Zephaniah 2

¹Gather together, yes, gather , O shameless nation ,

²before the decree takes effect —before the day passes away like chaff — before there comes upon you the burning anger of the Lord, before there comes upon you the day of the anger of the Lord.

³Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land , who do his just commands; seek righteousness ; seek humility ; perhaps you may be hidden on the day of the anger of the Lord.

⁴For Gaza shall be deserted , and Ashkelon shall become a desolation ; Ashdod’s people shall be driven out at noon , and Ekron shall be uprooted .

⁵Woe to you inhabitants of the seacoast , you nation of the Cherethites ! The word of the Lord is against you, O Canaan , land of the Philistines ; and I will destroy you until no inhabitant is left .

⁶And you, O seacoast , shall be pastures , with meadows for shepherds and folds for flocks .

⁷The seacoast shall become the possession of the remnant of the house of Judah , on which they shall graze , and in the houses of Ashkelon they shall lie down at evening . For the Lord their God will be mindful of them and restore their fortunes .

⁸I have heard the taunts of Moab and the revilings of the Ammonites , how they have taunted my people and made boasts against their territory .

⁹Therefore , as I live , declares the Lord of hosts , the God of Israel , Moab shall become like Sodom , and the Ammonites 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.

¹⁰This shall be their lot in return for their pride , because they taunted and boasted against the people of the Lord of hosts .

¹¹The Lord will be awesome against them; for he will famish all the gods of the earth , and to him shall bow down, each in its place , all the lands of the nations .

¹²You also , O Cushites , shall be slain by my sword .

¹³And he will stretch out his hand against the north and destroy Assyria , and he will make Nineveh a desolation , a dry waste like the desert .

¹⁴Herds shall lie down in her midst , all kinds of beasts ; even the owl and the hedgehog shall lodge in her capitals ; a voice shall hoot in the window ; devastation will be on the threshold ; for her cedar work will be laid bare .

¹⁵This is the exultant city that lived securely , that said in her heart , I am, and there is no one else . What a desolation she has become, a lair for wild beasts ! Everyone who passes by her hisses and shakes his fist .