall feed in the midst thereof: and hedgehogs shall lodge in the ceilings thereof; and wild beasts shall cry in the breaches thereof, and ravens in her porches, whereas her loftiness was [as] as cedar.

15 This [is] the exulting city that is dwelling confidently, That is saying in her heart, 'I [am], and beside me there is none,' How hath she been for a desolation, A crouching-place for beasts, Every one passing by her doth hiss, He doth shake his hand!