Zephaniah 2
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Holman Christian Standard BibleNew Living Translation
1Gather yourselves together; gather together, undesirable nation, 1Gather together—yes, gather together, you shameless nation.
2before the decree takes effect and the day passes like chaff, before the burning of the LORD's anger overtakes you, before the day of the LORD's anger overtakes you. 2Gather before judgment begins, before your time to repent is blown away like chaff. Act now, before the fierce fury of the LORD falls and the terrible day of the LORD’s anger begins.
3Seek the LORD, all you humble of the earth, who carry out what He commands. Seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you will be concealed on the day of the LORD's anger. 3Seek the LORD, all who are humble, and follow his commands. Seek to do what is right and to live humbly. Perhaps even yet the LORD will protect you— protect you from his anger on that day of destruction. Judgment against Philistia
4For Gaza will be abandoned, and Ashkelon will become a ruin. Ashdod will be driven out at noon, and Ekron will be uprooted. 4Gaza and Ashkelon will be abandoned, Ashdod and Ekron torn down.
5Woe, inhabitants of the seacoast, nation of the Cherethites! The word of the LORD is against you, Canaan, land of the Philistines: I will destroy you until there is no one left. 5And what sorrow awaits you Philistines who live along the coast and in the land of Canaan, for this judgment is against you, too! The LORD will destroy you until not one of you is left.
6The seacoast will become pasturelands with caves for shepherds and folds for sheep. 6The Philistine coast will become a wilderness pasture, a place of shepherd camps and enclosures for sheep and goats.
7The coastland will belong to the remnant of the house of Judah; they will find pasture there. They will lie down in the evening among the houses of Ashkelon, for the LORD their God will return to them and restore their fortunes. 7The remnant of the tribe of Judah will pasture there. They will rest at night in the abandoned houses in Ashkelon. For the LORD their God will visit his people in kindness and restore their prosperity again. Judgment against Moab and Ammon
8I have heard the taunting of Moab and the insults of the Ammonites, who have taunted My people and threatened their territory. 8“I have heard the taunts of the Moabites and the insults of the Ammonites, mocking my people and invading their borders.
9Therefore, as I live-- this is the declaration of the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel-- Moab will be like Sodom and the Ammonites like Gomorrah-- a place overgrown with weeds, a salt pit, and a perpetual wasteland. The remnant of My people will plunder them; the remainder of My nation will dispossess them. 9Now, as surely as I live,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, “Moab and Ammon will be destroyed— destroyed as completely as Sodom and Gomorrah. Their land will become a place of stinging nettles, salt pits, and eternal desolation. The remnant of my people will plunder them and take their land.”
10This is what they get for their pride, because they have taunted and acted arrogantly against the people of the LORD of Hosts. 10They will receive the wages of their pride, for they have scoffed at the people of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.
11The 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. 11The LORD will terrify them as he destroys all the gods in the land. Then nations around the world will worship the LORD, each in their own land. Judgment against Ethiopia and Assyria
12You Cushites will also be slain by My sword. 12“You Ethiopians will also be slaughtered by my sword,” says the LORD.
13He will also stretch out His hand against the north and destroy Assyria; He will make Nineveh a desolate ruin, dry as the desert. 13And the LORD will strike the lands of the north with his fist, destroying the land of Assyria. He will make its great capital, Nineveh, a desolate wasteland, parched like a desert.
14Herds 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. 14The proud city will become a pasture for flocks and herds, and all sorts of wild animals will settle there. The desert owl and screech owl will roost on its ruined columns, their calls echoing through the gaping windows. Rubble will block all the doorways, and the cedar paneling will be exposed to the weather.
15This is the self-assured city that lives in security, that thinks to herself: I exist, and there is no one else. What a desolation she has become, a place for wild animals to lie down! Everyone who passes by her jeers and shakes his fist. 15This is the boisterous city, once so secure. “I am the greatest!” it boasted. “No other city can compare with me!” But now, look how it has become an utter ruin, a haven for wild animals. Everyone passing by will laugh in derision and shake a defiant fist.
Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission.Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Zephaniah 1
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