Zephaniah

¹Gather together, gather yourselves together,you shameful nation, ²before the decree takes effectand that day passes like windblown chaff,before the Lord’s fierce angercomes upon you,before the day of the Lord’s wrathcomes upon you. ³Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land,you who do what he commands.Seek righteousness, seek humility;perhaps you will be shelteredon the day of the Lord’s anger.

Philistia

⁴Gaza will be abandonedand Ashkelon left in ruins.At midday Ashdod will be emptiedand Ekron uprooted. ⁵Woe to you who live by the sea,you Kerethite people;the word of the Lord is against you,Canaan, land of the Philistines.He says, ‘I will destroy you,and none will be left.’ ⁶The land by the sea will become pastureshaving wells for shepherdsand sheepfolds for flocks. ⁷That land will belongto the remnant of the people of Judah;there they will find pasture.In the evening they will lie downin the houses of Ashkelon.The Lord their God will care for them;he will restore their fortunes.

Moab and Ammon

⁸‘I have heard the insults of Moaband the taunts of the Ammonites,who insulted my peopleand made threats against their land. ⁹Therefore, as surely as I live,’declares the Lord Almighty,the God of Israel,‘surely Moab will become like Sodom,the Ammonites like Gomorrah –a place of weeds and salt pits,a wasteland for ever.The remnant of my people will plunder them;the survivors of my nation will inherit their land.’ ¹⁰This is what they will get in return for their pride,for insulting and mockingthe people of the Lord Almighty. ¹¹The Lord will be awesome to themwhen he destroys all the gods of the earth.Distant nations will bow down to him,all of them in their own lands.

Cush

¹²‘You Cushites, too,will be slain by my sword.’

Assyria

¹³He will stretch out his hand against the northand destroy Assyria,leaving Nineveh utterly desolateand dry as the desert. ¹⁴Flocks and herds will lie down there,creatures of every kind.The desert owl and the screech owlwill roost on her columns.Their hooting will echo through the windows,rubble will fill the doorways,the beams of cedar will be exposed.