VerseAI

NIV

Zephaniah 2

  1. 1<pb/><t>Gather together, gather yourselves together,</t> <t>you shameful nation,</t>
  2. 2<t>before the decree takes effect</t> <t>and that day passes like windblown chaff,</t> <t>before the LORD’s fierce anger</t> <t>comes upon you,</t> <t>before the day of the LORD’s wrath</t> <t>comes upon you.</t>
  3. 3<t>Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land,</t> <t>you who do what he commands.</t> <t>Seek righteousness, seek humility;</t> <t>perhaps you will be sheltered</t> <t>on the day of the LORD’s anger.</t>
  4. 4<t>Gaza will be abandoned</t> <t>and Ashkelon left in ruins.</t> <t>At midday Ashdod will be emptied</t> <t>and Ekron uprooted.</t>
  5. 5<t>Woe to you who live by the sea,</t> <t>you Kerethite people;</t> <t>the word of the LORD is against you,</t> <t>Canaan, land of the Philistines.</t> <t>He says, “I will destroy you,</t> <t>and none will be left.”</t>
  6. 6<t>The land by the sea will become pastures</t> <t>having wells for shepherds</t> <t>and pens for flocks.</t>
  7. 7<t>That land will belong</t> <t>to the remnant of the people of Judah;</t> <t>there they will find pasture.</t> <t>In the evening they will lie down</t> <t>in the houses of Ashkelon.</t> <t>The LORD their God will care for them;</t> <t>he will restore their fortunes.<f>[6]</f></t>
  8. 8<t>“I have heard the insults of Moab</t> <t>and the taunts of the Ammonites,</t> <t>who insulted my people</t> <t>and made threats against their land.</t>
  9. 9<t>Therefore, as surely as I live,”</t> <t>declares the LORD Almighty,</t> <t>the God of Israel,</t> <t>“surely Moab will become like Sodom,</t> <t>the Ammonites like Gomorrah—</t> <t>a place of weeds and salt pits,</t> <t>a wasteland forever.</t> <t>The remnant of my people will plunder them;</t> <t>the survivors of my nation will inherit their land.” <pb/></t>
  10. 10<t>This is what they will get in return for their pride,</t> <t>for insulting and mocking</t> <t>the people of the LORD Almighty.</t>
  11. 11<t>The LORD will be awesome to them</t> <t>when he destroys all the gods of the earth.</t> <t>Distant nations will bow down to him,</t> <t>all of them in their own lands.</t>
  12. 12<t>“You Cushites,<f>[7]</f> too,</t> <t>will be slain by my sword.”</t>
  13. 13<t>He will stretch out his hand against the north</t> <t>and destroy Assyria,</t> <t>leaving Nineveh utterly desolate</t> <t>and dry as the desert.</t>
  14. 14<t>Flocks and herds will lie down there,</t> <t>creatures of every kind.</t> <t>The desert owl and the screech owl</t> <t>will roost on her columns.</t> <t>Their hooting will echo through the windows,</t> <t>rubble will fill the doorways,</t> <t>the beams of cedar will be exposed.</t>
  15. 15<t>This is the city of revelry</t> <t>that lived in safety.</t> <t>She said to herself,</t> <t>“I am the one! And there is none besides me.”</t> <t>What a ruin she has become,</t> <t>a lair for wild beasts!</t> <t>All who pass by her scoff</t> <t>and shake their fists.</t>