SEEK THE LORD
Key verse: 3
NIV
Judah and Jerusalem Judged Along With the Nations
Judah Summoned to Repent
2 Gather together,(A) gather yourselves together,
you shameful(B) nation,
2 before the decree takes effect
and that day passes like windblown chaff,(C)
before the Lord’s fierce anger(D)
comes upon you,
before the day of the Lord’s wrath(E)
comes upon you.
3 Seek(F) the Lord, all you humble of the land,
you who do what he commands.
Seek righteousness,(G) seek humility;(H)
perhaps you will be sheltered(I)
on the day of the Lord’s anger.
Philistia
4 Gaza(J) will be abandoned
and Ashkelon(K) left in ruins.
At midday Ashdod will be emptied
and Ekron uprooted.
5 Woe to you who live by the sea,
you Kerethite(L) people;
the word of the Lord is against you,(M)
Canaan, land of the Philistines.
He says, “I will destroy you,
and none will be left.”(N)
6 The land by the sea will become pastures
having wells for shepherds
and pens for flocks.(O)
7 That land will belong
to the remnant(P) 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](Q)
Moab and Ammon
8 “I have heard the insults(R) of Moab(S)
and the taunts of the Ammonites,(T)
who insulted(U) my people
and made threats against their land.(V)
9 Therefore, as surely as I live,”
declares the Lord Almighty,
the God of Israel,
“surely Moab(W) will become like Sodom,(X)
the Ammonites(Y) like Gomorrah—
a place of weeds and salt pits,
a wasteland forever.
The remnant of my people will plunder(Z) them;
the survivors(AA) of my nation will inherit their land.(AB)”
10 This is what they will get in return for their pride,(AC)
for insulting(AD) and mocking
the people of the Lord Almighty.(AE)
11 The Lord will be awesome(AF) to them
when he destroys all the gods(AG) of the earth.(AH)
Distant nations will bow down to him,(AI)
all of them in their own lands.
Cush
Assyria
13 He will stretch out his hand against the north
and destroy Assyria,(AL)
leaving Nineveh(AM) utterly desolate
and dry as the desert.(AN)
14 Flocks and herds(AO) will lie down there,
creatures of every kind.
The desert owl(AP) and the screech owl(AQ)
will roost on her columns.
Their hooting will echo through the windows,
rubble will fill the doorways,
the beams of cedar will be exposed.
15 This is the city of revelry(AR)
that lived in safety.(AS)
She said to herself,
“I am the one! And there is none besides me.”(AT)
What a ruin she has become,
a lair for wild beasts!(AU)
All who pass by her scoff(AV)
and shake their fists.(AW)
Footnotes
- Zephaniah 2:7 Or will bring back their captives
- Zephaniah 2:12 That is, people from the upper Nile region
Cross references
- Zephaniah 2:1 : 2Ch 20:4; Joel 1:14
- Zephaniah 2:1 : S Jer 3:3; 6:15
- Zephaniah 2:2 : Isa 17:13; Hos 13:3
- Zephaniah 2:2 : S Jer 10:25; S La 4:11
- Zephaniah 2:2 : S Jer 4:4; S Eze 7:19
- Zephaniah 2:3 : S Am 5:6
- Zephaniah 2:3 : S Isa 1:17
- Zephaniah 2:3 : Ps 45:4
- Zephaniah 2:3 : Ps 57:1
- Zephaniah 2:4 : S Ge 10:19; S Am 1:6, 7-8; Zec 9:5-7
- Zephaniah 2:4 : Jer 47:5
- Zephaniah 2:5 : S 1Sa 30:14
- Zephaniah 2:5 : S Lev 26:31; Am 3:1
- Zephaniah 2:5 : S Isa 14:30
- Zephaniah 2:6 : S Isa 5:17
- Zephaniah 2:7 : S Ge 45:7
- Zephaniah 2:7 : S Dt 30:3; Ps 126:4; Jer 32:44; S Hos 6:11; S Joel 3:1; Am 1:6-8
- Zephaniah 2:8 : S Jer 48:27
- Zephaniah 2:8 : S Ge 19:37; S Isa 16:6
- Zephaniah 2:8 : S Eze 21:28
- Zephaniah 2:8 : Eze 25:3
- Zephaniah 2:8 : S La 3:61
- Zephaniah 2:9 : S Dt 23:6; Isa 15:1-16:14; Jer 48:1-47; Eze 25:8-11
- Zephaniah 2:9 : Dt 29:23; Isa 13:19; Jer 49:18
- Zephaniah 2:9 : Jer 49:1-6; Eze 25:1-7
- Zephaniah 2:9 : S Isa 11:14
- Zephaniah 2:9 : S 2Ki 19:31
- Zephaniah 2:9 : S Am 2:1-3
- Zephaniah 2:10 : S Job 40:12; S Isa 16:6
- Zephaniah 2:10 : S Jer 48:27
- Zephaniah 2:10 : S Ps 9:6
- Zephaniah 2:11 : S Joel 2:11
- Zephaniah 2:11 : S Zep 1:4
- Zephaniah 2:11 : S 1Ch 19:1; Eze 25:6-7
- Zephaniah 2:11 : Ps 86:9; S Isa 12:4; Zep 3:9
- Zephaniah 2:12 : S Ge 10:6; S Isa 20:4
- Zephaniah 2:12 : S Jer 46:10
- Zephaniah 2:13 : S Isa 10:5
- Zephaniah 2:13 : S Ge 10:11; S Na 1:1
- Zephaniah 2:13 : S Mic 5:6; Zec 10:11
- Zephaniah 2:14 : S Isa 5:17
- Zephaniah 2:14 : S Isa 14:23
- Zephaniah 2:14 : S Ps 102:6; Rev 18:2
- Zephaniah 2:15 : S Isa 32:9
- Zephaniah 2:15 : Isa 47:8
- Zephaniah 2:15 : Eze 28:2
- Zephaniah 2:15 : Jer 49:33
- Zephaniah 2:15 : S Isa 28:22; S Na 3:19
- Zephaniah 2:15 : S Eze 27:36
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway
ESV
Judgment on Judah's Enemies
2 Gather together, yes, gather,
O (A)shameless nation,
2 (B)before the decree takes effect[a]
—before the day passes away (C)like chaff—
(D)before there comes upon you
the burning anger of the Lord,
before there comes upon you
the day of the anger of the Lord.
3 (E)Seek the Lord, (F)all you humble of the land,
who do his just commands;[b]
(G)seek righteousness; seek humility;
(H)perhaps (I)you may be hidden
on the day of the anger of the Lord.
4 (J)For Gaza shall be deserted,
and Ashkelon shall become a desolation;
Ashdod's people shall be driven out at noon,
and Ekron shall be uprooted.
5 Woe to (K)you inhabitants of the seacoast,
you nation of (L)the Cherethites!
(M)The word of the Lord is against you,
(N)O Canaan, land of the Philistines;
and I will destroy you (O)until no inhabitant is left.
6 (P)And you, O seacoast, (Q)shall be pastures,
with meadows[c] for shepherds
and folds for flocks.
7 (R)The seacoast shall become the possession
of (S)the remnant of the house of Judah,
(T)on which they shall graze,
and in the houses of Ashkelon
they shall lie down at evening.
For the Lord their God (U)will be mindful of them
and (V)restore their fortunes.
8 “I have heard (W)the taunts of Moab
and (X)the revilings of the Ammonites,
how they have taunted my people
and made boasts (Y)against their territory.
9 Therefore, (Z)as I live,” declares the Lord of hosts,
the God of Israel,
“Moab shall become (AA)like Sodom,
and the Ammonites (AB)like Gomorrah,
a land possessed by nettles and salt pits,
and a waste forever.
The remnant of my people shall plunder them,
and the survivors of my nation shall possess them.”
10 This shall be their lot in return (AC)for their pride,
because they taunted and boasted
against the people of the Lord of hosts.
11 The Lord will be awesome against them;
(AD)for he will famish all the gods of the earth,
and (AE)to him shall bow down,
each in its place,
all (AF)the lands of the nations.
12 (AG)You also, O Cushites,
shall be slain by my sword.
13 And he will stretch out his hand against the north
(AH)and destroy Assyria,
and he (AI)will make Nineveh a desolation,
a dry waste like the desert.
14 (AJ)Herds shall lie down in her midst,
all kinds of beasts;[d]
(AK)even the owl and the hedgehog[e]
shall lodge in her capitals;
a voice shall hoot in the window;
devastation will be on the threshold;
for (AL)her cedar work will be laid bare.
15 This is the exultant city
(AM)that lived securely,
that said in her heart,
“I am, and there is no one else.”
What a desolation she has become,
(AN)a lair for wild beasts!
(AO)Everyone who passes by her
hisses and (AP)shakes his fist.
Footnotes
- Zephaniah 2:2 Hebrew gives birth
- Zephaniah 2:3 Or who carry out his judgment
- Zephaniah 2:6 Or caves
- Zephaniah 2:14 Hebrew beasts of every nation
- Zephaniah 2:14 The identity of the animals rendered owl and hedgehog is uncertain
Cross references
- Zephaniah 2:1 : Jer. 6:15
- Zephaniah 2:2 : [ch. 3:8]
- Zephaniah 2:2 : Ps. 1:4
- Zephaniah 2:2 : [2 Kgs. 23:26]
- Zephaniah 2:3 : See Amos 5:6
- Zephaniah 2:3 : Ps. 76:9; Isa. 11:4
- Zephaniah 2:3 : [Amos 5:14, 15]
- Zephaniah 2:3 : [Amos 5:14, 15]
- Zephaniah 2:3 : [Isa. 2:10; 26:20, 21]
- Zephaniah 2:4 : Zech. 9:5, 6; [Jer. 47:5]; See Amos 1:6-8
- Zephaniah 2:5 : Jer. 47:7; Ezek. 25:16
- Zephaniah 2:5 : See 1 Sam. 30:14
- Zephaniah 2:5 : [Nah. 2:13]
- Zephaniah 2:5 : [Josh. 13:3]
- Zephaniah 2:5 : ch. 3:6
- Zephaniah 2:6 : ver. 7
- Zephaniah 2:6 : Isa. 65:10
- Zephaniah 2:7 : [Josh. 19:29]
- Zephaniah 2:7 : [ch. 3:13; Obad. 19]
- Zephaniah 2:7 : [See ver. 6 above]; Isa. 65:10
- Zephaniah 2:7 : Zech. 10:3; Luke 1:68
- Zephaniah 2:7 : ch. 3:20
- Zephaniah 2:8 : [Jer. 48:27]
- Zephaniah 2:8 : Ezek. 25:3, 6
- Zephaniah 2:8 : [Jer. 49:1]
- Zephaniah 2:9 : Isa. 49:18; See Ezek. 16:48
- Zephaniah 2:9 : Deut. 29:23; See Isa. 13:19
- Zephaniah 2:9 : Deut. 29:23; See Isa. 13:19
- Zephaniah 2:10 : Isa. 16:6
- Zephaniah 2:11 : [Isa. 17:4]
- Zephaniah 2:11 : Ps. 22:27
- Zephaniah 2:11 : See Gen. 10:5
- Zephaniah 2:12 : [ch. 3:10]
- Zephaniah 2:13 : [Isa. 10:12]
- Zephaniah 2:13 : Nah. 3:7
- Zephaniah 2:14 : Isa. 13:21, 22; 34:14
- Zephaniah 2:14 : Isa. 34:11
- Zephaniah 2:14 : [Jer. 22:14, 15]
- Zephaniah 2:15 : Isa. 47:8
- Zephaniah 2:15 : [Ezek. 25:5]
- Zephaniah 2:15 : Jer. 19:8
- Zephaniah 2:15 : [Nah. 3:19]
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway
Chapter 2 makes it clear that the Lord is the judge of all the earth. He judges sin everywhere. He judges his own people in Judah, and he judges all other nations as well.
In the first three verses, the Lord speaks to his people Judah. He urges them to gather together and return to him. A day of judgment was coming to them. But it was not too late. If they gather together and seek the Lord, they could go through the judgment. What is it to seek the Lord? Verse 3 says to do what the Lord commands, seek righteousness and seek humility. The Lord’s people should seek righteousness in the Lord, not in themselves. And when the Lord’s people seek the Lord, they should do so in humility. The Lord’s people recognize their own weakness and failings, and seek the Lord from there. When they do, they will be sheltered on the day of the Lord’s anger.
The Lord is also the judge of all the earth. He doesn’t just judge his own people. He judges those who don’t know the Lord—those who have nothing to do with the Lord. Here, specifically, the Lord would judge the nations surrounding Judah who had humiliated her in the past. But in the Lord’s judgment of them, he holds out hope for his people.
Prayer: Lord, open our eyes to your judgment. Help us to seek your righteousness in all humility.
One Word: Seek the Lord