Judgment on Nations

For (A)Gaza shall be forsaken,
And Ashkelon desolate;
They shall drive out Ashdod (B)at noonday,
And Ekron shall be uprooted.
Woe to the inhabitants of (C)the seacoast,
The nation of the Cherethites!
The word of the Lord is against you,
O (D)Canaan, land of the Philistines:
“I will destroy you;
So there shall be no inhabitant.”

The seacoast shall be pastures,
With [a]shelters for shepherds (E)and folds for flocks.
The coast shall be for (F)the remnant of the house of Judah;
They shall feed their flocks there;
In the houses of Ashkelon they shall lie down at evening.
For the Lord their God will (G)intervene[b] for them,
And (H)return their captives.

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Footnotes

  1. Zephaniah 2:6 Underground huts or cisterns, lit. excavations
  2. Zephaniah 2:7 Lit. visit them

Philistia

Gaza(A) will be abandoned
    and Ashkelon(B) left in ruins.
At midday Ashdod will be emptied
    and Ekron uprooted.
Woe to you who live by the sea,
    you Kerethite(C) people;
the word of the Lord is against you,(D)
    Canaan, land of the Philistines.
He says, “I will destroy you,
    and none will be left.”(E)
The land by the sea will become pastures
    having wells for shepherds
    and pens for flocks.(F)
That land will belong
    to the remnant(G) of the people of Judah;
    there they will find pasture.
In the evening they will lie down
    in the houses of Ashkelon.
The Lord their God will care for them;
    he will restore their fortunes.[a](H)

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Footnotes

  1. Zephaniah 2:7 Or will bring back their captives