Sofonías 2

Seek the LORD

¹Gather yourselves together, come together, \q you nation without shame,^{a 2}before the decree takes effect \q and the day blows away like chaff, \q before the LORD’s fierce anger falls on you, \q before the day of the LORD’s anger overtakes you.^{b 3}Seek the LORD, all you humble people of the land, \q you who carry out his commands. \q Seek righteousness; seek humility. \q It may be that you will find shelter \q on the day of the LORD’s anger. ⁴For Gaza will be deserted \q and Ashkelon left in ruins; \q Ashdod’s people will be driven out at noon, \q and Ekron will be torn up by the roots.^c

The nations around Judah

⁵Woe to you who live by the sea, you nation of Cherethites! \q The word of the LORD is against you, Canaan, land of the Philistines: \q I will destroy you until no one is left. ⁶The land by the sea will become pastureland, with meadows for shepherds and pens for sheep.^{d 7}The coast will belong to what is left of the house of Judah; there they will pasture their flocks. \q In the evening they will lie down in the houses of Ashkelon, \q for the LORD their God will care for them and restore their fortunes. ⁸I have heard the taunts of Moab \q and the insults of the Ammonites, \q how they mocked my people \q and made boasts against their land. ⁹Therefore, as I live, declares the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, Moab will become like Sodom and the Ammonites like Gomorrah, \q a land overrun by weeds, a pit of salt, a wasteland forever. \q What is left of my people will plunder them; \q the survivors of my nation will take their land. ¹⁰This is what they will get for their pride, \q because they mocked and boasted \q against the people of the LORD of Armies. ¹¹The LORD will be fearsome to them \q when he makes all the gods of the earth waste away. \q Then they will bow down to him, each in its own place, \q all the coastlands of the nations. ¹²You too, Cushites, \q will be slain by my sword. ¹³He will raise his hand against the north \q and destroy Assyria; \q he will turn Nineveh into a wasteland, \q as dry as the desert. ¹⁴Flocks will lie down in her, animals of every kind; \q the desert owl and the hedgehog \q will roost on the tops of her pillars. \q Their call will sound through the windows, rubble will lie on the doorsteps, \q for her cedar paneling has been stripped bare.^{e 15}This is the city that exulted, \q that lived without a care, \q that thought in her heart, “I am, and there is no other but me.” \q What a ruin she has become, a place where wild animals lie down! \q Everyone who passes by her \q hisses and shakes their fist.