ZEPHANIAH 2 [†] Gather together, yes, gather,

O  s shameless nation,

2[†]  t before the decree takes effect [1]

—before the day passes away  u like chaff—

 v before there comes upon you

the burning anger of the LORD,

before there comes upon you

the day of the anger of the LORD.

3[^][†]  w Seek the LORD,  x all you humble of the land,

who do his just commands; [2]

 y seek righteousness; seek humility;

 y perhaps  z you may be hidden

on the day of the anger of the LORD.

4[†]  a For Gaza shall be deserted,

and Ashkelon shall become a desolation;

Ashdod’s people shall be driven out at noon,

and Ekron shall be uprooted.

5[†] Woe to  b you inhabitants of the seacoast,

you nation of  c the Cherethites!

 d The word of the LORD is against you,

 e O Canaan, land of the Philistines;

and I will destroy you  f until no inhabitant is left.

6[†]  g And you, O seacoast,  h shall be pastures,

with meadows [3] for shepherds

and folds for flocks.

7  i The seacoast shall become the possession

of  j the remnant of the house of Judah,

 h on which they shall graze,

and in the houses of Ashkelon

they shall lie down at evening.

For the LORD their God  k will be mindful of them

and  l restore their fortunes.

8[†] “I have heard  m the taunts of Moab

and  n the revilings of the Ammonites,

how they have taunted my people

and made boasts  o against their territory.

9[^][†] Therefore,  p as I live,” declares the LORD of hosts,

the God of Israel,

“Moab shall become  q like Sodom,

and the Ammonites  q like Gomorrah,

a land possessed by nettles and salt pits,

and a waste forever.

The remnant of my people shall plunder them,

and the survivors of my nation shall possess them.”

10[^][†] This shall be their lot in return  r for their pride,

because they taunted and boasted

against the people of the LORD of hosts.

11[†] The LORD will be awesome against them;

 s for he will famish all the gods of the earth,

and  t to him shall bow down,

each in its place,

all  u the lands of the nations.

12[†]  v You also, O Cushites,

shall be slain by my sword.

13[†] And he will stretch out his hand against the north

 w and destroy Assyria,

and he  x will make Nineveh a desolation,

a dry waste like the desert.

14[†]  y Herds shall lie down in her midst,

all kinds of beasts; [4]

 z even the owl and the hedgehog [5]

shall lodge in her capitals;

a voice shall hoot in the window;

devastation will be on the threshold;

for  a her cedar work will be laid bare.

15[†] This is the exultant city

 b that lived securely,

that said in her heart,

“I am, and there is no one else.”

What a desolation she has become,

 c a lair for wild beasts!

 d Everyone who passes by her

hisses and  e shakes his fist.