Zep 2 | NASB2020 | STEP | Gather yourselves together , yes, join together , You nation without shame ,

Zephaniah 2

Judgments on Judah’s Enemies

1 Gather yourselves together, yes, ^ajoin together,
You nation ^bwithout ^{▼▼Or longing}shame,
2 Before the decree ^{▼▼Lit gives birth}takes effect--
The day passes ^elike chaff--
Before the ^fburning anger of the Lord comes upon you,
Before the ^gday of the Lord’s anger comes upon you.
3 ^hSeek the Lord,
All you ⁱhumble of the ^{▼▼Or land}earth
Who have practiced His ^{▼▼Or justice}ordinances;
^lSeek righteousness, seek humility.
Perhaps you will ^mremain hidden
On the day of the Lord’s anger.

4 For ⁿGaza will be abandoned,
And Ashkelon will become a desolation;
The inhabitants of ^oAshdod will be driven out at noon,
And ^pEkron will be uprooted.
5 Woe to the inhabitants of the seacoast,
The nation of the ^{▼▼I.e., a segment of the Philistines with roots in Crete
,} ^rCherethites!
The word of the Lord is ^sagainst you,
^tCanaan, land of the Philistines;
And I will ^ueliminate you
So that there will be ^vno inhabitant.
6 So the seacoast will become ^wgrazing places,
With pastures for shepherds and folds for flocks.
7 And the coast will be
For the ^xremnant of the house of Judah,
They will ^ydrive sheep to pasture on it.
In the houses of Ashkelon they will lie down at evening;
For the Lord their God will ^zcare for them
And ^aarestore their fortunes.

8 “I have heard the ^abtaunting of Moab
And the ^acabusive speech of the sons of Ammon,
With which they have taunted My people
And ^adboasted against their territory.
9 “Therefore, as I live,” declares the Lord of armies,
The God of Israel,
“ ^aeMoab will assuredly be like ^afSodom,
And the sons of ^agAmmon like ^ahGomorrah--
Ground overgrown with weeds and full of salt mines,
And a permanent desolation.
The remnant of My people will ^aiplunder them,
And the remainder of My nation will inherit them.”
10 This they will have in return for their ^ajarrogance, because they have ^aktaunted and boasted against the people of the Lord of armies. 11 The Lord will be ^alterrifying to them, for He will ^{▼▼Lit allow to dwindle}starve ^anall the gods of the earth; and all the ^aocoastlands of the nations will ^apbow down to Him, everyone from his own place.

12 “You also, ^aqEthiopians, will be slain by My sword.”
13 And He will ^arstretch out His hand against the north
And eliminate ^asAssyria,
And He will make ^atNineveh a desolation,
Parched like the wilderness.
14 Flocks will lie down in her midst,
^{▼▼Or All kinds of beasts in crowds; lit Every kind of beast of a nation}All animals that range in herds;
Both the ^{▼▼Or owl; or jackdaw
,} ^awpelican and the hedgehog
Will spend their nights in ^{▼▼Lit her capitals}the tops of her pillars;
^{▼▼Lit A voice}Birds will sing in the window,
Devastation will be on the threshold;
For He has uncovered the cedar work.
15 This is the ^azpresumptuous city
That ^badwells securely,
Who says in her heart,
“ ^bbI am, and there is no one besides me.”
How she has become a ^bcdesolation,
A resting place for animals!
^bdEveryone who passes by her will ^{▼▼Or whistle}hiss
And wave his hand in contempt.