Zephaniah 2:13

13 He will also stretch out His hand against the north and destroy Assyria; He will make Nineveh a desolate ruin, dry as the desert.

Zephaniah 2:13 Meaning and Commentary

Zephaniah 2:13

And he will stretch out his hand against the north
Either the Lord, or Nebuchadnezzar his sword; who, as he would subdue the nations that lay southward, he would lead his army northward against the land of Assyria, which lay to the north of Judea, as next explained: and destroy Assyria;
that famous monarchy, which had ruled over the kingdoms of the earth, now should come to an end, and be reduced to subjection to the king of Babylon: and will make Nineveh a desolation;
which was the capital city, the metropolis of the Assyrian monarchy: Nahum prophesies at large of the destruction of this city: [and] dry like a wilderness;
which before was a very watery place, situated by rivers, particularly the river Tigris; so that it was formerly like a pool of water, ( Nahum 2:6 Nahum 2:8 ) but now should be dry like a heath or desert, Dr. Prideaux places the destruction of Nineveh in the twenty ninth year of Josiah's reign; but Bishop Usher earlier, in the sixteenth year of his reign; and, if so, then Zephaniah, who here prophesies of it, must begin to prophesy in the former part of Josiah's reign.

Zephaniah 2:13 In-Context

11 The Lord will be terrifying to them when He starves all the gods of the earth. Then all the distant coastlands of the nations will bow in worship to Him, each in its own place.

12 You Cushites will also be slain by My sword.

13 He will also stretch out His hand against the north and destroy Assyria; He will make Nineveh a desolate ruin, dry as the desert.

14 Herds will lie down in the middle of it, every kind of wild animal. Both the desert owl and the screech owl will roost in the capitals of its pillars. [Their] calls will sound from the window, but devastation will be on the threshold, for He will expose the cedar work.

15 This is the self-assured city that lives in security, that thinks to herself: I am, and there is no one besides me. What a desolation she has become, a place for wild animals to lie down! Everyone who passes by her jeers and shakes his fist.