Zephaniah 2
GOD’S WORD Translation
A Call for Judah to Turn Away from Sin
2 Gather yourselves together!
Yes, gather together, you shameless nation,
2 before the decree is carried out
⌞and⌟ the day passes like windblown husks,
before the Lord’s burning anger comes to you,
before the day of the Lord’s anger comes to you.
3 Search for the Lord, all you humble people in the land
who carry out his justice.
Search for what is right.
Search for humility.
Maybe you will find shelter on the day of the Lord’s anger.
The Lord Will Judge His People’s Enemies
4 Gaza will be deserted,
and Ashkelon will be destroyed.
Ashdod will be driven out at noon,
and Ekron will be torn out by the roots.
5 How horrible it will be for those who live on the seacoast,
for the nation from Crete.
The Lord’s word is against you, Canaan, the land of the Philistines:
“I will destroy you so that no one will be living there.”
6 The seacoast will become pastureland
with meadows for shepherds
and fenced-off places for sheep.
7 The coast will belong to the faithful few from the nation of Judah.
There they will graze their sheep.
In the evening they will lie down in the houses of Ashkelon.
The Lord their God will take care of them
and will restore their fortunes.
8 “I have heard the insults from Moab and the mockery from Ammon.
They insulted my people and bragged about their territory.
9 Therefore, I solemnly swear, as I live,”
declares the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel,
“Moab will become like Sodom, and Ammon will become like Gomorrah:
a place of weeds, salt pits, and ruins forever.
The faithful few of my people will loot them,
and those who are left in my nation will take possession of them.”
10 This is what they will get for their sinful pride,
because they insulted the people who belong to the Lord of Armies
and made themselves greater than them.
11 The Lord will terrify them,
because he will make all the gods of the earth waste away.
So every person from every coast and nation will bow to him.
12 “Even you, the people from Sudan,
you will also die by my sword.”
13 The Lord will use his power against the north and destroy Assyria.
He will turn Nineveh into a deserted ruin,
a dried up wasteland like the desert.
14 Flocks will lie down in it along with animals of every kind.
Even pelicans and herons will nest on top of its columns.
Listen! A bird will sing in a window.
The doorway will be in ruins,
because the Lord will expose the cedar beams.
15 Is this the arrogant city?
Is this the city that used to live securely,
the city that used to think to itself,
“I’m the only one, and no one else exists but me”?
What a wasteland it is now, a resting place for wild animals!
All who pass by it will hiss and make an obscene gesture.
Zephaniah 2
The Voice
2 You shameless bunch of people,
gather together now and pray.
2 Do it while there is still time, before all these terrible things happen.
I’m warning you they are beginning to happen;
The day is blown away like chaff. God will not stand by.
Do it before the terrible Eternal’s anger comes down on your head.
Do it soon before the appointed time when His anger rains down over you.
3 Seek the Eternal. Only He can save you, Judah.
Call out to Him, all who realize their lowly places on the earth,
All who are trying to live by His teaching.
Pursue what is just and chase after true humility.
Maybe, just maybe, the Eternal will hide and protect you
from what will happen on that terrible day when His anger is unleashed.
During the early seventh century b.c., Judah is a tiny nation controlled by the Assyrian Empire and bullied by her neighbors. Under former Kings Manasseh and Amon, Judah lost all international power and fell into such hedonism that prophets such as Zephaniah are forced to hide themselves. No one in Judah is safe as Philistia, Moab, Ammon, Egypt (ruled by an Ethiopian dynasty), and Assyria continue seizing land God promised to the Israelites centuries earlier (Genesis 15:18–21). God has frequently used those foreign nations to discipline His children; but they, too, worship other gods and have overstepped the boundaries He set for them. The destruction of these foreign oppressors promises Judah not only revenge but the restoration of the inheritance promised to her people so long ago.
4 As for the Philistine cities off to the west—Gaza will be deserted,
Ashkelon will be left in ashes and ruins,
Ashdod will be scattered to the winds at noon,
and Ekron will be pulled up by its roots.
5 Too bad for their citizens who live along the seacoast,
those people who migrated from Crete;[a]
This message from the Eternal One is for you too.
Eternal One: O Canaan, land of the Philistines,
I will destroy you and wipe you from the face of the earth.
6 Their valuable coastlands will become pastures for our sheep,
meadows[b] for our shepherds, and pens for our flocks.
7 Their land will be given to
whomever remain from the people of Judah.
During the day, they will eat the fruit of the land.
In the evening, they will go into the houses left in Ashkelon to sleep.
You see, the Eternal their God will always care for the faithful
and will return their prosperity to them.
For hundreds of years the Philistines have lived along the coast and taken great joy in attacking settlements occupied by God’s people in the eastern hills. The archenemies of Israel, they are an advanced seafaring culture that devastates cities, uproots crops, and drives the Lord’s servants far from their homes. But God has seen their actions, and fortunes will soon be reversed.
8 Eternal One: As for Moab and Ammon off to the east,
I have heard them taunting and mocking My people.
I know they have expanded their borders into Judah’s land.
9 As I, the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies and God of Israel, live
I will make Moab like Sodom and the Ammonites like the people of Gomorrah.[c]
Nothing will be left there but thorny plants and barren ground.
They will become totally desolate salt pits; not a thing will ever thrive there again.
The remnant of My people will take whatever they want from them;
the survivors of My nation will inherit what I once designated to Moab and Ammon.
10 Shame will be payback for their arrogance and pride, because they taunted and belittled those who are faithful to the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies. 11 And the Eternal will strike terror in their hearts because He will starve out all their so-called gods from the face of the earth. And so all the different people who live along the coasts will bow low before Him; everyone will worship Him from where he lives.
Eternal One: 12 As for you, Ethiopia to the south, you will die by My sword.
Even the great Assyria, once God’s chosen instrument to punish His people, will not escape the Lord’s judgment.
13 God will stretch His hand over Assyria in the north and wage war against her.
Their prized city Nineveh will be left in ruins.
Fertile land will give way to thirsty desert. Nothing will thrive there.
14 Cattle and sheep will sleep in her streets;
wild beasts will roam through the rubble.
Birds that fly and animals that burrow, such as the scavenger pelican and hedgehog, will live atop each column.
Birds will roost and sing in the broken window sills.
Wrecked and ruined are the thresholds to the pagan temples,
for God has exposed their beautiful cedar woodwork to the elements.
15 Nineveh is the boastful city
that bragged of her greatness and security.
She said in her heart,
“I am so amazing that no other can compare.”
Now she is totally deserted
and animals live in her streets!
Everyone who passes her now will hiss and taunt
and make vulgar gestures.
Footnotes
- 2:5 Hebrew, Cherethites
- 2:6 Meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
- 2:9 Genesis 19:1–28
Zephaniah 2
New American Standard Bible
Judgments on Judah’s Enemies
2 Gather yourselves together, yes, (A)join together,
You nation (B)without [a]shame,
2 Before the decree [b]takes effect—
The day passes (C)like chaff—
Before the (D)burning anger of the Lord comes upon you,
Before the (E)day of the Lord’s anger comes upon you.
3 (F)Seek the Lord,
All you (G)humble of the [c]earth
Who have practiced His [d]ordinances;
(H)Seek righteousness, seek humility.
Perhaps you will (I)remain hidden
On the day of the Lord’s anger.
4 For (J)Gaza will be abandoned,
And Ashkelon will become a desolation;
The inhabitants of (K)Ashdod will be driven out at noon,
And (L)Ekron will be uprooted.
5 Woe to the inhabitants of the seacoast,
The nation of the [e](M)Cherethites!
The word of the Lord is (N)against you,
(O)Canaan, land of the Philistines;
And I will (P)eliminate you
So that there will be (Q)no inhabitant.
6 So the seacoast will become (R)grazing places,
With pastures for shepherds and folds for flocks.
7 And the coast will be
For the (S)remnant of the house of Judah,
They will (T)drive sheep to pasture on it.
In the houses of Ashkelon they will lie down at evening;
For the Lord their God will (U)care for them
And (V)restore their fortunes.
8 “I have heard the (W)taunting of Moab
And the (X)abusive speech of the sons of Ammon,
With which they have taunted My people
And (Y)boasted against their territory.
9 Therefore, as I live,” declares the Lord of armies,
The God of Israel,
“(Z)Moab will assuredly be like (AA)Sodom,
And the sons of (AB)Ammon like (AC)Gomorrah—
Ground overgrown with weeds and full of salt mines,
And a permanent desolation.
The remnant of My people will (AD)plunder them,
And the remainder of My nation will inherit them.”
10 This they will have in return for their (AE)arrogance, because they have (AF)taunted and boasted against the people of the Lord of armies. 11 The Lord will be (AG)terrifying to them, for He will [f]starve (AH)all the gods of the earth; and all the (AI)coastlands of the nations will (AJ)bow down to Him, everyone from his own place.
12 “You also, (AK)Ethiopians, will be slain by My sword.”
13 And He will (AL)stretch out His hand against the north
And eliminate (AM)Assyria,
And He will make (AN)Nineveh a desolation,
Parched like the wilderness.
14 Flocks will lie down in her midst,
[g]All animals that range in herds;
Both the [h](AO)pelican and the hedgehog
Will spend their nights in [i]the tops of her pillars;
[j]Birds will sing in the window,
Devastation will be on the threshold;
For He has uncovered the cedar work.
15 This is the (AP)presumptuous city
That (AQ)dwells securely,
Who says in her heart,
“(AR)I am, and there is no one besides me.”
How she has become a (AS)desolation,
A resting place for animals!
(AT)Everyone who passes by her will [k]hiss
And wave his hand in contempt.
Footnotes
- Zephaniah 2:1 Or longing
- Zephaniah 2:2 Lit gives birth
- Zephaniah 2:3 Or land
- Zephaniah 2:3 Or justice
- Zephaniah 2:5 I.e., a segment of the Philistines with roots in Crete
- Zephaniah 2:11 Lit allow to dwindle
- Zephaniah 2:14 Or All kinds of beasts in crowds; lit Every kind of beast of a nation
- Zephaniah 2:14 Or owl; or jackdaw
- Zephaniah 2:14 Lit her capitals
- Zephaniah 2:14 Lit A voice
- Zephaniah 2:15 Or whistle
Sofonías 2
Nueva Biblia de las Américas
Castigo de los enemigos de Judá
2 Congréguense, congréguense(A),
Oh nación sin pudor(B),
2 Antes que entre en vigencia el decreto
(Como tamo pasa el día(C)),
Antes que venga sobre ustedes
El ardor de la ira del Señor(D),
Antes que venga sobre ustedes
El día de la ira del Señor(E).
3 Busquen al Señor(F),
Todos ustedes, humildes de la tierra(G)
Que han cumplido Sus preceptos;
Busquen la justicia, busquen la humildad(H).
Quizá serán protegidos
El día de la ira del Señor(I).
4 Porque Gaza(J) será abandonada,
Y Ascalón(K) desolada;
Asdod(L) será expulsada al mediodía,
Y Ecrón(M) será desarraigada.
5 ¡Ay de los habitantes de la costa del mar,
La nación de los cereteos(N)!
La palabra del Señor está contra ustedes(O):
Canaán, tierra de los filisteos(P),
Yo te destruiré hasta que no quede habitante alguno(Q).
6 Y la costa del mar se convertirá en pastizales,
En campos para pastores y rediles para ovejas(R).
7 La costa será
Para el remanente(S) de la casa de Judá;
Allí apacentarán(T)
Y en las casas de Ascalón reposarán al atardecer;
Porque el Señor su Dios los cuidará(U)
Y los hará volver de su cautiverio(V).
8 «He oído las afrentas de Moab(W)
Y los ultrajes de los amonitas(X),
Con los cuales afrentaron a Mi pueblo
Y se engrandecieron sobre su territorio(Y).
9 Por tanto, vivo Yo», declara el Señor de los ejércitos,
Dios de Israel,
«Que Moab(Z) será como Sodoma(AA),
Y Amón(AB) como Gomorra(AC):
Campo de ortigas y mina de sal,
Una desolación perpetua.
El remanente de Mi pueblo los saqueará(AD),
Y el resto de Mi nación los heredará».
10 Esto tendrán ellos como pago por su orgullo(AE), porque han afrentado(AF) y se han engrandecido sobre el pueblo del Señor de los ejércitos. 11 Terrible será el Señor contra ellos(AG), porque debilitará a todos los dioses de la tierra(AH); y se inclinarán a Él(AI) todas las costas de las naciones cada una desde su lugar.
12 «También ustedes, etíopes, serán muertos por Mi espada(AJ)».
13 Él extenderá Su mano contra el norte(AK)
Y destruirá a Asiria(AL),
Y hará de Nínive una desolación(AM),
árida como el desierto.
14 Los rebaños se echarán en medio de ella,
Toda clase de animales.
Tanto el pelícano como el erizo(AN)
Pasarán la noche en los capiteles;
El ave cantará en la ventana,
Habrá desolación en el umbral,
Porque Él ha dejado al descubierto el entablado de cedro.
15 Esta es la ciudad divertida(AO)
Que vivía confiada(AP),
Que decía en su corazón:
«Yo soy, y no hay otra más que yo(AQ)».
¡Cómo ha sido hecha una desolación(AR),
Una guarida de fieras!
Todo el que pase por ella silbará
Y agitará su mano(AS).
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