Zephaniah 2
1
Gather a yourselves together, yes, gather together,
O undesirable nation,
2
Before the decree is issued,
Or the day passes like chaff,
Before the LORD's fierce anger comes upon you,
Before the day of the LORD's anger comes upon you!
3
b Seek the LORD, c all you meek of the earth,
Who have upheld His justice.
Seek righteousness, seek humility.
d It may be that you will be hidden
In the day of the LORD's anger.
4
For e Gaza shall be forsaken,
And Ashkelon desolate;
They shall drive out Ashdod f at noonday,
And Ekron shall be uprooted.
5
Woe to the inhabitants of g the seacoast,
The nation of the Cherethites!
The word of the LORD is against you,
O h Canaan, land of the Philistines:
"I will destroy you;
So there shall be no inhabitant."
6
The seacoast shall be pastures,
With shelters for shepherds i and folds for flocks.
7
The coast shall be for j 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 k intervene for them,
And l return their captives.
8
"I m have heard the reproach of Moab,
And n the insults of the people of Ammon,
With which they have reproached My people,
And o made arrogant threats against their borders.
9
Therefore, as I live,"
Says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel,
"Surely p Moab shall be like Sodom,
And q the people of Ammon like Gomorrah -
r Overrun with weeds and saltpits,
And a perpetual desolation.
The residue of My people shall plunder them,
And the remnant of My people shall possess them."
10
This they shall have s for their pride,
Because they have reproached and made arrogant threats
Against the people of the LORD of hosts.
11
The LORD will be awesome to them,
For He will reduce to nothing all the gods of the earth;
t People shall worship Him,
Each one from his place,
Indeed all u the shores of the nations.
12
"You v Ethiopians also,
You shall be slain by w My sword."
13
And He will stretch out His hand against the north,
x Destroy Assyria,
And make Nineveh a desolation,
As dry as the wilderness.
14
The herds shall lie down in her midst,
y Every beast of the nation.
Both the z pelican and the bittern
Shall lodge on the capitals of her pillars;
Their voice shall sing in the windows;
Desolation shall be at the threshold;
For He will lay bare the a cedar work.
15
This is the rejoicing city
b That dwelt securely,
c That said in her heart,
"I am it, and there is none besides me."
How has she become a desolation,
A place for beasts to lie down!
Everyone who passes by her
d Shall hiss and e shake his fist.
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Cross References
2 Chronicles 20:4
So Judah gathered together to ask help from the LORD; and from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD.
Joel 1:14
Consecrate a fast, Call a sacred assembly; Gather the elders And all the inhabitants of the land Into the house of the LORD your God, And cry out to the LORD.
Joel 2:16
Gather the people, Sanctify the congregation, Assemble the elders, Gather the children and nursing babes; Let the bridegroom go out from his chamber, And the bride from her dressing room.
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Cross References
Psalms 105:4
Seek the LORD and His strength; Seek His face evermore!
Amos 5:6
Seek the LORD and live, Lest He break out like fire in the house of Joseph, And devour it, With no one to quench it in Bethel -
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Cross References
Psalms 76:9
When God arose to judgment, To deliver all the oppressed of the earth. Selah
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Cross References
Joel 2:14
Who knows if He will turn and relent, And leave a blessing behind Him - A grain offering and a drink offering For the LORD your God?
Amos 5:14
Seek good and not evil, That you may live; So the LORD God of hosts will be with you, As you have spoken.
Amos 5:15
Hate evil, love good; Establish justice in the gate. It may be that the LORD God of hosts Will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.
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Cross References
Jeremiah 47:1
The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet against the Philistines, before Pharaoh attacked Gaza.
Jeremiah 47:5
Baldness has come upon Gaza, Ashkelon is cut off With the remnant of their valley. How long will you cut yourself?
Amos 1:7
But I will send a fire upon the wall of Gaza, Which shall devour its palaces.
Amos 1:8
I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod, And the one who holds the scepter from Ashkelon; I will turn My hand against Ekron, And the remnant of the Philistines shall perish," Says the Lord GOD.
Zechariah 9:5
Ashkelon shall see it and fear; Gaza also shall be very sorrowful; And Ekron, for He dried up her expectation. The king shall perish from Gaza, And Ashkelon shall not be inhabited.
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Cross References
Jeremiah 6:4
Prepare war against her; Arise, and let us go up at noon. Woe to us, for the day goes away, For the shadows of the evening are lengthening.
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Cross References
Ezekiel 25:15 - 17
'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Because the Philistines dealt vengefully and took vengeance with a spiteful heart, to destroy because of the old hatred,"
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Cross References
Joshua 13:3
From Sihor, which is east of Egypt, as far as the border of Ekron northward ( which is counted as Canaanite); the five lords of the Philistines - the Gazites, the Ashdodites, the Ashkelonites, the Gittites, and the Ekronites; also the Avites.
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Cross References
Isaiah 17:2
The cities of Aroer are forsaken; They will be for flocks Which lie down, and no one will make them afraid.
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Cross References
Micah 5:7
Then the remnant of Jacob Shall be in the midst of many peoples, Like dew from the LORD, Like showers on the grass, That tarry for no man Nor wait for the sons of men.
Micah 5:8
And the remnant of Jacob Shall be among the Gentiles, In the midst of many peoples, Like a lion among the beasts of the forest, Like a young lion among flocks of sheep, Who, if he passes through, Both treads down and tears in pieces, And none can deliver.
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Cross References
Luke 1:68
Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited and redeemed His people.
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Cross References
Jeremiah 29:14
I will be found by you, says the LORD, and I will bring you back from your captivity; I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the LORD, and I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive.
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Cross References
Jeremiah 48:27
For was not Israel a derision to you? Was he found among thieves? For whenever you speak of him, You shake your head in scorn.
Amos 2:1 - 3
Thus says the LORD: "For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, Because he burned the bones of the king of Edom to lime.
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Cross References
Ezekiel 25:3
Say to the Ammonites, 'Hear the word of the Lord GOD! Thus says the Lord GOD: "Because you said, 'Aha!' against My sanctuary when it was profaned, and against the land of Israel when it was desolate, and against the house of Judah when they went into captivity.
Amos 1:13
Thus says the LORD: "For three transgressions of the people of Ammon, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, Because they ripped open the women with child in Gilead, That they might enlarge their territory.
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Cross References
Jeremiah 49:1
Against the Ammonites. Thus says the LORD: "Has Israel no sons? Has he no heir? Why then does Milcom inherit Gad, And his people dwell in its cities?
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Cross References
Isaiah 15:1 - 9
The burden against Moab. Because in the night Ar of Moab is laid waste And destroyed, Because in the night Kir of Moab is laid waste And destroyed.
Jeremiah 48:1 - 47
Against Moab. Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: "Woe to Nebo! For it is plundered, Kirjathaim is shamed and taken; The high stronghold is shamed and dismayed -
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Cross References
Amos 1:13
Thus says the LORD: "For three transgressions of the people of Ammon, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, Because they ripped open the women with child in Gilead, That they might enlarge their territory.
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Cross References
Deuteronomy 29:23
'The whole land is brimstone, salt, and burning; it is not sown, nor does it bear, nor does any grass grow there, like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, which the LORD overthrew in His anger and His wrath.'
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Cross References
Isaiah 16:6
We have heard of the pride of Moab - He is very proud - Of his haughtiness and his pride and his wrath; But his lies shall not be so.
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Cross References
Malachi 1:11
For from the rising of the sun, even to its going down, My name shall be great among the Gentiles; In every place incense shall be offered to My name, And a pure offering; For My name shall be great among the nations," Says the LORD of hosts.
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Cross References
Genesis 10:5
From these the coastland peoples of the Gentiles were separated into their lands, everyone according to his language, according to their families, into their nations.
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Cross References
Isaiah 18:1 - 7
Woe to the land shadowed with buzzing wings, Which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia.
Ezekiel 30:4
The sword shall come upon Egypt, And great anguish shall be in Ethiopia, When the slain fall in Egypt, And they take away her wealth, And her foundations are broken down.
Ezekiel 30:5
"Ethiopia, Libya, Lydia, all the mingled people, Chub, and the men of the lands who are allied, shall fall with them by the sword."
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Cross References
Psalms 17:13
Arise, O LORD, Confront him, cast him down; Deliver my life from the wicked with Your sword.
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Cross References
Isaiah 10:5 - 27
Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger And the staff in whose hand is My indignation.
Isaiah 14:24 - 27
The LORD of hosts has sworn, saying, "Surely, as I have thought, so it shall come to pass, And as I have purposed, so it shall stand:
Micah 5:5
And this One shall be peace. When the Assyrian comes into our land, And when he treads in our palaces, Then we will raise against him Seven shepherds and eight princely men.
Micah 5:6
They shall waste with the sword the land of Assyria, And the land of Nimrod at its entrances; Thus He shall deliver us from the Assyrian, When he comes into our land And when he treads within our borders.
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Cross References
Isaiah 13:21
But wild beasts of the desert will lie there, And their houses will be full of owls; Ostriches will dwell there, And wild goats will caper there.
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Cross References
Isaiah 14:23
I will also make it a possession for the porcupine, And marshes of muddy water; I will sweep it with the broom of destruction," says the LORD of hosts.
Isaiah 34:11
But the pelican and the porcupine shall possess it, Also the owl and the raven shall dwell in it. And He shall stretch out over it The line of confusion and the stones of emptiness.
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Cross References
Jeremiah 22:14
Who says, 'I will build myself a wide house with spacious chambers, And cut out windows for it, Paneling it with cedar And painting it with vermilion.
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Cross References
Isaiah 47:8
Therefore hear this now, you who are given to pleasures, Who dwell securely, Who say in your heart, 'I am, and there is no one else besides me; I shall not sit as a widow, Nor shall I know the loss of children'.
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Cross References
Revelation 18:7
"In the measure that she glorified herself and lived luxuriously, in the same measure give her torment and sorrow; for she says in her heart, 'I sit as queen, and am no widow, and will not see sorrow.'
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Cross References
Lamentations 2:15
All who pass by clap their hands at you; They hiss and shake their heads At the daughter of Jerusalem: " Is this the city that is called 'The perfection of beauty, The joy of the whole earth'?
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Cross References
Nahum 3:19
Your injury has no healing, Your wound is severe. All who hear news of you Will clap their hands over you, For upon whom has not your wickedness passed continually?
New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.