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12 (A)The Lord will also put the people of Ethiopia[a] to death.

13 (B)The Lord will use his power to destroy Assyria. He will make the city of Nineveh a deserted ruin, a waterless desert. 14 It will be a place where flocks, herds, and animals of every kind will lie down. Owls will live among its ruins and hoot from the windows. Crows[b] will caw on the doorsteps. The cedar wood of her buildings will be stripped away.

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Footnotes

  1. Zephaniah 2:12 Hebrew Cush: Cush is the ancient name of the extensive territory south of the First Cataract of the Nile River. This region was called Ethiopia in Graeco-Roman times, and included within its borders most of modern Sudan and some of present-day Ethiopia (Abyssinia).
  2. Zephaniah 2:14 Some ancient translations Crows; Hebrew Desolation.

Cush

12 “You Cushites,[a](A) too,
    will be slain by my sword.(B)

Assyria

13 He will stretch out his hand against the north
    and destroy Assyria,(C)
leaving Nineveh(D) utterly desolate
    and dry as the desert.(E)
14 Flocks and herds(F) will lie down there,
    creatures of every kind.
The desert owl(G) and the screech owl(H)
    will roost on her columns.
Their hooting will echo through the windows,
    rubble will fill the doorways,
    the beams of cedar will be exposed.

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Footnotes

  1. Zephaniah 2:12 That is, people from the upper Nile region