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Zephaniah 2
New Century Version
Zephaniah 2
New Century Version
The Lord Asks People to Change
2 Gather together, gather,
you unwanted people.
2 Do it before it’s too late,
before you are blown away like chaff,
before the Lord’s terrible anger reaches you,
before the day of the Lord’s anger comes to you.
3 Come to the Lord, all you who are not proud,
who obey his laws.
Do what is right. Learn to be humble.
Maybe you will escape
on the day the Lord shows his anger.
Philistia Will Be Punished
4 No one will be left in the city of Gaza,
and the city of Ashkelon will be destroyed.
Ashdod will be empty by noon,
and the people of Ekron will be chased away.
5 How terrible it will be for you who live by the Mediterranean Sea,
you Philistines!
The word of the Lord is against you,
Canaan, land of the Philistines.
“I will destroy you
so that no one will be left.”
6 The land by the Mediterranean Sea, in which you live,
will become pastures, fields for shepherds, and pens for sheep.
7 It will belong to the descendants of Judah who are left alive.
There they will let their sheep eat grass.
At night they will sleep
in the houses of Ashkelon.
The Lord their God will pay attention to them
and will make their life good again.
Moab and Ammon Will Be Punished
8 “I have heard the insults of the country of Moab
and the threats of the people of Ammon.
They have insulted my people
and have taken their land.”
9 So the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, says,
“As surely as I live,
Moab will be destroyed like Sodom,
and Ammon will be destroyed like Gomorrah[a]—
a heap of weeds, a pit of salt,
and a ruin forever.
Those of my people who are left alive will take whatever they want from them;
those who are left from my nation will take their land.”
10 This is what Moab and Ammon get for being proud,
because they insulted and made fun of the people of the Lord All-Powerful.
11 The Lord will frighten them,
because he will destroy all the gods of the earth.
Then everyone in faraway places
will worship him wherever they are.
Cush and Assyria Will Be Destroyed
12 “You Cushites also
will be killed by my sword.”
13 Then the Lord will turn against the north
and destroy Assyria.
He will make Nineveh
a ruin as dry as a desert.
14 Flocks and herds will lie down there,
and all wild animals.
The owls and crows will sit
on the stone pillars.
The owl will hoot through the windows,
trash will be in the doorways,
and the wooden boards of the buildings will be gone.
15 This is the happy and safe city
that thinks there is no one else as strong as it is.
But what a ruin it will be,
a place where wild animals live.
All those who pass by will make fun
and shake their fists.
Footnotes
- 2:9 Sodom . . . Gomorrah Two cities God destroyed because the people were so evil.
Zephaniah 2
New International Version
Zephaniah 2
New International Version
Judah and Jerusalem Judged Along With the Nations
Judah Summoned to Repent
2 Gather together,(A) gather yourselves together,
you shameful(B) nation,
2 before the decree takes effect
and that day passes like windblown chaff,(C)
before the Lord’s fierce anger(D)
comes upon you,
before the day of the Lord’s wrath(E)
comes upon you.
3 Seek(F) the Lord, all you humble of the land,
you who do what he commands.
Seek righteousness,(G) seek humility;(H)
perhaps you will be sheltered(I)
on the day of the Lord’s anger.
Philistia
4 Gaza(J) will be abandoned
and Ashkelon(K) left in ruins.
At midday Ashdod will be emptied
and Ekron uprooted.
5 Woe to you who live by the sea,
you Kerethite(L) people;
the word of the Lord is against you,(M)
Canaan, land of the Philistines.
He says, “I will destroy you,
and none will be left.”(N)
6 The land by the sea will become pastures
having wells for shepherds
and pens for flocks.(O)
7 That land will belong
to the remnant(P) of the people of Judah;
there they will find pasture.
In the evening they will lie down
in the houses of Ashkelon.
The Lord their God will care for them;
he will restore their fortunes.[a](Q)
Moab and Ammon
8 “I have heard the insults(R) of Moab(S)
and the taunts of the Ammonites,(T)
who insulted(U) my people
and made threats against their land.(V)
9 Therefore, as surely as I live,”
declares the Lord Almighty,
the God of Israel,
“surely Moab(W) will become like Sodom,(X)
the Ammonites(Y) like Gomorrah—
a place of weeds and salt pits,
a wasteland forever.
The remnant of my people will plunder(Z) them;
the survivors(AA) of my nation will inherit their land.(AB)”
10 This is what they will get in return for their pride,(AC)
for insulting(AD) and mocking
the people of the Lord Almighty.(AE)
11 The Lord will be awesome(AF) to them
when he destroys all the gods(AG) of the earth.(AH)
Distant nations will bow down to him,(AI)
all of them in their own lands.
Cush
Assyria
13 He will stretch out his hand against the north
and destroy Assyria,(AL)
leaving Nineveh(AM) utterly desolate
and dry as the desert.(AN)
14 Flocks and herds(AO) will lie down there,
creatures of every kind.
The desert owl(AP) and the screech owl(AQ)
will roost on her columns.
Their hooting will echo through the windows,
rubble will fill the doorways,
the beams of cedar will be exposed.
15 This is the city of revelry(AR)
that lived in safety.(AS)
She said to herself,
“I am the one! And there is none besides me.”(AT)
What a ruin she has become,
a lair for wild beasts!(AU)
All who pass by her scoff(AV)
and shake their fists.(AW)
Footnotes
- Zephaniah 2:7 Or will bring back their captives
- Zephaniah 2:12 That is, people from the upper Nile region
New Century Version (NCV) 
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.