Zephaniah

Gather together, gather,O nation without shame,

Before the day the decree is born—The day flies by like chaffaO nation … chaff Meaning of Heb. uncertain. Emendation yields: “O straw [Aramaic gel] not gathered in, / Before you are driven like flying chaff”; cf. Ps. 35.5.—Before GOD’s fierce anger Overtakes you,Before the day GOD’s anger Overtakes you.

Seek GOD,All you humble of the landWho have fulfilled God’s law;Seek righteousness,Seek humility.Perhaps you will find shelterOn the day of GOD’s anger.

Indeed, Gaza shall be desertedAnd Ashkelon desolate;Ashdod’s people shall be expelled in broad daylight,And Ekron shall be uprooted.

Ah, nation of CherethitesWho inhabit the seacoast!There is a word of GOD against you,O Canaan,bCanaan Or “Phoenicia,” of which Philistia is regarded as an extension southward. land of the Philistines:I will lay you wasteWithout inhabitants.

The seacoast CherothcCheroth Meaning of Heb. uncertain. shall becomeAn abode for shepherds and folds for flocks,

And shall be a portion for the remnant of the House of Judah;On these [pastures] they shall graze [their flocks],They shall lie downdlie down Change of vocalization yields “rest [them]”; cf. Song 1.7. at eventideIn the houses of Ashkelon.For the ETERNAL their God will take note of themAnd restore their fortunes.

I have heard the insults of MoabAnd the jeers of the Ammonites,Who have insulted My peopleAnd gloated over their country.

Assuredly, as I live—declares GOD of Hosts, the God of Israel—Moab shall become like SodomAnd the Ammonites like Gomorrah:ClumpseClumps Meaning of Heb. uncertain. of weeds and patchesfpatches Meaning of Heb. uncertain. of salt,And desolation evermore.The remnant of My people shall plunder them,The remainder of My nation shall possess them.

That is what they’ll get for their haughtiness,For insulting and jeeringAt the people of GOD of Hosts.

GOD will appear terrible against them,Causing all the gods on earth to shrivel;gshrivel Meaning of Heb. uncertain. And all the coastlands of the nationsShall bow in homage—Everyone in their own home.

You Cushites too—They shall be slain by My sword.

[God] will reach out against the northAnd destroy Assyria—Making Nineveh a desolation,Arid as the desert.

In it flocks shall lie down,Every species of beast,While jackdaws and owls roost on its capitals,The great owl hoots in the window,And the raven [croaks] on the threshold.For its cedarwork is laid bare.hspecies of beast … laid bare Meaning of Heb. uncertain.

Is this the exultant cityThat dwelt secure,That thought in her heart,“I am, and there is none but me”?Alas, she is become a waste,A lair of wild beasts!Everyone who passes by herHisses and makes a hand gesture.iHisses and makes a hand gesture To ward off a like fate from themselves; cf. Jer. 18.16 and note.