Zephaniah 2:12

Cush

12 “You Cushites,[a] too, will be slain by my sword.”

Zephaniah 2:12 in Other Translations

KJV
12 Ye Ethiopians also, ye shall be slain by my sword.
ESV
12 You also, O Cushites, shall be slain by my sword.
NLT
12 “You Ethiopians will also be slaughtered by my sword,” says the LORD .
MSG
12 Also you Ethiopians, you too will die - I'll see to it."
CSB
12 You Cushites will also be slain by My sword.

Zephaniah 2:12 Meaning and Commentary

Zephaniah 2:12

Ye Ethiopians also
Or, "as for ye Ethiopians also" {h}; not the Ethiopians in Africa beyond Egypt, at a distance from the land of Israel, and the countries before mentioned; but the inhabitants of Arabia Chusea, or Ethiopia, which lay near to Moab and Ammon; these should not escape, but suffer with their neighbours, who sometimes distressed the people of the Jews, and made war with them, being nigh them; see ( 2 Chronicles 14:9 ) ( 21:16 ) : ye [shall be] slain by my sword;
or, "the slain of my sword are they" F9; R. Japhet thinks here is a defect of the note of similitude "as", which should be supplied thus, "ye" are, or shall be, "the slain of my sword", as they; as the Moabites and Ammonites; that is, these Ethiopians should be slain as well as they by the sword of Nebuchadnezzar; which is called the sword of God, because he was an instrument in the hand of God for punishing the nations of the earth. This was fulfilled very probably when Egypt was subdued by Nebuchadnezzar, with whom Ethiopia was confederate, as well as near unto it, ( Jeremiah 46:1 Jeremiah 46:2 ) . The destruction of these by the Assyrians is predicted, ( Isaiah 20:4 ) .


FOOTNOTES:

F8 (Myvwk Mta Mg) "etiam ad vos Aethiopes quod attinet", Piscator.
F9 (hmh ybrx yllx) "interfecti gladio meo ipsi", Montanus.

Zephaniah 2:12 In-Context

10 This is what they will get in return for their pride, for insulting and mocking the people of the LORD Almighty.
11 The LORD will be awesome to them when he destroys all the gods of the earth. Distant nations will bow down to him, all of them in their own lands.
12 “You Cushites, too, will be slain by my sword.”
13 He will stretch out his hand against the north and destroy Assyria, leaving Nineveh utterly desolate and dry as the desert.
14 Flocks and herds will lie down there, creatures of every kind. The desert owl and the screech owl will roost on her columns. Their hooting will echo through the windows, rubble will fill the doorways, the beams of cedar will be exposed.

Cross References 2

  • 1. S Genesis 10:6; S Isaiah 18:1; Isaiah 20:4
  • 2. S Jeremiah 46:10

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. That is, people from the upper Nile region
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