Collect yourselves and gather together, O nation without shame,
before the decree bring forth, before the day pass away as chaff, before the fierce anger of Jehovah come upon you, before the day of Jehovah's anger come upon you.
Seek Jehovah, all ye meek of the land, who have performed his ordinance; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of Jehovah's anger.
For Gazah shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon shall be a desolation; they shall drive out Ashdod at noonday, and Ekron shall be rooted up.
Woe unto the inhabitants of the sea-coast, the nation of the Cherethites! The word of Jehovah is against you, O Canaan, land of the Philistines: I will destroy thee, that there shall be no inhabitant;
and the sea-coast shall be cave-dwellings for shepherds, and folds for flocks.
And the coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Judah; they shall feed thereon: in the houses of Ashkelon shall they lie down in the evening: for Jehovah their God shall visit them, and turn again their captivity.
I have heard the reproach of Moab, and the revilings of the children of Ammon, wherewith they have reproached my people, and magnified themselves against their border.
Therefore, as I live, saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, Moab shall certainly be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, a possession of nettles, and salt-pits, and a perpetual desolation; the remnant of my people shall spoil them, and the residue of my nation shall possess them.
This shall they have for their pride, because they have reproached and magnified themselves against the people of Jehovah of hosts.
Jehovah will be terrible unto them; for he will famish all the gods of the earth; and all the isles of the nations shall worship him, every one from his place.
Ye Ethiopians also, ye shall be the slain of my sword.
And he will stretch out his hand against the north, and destroy Assyria; and will make Nineveh a desolation, a place of drought like the wilderness.
And flocks shall lie down in the midst of her, all the crowd of beasts; both the pelican and the bittern shall lodge in the chapiters thereof; a voice shall sing in the windows; desolation shall be on the thresholds: for he hath laid bare the cedar work.
This is the rejoicing city that dwelt in security, that said in her heart, I am, and there is none else beside me: how is she become a desolation, a couching-place for beasts! Every one that passeth by her shall hiss, shall wave his hand.
Canonical academic citations for Zephaniah 2 (DBT) — copy in your preferred format.
Zephaniah 2 (DBT). Prime Bible, accessed August 3, 2026. https://primebible.com/dbt/zephaniah/2.
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Before that day strikes, Zephaniah urges the humble to seek the LORD that they may be sheltered. Oracles follow against Israel’s neighbors: Philistia’s coastal cities (Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron) will become pastures for Judah; Moab and Ammon will end like Sodom for mocking God’s people; Cushites will be slain by His sword; proud Assyria and its capital Nineveh will be left a desolate desert, hosting owls and wild beasts.
Warning of coming Day of the Lord and hope for a purified remnant.
Zephaniah 2 is presented with the full Hebrew interlinear, Strong's numbers, and verse-by-verse cross-references on Prime Bible — a free, nonprofit Bible study platform.