Zephaniah

¹ Gather yourselves together, indeed, gather, O nation without shame,

² The day passes like the chaff— Before the burning anger of Yahweh comes upon you, Before the day of Yahweh’s anger comes upon you.

³ All you humble of the earth Who have worked His justice; Seek righteousness, seek humility. Perhaps you will be hidden In the day of Yahweh’s anger.

⁴ And Ashkelon a desolation; Ashdod will be driven out at noon, And Ekron will be uprooted.

⁵ The nation of the Cherethites! The word of Yahweh is against you, O Canaan, land of the Philistines; And I will make you perish So that there will be no inhabitant.

⁶ With caves for shepherds and folds for flocks.

⁷ For the remnant of the house of Judah; They will feed upon it. In the houses of Ashkelon they will lie down at evening; For Yahweh their God will care for them And restore their fortune.

⁸ And the revilings of the sons of Ammon, With which they have reproached My people And magnified themselves against their territory.

⁹ The God of Israel, “Surely Moab will be like Sodom And the sons of Ammon like Gomorrah— A place possessed by nettles and salt pits, And a perpetual desolation. The remnant of My people will plunder them, And the remainder of My nation will inherit them.”

¹⁰ This they will have in return for their pride because they have reproached and magnified themselves against the people of Yahweh of hosts.

¹¹ Yahweh will be fearsome to them, for He will starve all the gods of the earth; and all the coastlands of the nations will bow down to Him, everyone from his own place.

¹³ And cause Assyria to perish, And He will make Nineveh a desolation, Parched like the wilderness.

¹⁴ All the beasts of the nation; Both the pelican and the hedgehog Will lodge in the tops of her pillars; Their voice will sing in the window, Ruin will be on the threshold; For He has laid bare the cedar work.

¹⁵ Which inhabits securely, Who says in her heart, “I am, and there is no one besides me.” How she has become an object of horror, A resting place for beasts! Everyone who passes by her will hiss And wave his hand in contempt.