Zephaniah 2 :: New Living Translation (NLT)

A Call to Repentance

Zep 2:1Gather together—yes, gather together,
you shameless nation.

Zep 2:2Gather before judgment begins,
before your time to repent is blown away like chaff.
Act now, before the fierce fury of the LORD falls
and the terrible day of the LORD’s anger begins.

Zep 2:3

Zep 2:3Seek the LORD, all who are humble,
and follow his commands.
Seek to do what is right
and to live humbly.
Perhaps even yet the LORD will protect you—
protect you from his anger on that day of destruction.

Judgment against Philistia

Zep 2:4

Zep 2:4Gaza and Ashkelon will be abandoned,
Ashdod and Ekron torn down.

Zep 2:5

Zep 2:5And what sorrow awaits you Philistines[fn]
who live along the coast and in the land of Canaan,
for this judgment is against you, too!
The LORD will destroy you
until not one of you is left.

Zep 2:6

Zep 2:6The Philistine coast will become a wilderness pasture,
a place of shepherd camps
and enclosures for sheep and goats.

Zep 2:7

Zep 2:7The remnant of the tribe of Judah will pasture there.
They will rest at night in the abandoned houses in Ashkelon.
For the LORD their God will visit his people in kindness
and restore their prosperity again.

Judgment against Moab and Ammon

Zep 2:8

Zep 2:8“I have heard the taunts of the Moabites
and the insults of the Ammonites,
mocking my people
and invading their borders.

Zep 2:9

Zep 2:9Now, as surely as I live,”
says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel,
“Moab and Ammon will be destroyed—
destroyed as completely as Sodom and Gomorrah.
Their land will become a place of stinging nettles,
salt pits, and eternal desolation.
The remnant of my people will plunder them
and take their land.”

Zep 2:10

Zep 2:10They will receive the wages of their pride,
for they have scoffed at the people of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.

Zep 2:11

Zep 2:11The LORD will terrify them
as he destroys all the gods in the land.
Then nations around the world will worship the LORD,
each in their own land.

Judgment against Ethiopia and Assyria

Zep 2:12

Zep 2:12“You Ethiopians[fn] will also be slaughtered
by my sword,” says the LORD.

Zep 2:13

Zep 2:13And the LORD will strike the lands of the north with his fist,
destroying the land of Assyria.
He will make its great capital, Nineveh, a desolate wasteland,
parched like a desert.

Zep 2:14

Zep 2:14The proud city will become a pasture for flocks and herds,
and all sorts of wild animals will settle there.
The desert owl and screech owl will roost on its ruined columns,
their calls echoing through the gaping windows.
Rubble will block all the doorways,
and the cedar paneling will be exposed to the weather.

Zep 2:15

Zep 2:15This is the boisterous city,
once so secure.
“I am the greatest!” it boasted.
“No other city can compare with me!”
But now, look how it has become an utter ruin,
a haven for wild animals.
Everyone passing by will laugh in derision
and shake a defiant fist.

See the NLT Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).

NLT Footnotes

(2:5)

Hebrew Kerethites.

(2:12)

Hebrew Cushites.

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For more information on this translation, see the NLT Preface.

Zephaniah Chapter 2 — Additional Translations:

King James Version New King James Version New International Version English Standard Version Christian Standard Bible New American Standard Bible 2020 New American Standard Bible 1995 Legacy Standard Bible Amplified Bible New English Translation Revised Standard Version American Standard Version Young's Literal Translation Darby Translation Webster's Bible Hebrew Names Version Latin Vulgate Westminster Leningrad Codex Septuagint Smith Van Dyck Arabic Bible Open New Arabic Version Brenton's English Septuagint Reina Valera 1909 Reina-Valera 1960 Bible in Basic English Chinese Traditional Union Espanol Moderno Korean Holy Bible Louis Segond German Luther Russian Synodal Translation Sagradas Escrituras

Zephaniah 2 :: New Living Translation (NLT)

NLT Footnotes

Zephaniah Chapter 2 — Additional Translations:

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