Zephaniah 2

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

Assemble, be gathered together, O people not worthy to be loved.

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,

Until the decree settles accounts, the day like dust is passing away, before which the wrath of the fury of the Lord may overcome you, before which the day of the anger of the Lord may overcome 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 the Lord, all you meek of the earth; you who have been working are his judgment. Seek the just, seek the meek. So then, in some way, you might be hidden in the day of the fury 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 will be destroyed, and Ashkelon will be in the desert; they will expel Ashdod at midday, and Ekron will be eradicated.

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 you who inhabit the coast of the sea, you people of perdition. The word of the Lord is over you, Canaan, the land of the Philistines, and I will disperse you, so that not one inhabitant will be left.

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

And the coastline of the sea will be a resting place for shepherds and a fence line for cattle.

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 it will be the line of him who will remain from the house of Judah. There they will pasture. In the houses of Ashkelon, they will rest towards evening. For the Lord their God will visit 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 about the disgrace of Moab and the blasphemies of the sons of Ammon, by which they have defamed my people and have been magnified beyond their borders.

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.

Because of this, as I live, says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Moab will be like Sodom, and the sons of Ammon like Gomorrah, like the dryness of thorns, and piles of salt, and a desert, all the way to eternity. The remnant of my people will despoil them, and the residue of my nation will possess 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 will come upon them for their arrogance, because they have blasphemed and have been magnified over the people of the Lord of hosts.

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 will be a horror over them, and he will reduce all the gods of the earth. And they will adore him, each man from his own place, all the islands of the Gentiles.

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

Even so, you Ethiopians, you will be executed by 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 will extend his hand over the North, and he will destroy Assur. And he will set the Beautiful in the wilderness, and in an impassable place, and like 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 will lie down in its midst, all the beasts of the Gentiles. And the pelican and the hedgehog will stay at its threshold; the voice of the singing bird will be at the window, with the crow above its threshold, for I will diminish her strength.

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!

This is the glorious city, dwelling in trust, which said in her heart, “I am and there is no one other than me.” How has she become a lair for beasts in the desert? All who pass through her will hiss and wag their hand.