Learning Bible

Turn to the Lord

ou disgraceful nation, gather around,

²before it's too late.

The Lord has set a time when his fierce anger

will strike like a storm and sweep you away.

³If you humbly obey the Lord,

then come and worship him.

If you do right and are humble,

perhaps you will be safe on that day

when the Lord turns loose his anger.

A Day of Judgment for All People

In this section

Zephaniah declares that the Lord will also punish Judah's enemies (2.4-15) on every side. But this does not mean that the people of Jerusalem are pardoned for their sins. The Lord's judgment will also fall on all in Jerusalem who “have disgraced the place of worship and abused God's Law” (3.4).

Judgment on Philistia

⁴Gaza and Ashkelon will be deserted and left in ruins.

Ashdod will be emptied in broad daylight,

and Ekron uprooted.

⁵To you people of Philistia who live along the coast,

the Lord has this to say:

“I am now your enemy, and I'll wipe you out!”

⁶Your seacoast will be changed

into pastureland and sheep pens.

⁷The Lord God hasn't forgotten

those survivors in Judah, and he will help them—

his people will take your land to use for pasture.

And when evening comes, they will rest

in houses at Ashkelon.

Judgment on Moab and Ammon

* ⁸ The Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, said:

I've heard Moab and Ammon insult my people

and threaten their nation.

⁹And so, I swear by my very life

that Moab and Ammon will end up

like Sodom and Gomorrah—

covered with thornbushes and salt pits forever.

Then my people who survive will take their land.

¹⁰This is how Moab and Ammon will at last be repaid

for their pride—

and for sneering at the nation that belongs to me,

the Lord All-Powerful.

¹¹I will fiercely attack. Then every god on this earth

will shrink to nothing,

and everyone of every nation will bow down to me,

right where they are.

Judgment on Ethiopia

¹² People of Ethiopia, the sword of the Lord

will slaughter you!

Judgment on Assyria

¹³ The Lord will reach to the north to crush Assyria

and overthrow Nineveh.

¹⁴Herds of wild animals will live in its rubble;

all kinds of desert owls will perch on its stones

and hoot in the windows.

Noisy ravens will be heard inside its buildings,

stripped bare of cedar.

¹⁵This is the glorious city that felt secure and said,

“I am the only one!”

Now it's merely ruins, a home for wild animals.