Zephaniah 2:3-13

3 All mild, either patient, men of earth, seek ye the Lord, which have wrought the doom of him; seek ye the just, seek ye the mild, if any manner ye be hid in the day of strong vengeance of the Lord. (All meek, or humble, people of the earth, seek ye the Lord, yea, they who have obeyed his commands; seek ye to be just, or to be righteous, seek ye to be meek, or to be humble, so that perhaps ye can be hid on the day of the strong vengeance of the Lord.)

4 For Gaza shall be destroyed, and Ashkelon shall be into desert; they shall cast out Ashdod in midday, and Ekron shall be drawn out by the root. (For Gaza shall be destroyed, and Ashkelon shall be made into a desert, or shall be deserted; they shall throw down Ashdod at midday, and Ekron shall be drawn out by the roots.)

5 Woe to you that dwell in the little part of the sea, a folk of lost men. The word of the Lord on you, Canaan, the land of Philistines, and I shall destroy thee, so that a dweller be not; (Woe to you who live by the sea coast, ye nation of the Cherethites. Here is the word of the Lord about you, Canaan, the land of the Philistines; I shall destroy thee, so that there be no inhabitants left there;)

6 and the little part of the sea shall be rest of shepherds, and folds of sheep. (and the sea coast shall be a resting place for shepherds, and folds for sheep.)

7 And it shall be a little part of him, that shall be left of the house of Judah, there they shall be fed in the houses of Ashkelon; at eventide they shall rest, for the Lord God of them shall visit them, and shall turn away the captivity of them. (And the coast shall be for those who shall be left of the house of Judah; they shall pasture their sheep there, and they shall rest in the evening in the houses of Ashkelon; for the Lord their God shall return to them, and shall restore their prosperity.)

8 I heard the shame of Moab, and blasphemies of the sons of Ammon, which they said shamefully to my people, and they were magnified on the terms of them. (I heard the insults of Moab, and the taunts of the Ammonites, which they shamefully said to my people, as they encroached upon their land.)

9 Therefore I live, saith the Lord of hosts, God of Israel, for Moab shall be as Sodom, and the sons of Ammon as Gomorrah; dryness of thorns, and heaps of salt, and desert till into without end. The remnants of my people shall ravish them, the residues of my folk shall wield them. (And so as I live, saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Moab shall become like Sodom, and the Ammonites like Gomorrah; yea, dryness of thorns, and heaps of salt, and a desert, or a wasteland, forevermore. The remnants of my people shall rob them, yea, those of my nation who remain, or who survive, shall rule over them.)

10 Soothly this thing shall come to them for their pride, for they blasphemed, and were magnified [up]on, (or lorded themselves over,) the people of the Lord of hosts.

11 The Lord shall be horrible on them, and he shall make feeble all gods of earth; and men of their place shall worship him, all the isles of heathen men. (And so the Lord shall be terrible to them, or shall terrify them, and he shall make feeble, or shall bring down unto nothing, all the gods of the earth; and the people in the places there, shall worship him, yea, on all the islands of the heathen.)

12 But and ye, Ethiopians, shall be slain by my sword. (And ye Ethiopians shall also be killed by my sword.)

13 And he shall stretch forth his hand on the north, and shall lose Assur; and he shall put the fair city Nineveh into wilderness, and into without way, and as desert. (And he shall stretch out his hand over the north, and shall destroy Assyria; and he shall make the beautiful city of Nineveh into a wilderness, and without a way, and like a desert.)

Zephaniah 2:3-13 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO ZEPHANIAH 2

In this chapter the prophet exhorts the Jews to repentance; and foretells the destruction of several neighbouring nations. The body of the people of the Jews in general are first called upon to gather together and humble themselves, who were a people neither desirable, nor deserving of the favours of God, nor desirous of them, Zep 2:1 and to this they are pressed, from the consideration of God's decree of vengeance being ready to bring forth and break forth upon them, Zep 2:2 and then the few godly among them are exhorted to seek the Lord, and what is agreeable to him; since there was at least a probability of their being protected by him in a time of general calamity, Zep 2:3 and that the destruction of this people might appear the more certain, and that they might have no dependence on their neighbours, the prophet proceeds to predict the ruin of several of them, particularly the Philistines; several places belonging to them are by name mentioned, and the whole land threatened with desolation; the maritime part of it to be only inhabited by shepherds and their flocks; and afterwards the coast possessed by the Jews, on their return from their captivity, Zep 2:4-7. Next the Moabites and Ammonites are prophesied of; whose destruction should come upon them for their pride, and for their contempt and reviling of the people of God; and which should be like that of Sodom and Gomorrah; and would issue in the abolition of idolatry, and the setting up of the worship of God in their country, and elsewhere, Zep 2:8-11. As for the Ethiopians, they should be slain with the sword, Zep 2:12 and the whole monarchy of Assyria, with Nineveh the metropolis of it, should be utterly laid waste, and become a desolation, and a wilderness; and the habitation, not only of flocks, but of beasts and birds of prey, Zep 2:13-15.