Zephaniah 2

1Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not desired; {not...: or, not desirous}● 2Before the decree bring forth, {before} the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the LORD come upon you, before the day of the LORD'S anger come upon you.● 3Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD'S anger.● 4For Gaza shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon a desolation: they shall drive out Ashdod at the noon day, and Ekron shall be rooted up.● 5Woe unto the inhabitants of the sea coast, the nation of the Cherethites! the word of the LORD {is} against you; O Canaan, the land of the Philistines, I will even destroy thee, that there shall be no inhabitant.● 6And the sea coast shall be dwellings {and} cottages for shepherds, and folds for flocks.● 7And the coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Judah; they shall feed thereupon: in the houses of Ashkelon shall they lie down in the evening: for the LORD their God shall visit them, and turn away their captivity. {for the LORD: or, when, etc}● 8I have heard the reproach of Moab, and the revilings of the children of Ammon, whereby they have reproached my people, and magnified {themselves} against their border.● 9Therefore {as} I live, saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Surely Moab shall be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, {even} the breeding of nettles, and saltpits, and a perpetual desolation: the residue of my people shall spoil them, and the remnant of my people shall possess them.● 10This shall they have for their pride, because they have reproached and magnified {themselves} against the people of the LORD of hosts.● 11The LORD {will be} terrible unto them: for he will famish all the gods of the earth; and {men} shall worship him, every one from his place, {even} all the isles of the heathen. {famish: Heb. make lean}● 12Ye Ethiopians also, ye {shall be} slain by my sword.● 13And he will stretch out his hand against the north, and destroy Assyria; and will make Nineveh a desolation, {and} dry like a wilderness.● 14And flocks shall lie down in the midst of her, all the beasts of the nations: both the cormorant and the bittern shall lodge in the upper lintels of it; {their} voice shall sing in the windows; desolation {shall be} in the thresholds: for he shall uncover the cedar work. {cormorant: or, pelican} {upper...: or, knops, or, chapiters} {for...: or, when he hath uncovered}● 15This {is} the rejoicing city that dwelt carelessly, that said in her heart, I {am}, and {there is} none beside me: how is she become a desolation, a place for beasts to lie down in! every one that passeth by her shall hiss, {and} wag his hand.●