Zephaniah 2:1-7
Zephaniah 2:1-7 The Message (MSG)
So get yourselves together. Shape up! You’re a nation without a clue about what it wants. Do it before you’re blown away like leaves in a windstorm, Before GOD’s Judgment-anger sweeps down on you, Before GOD’s Judgment Day wrath descends with full force. * * * Seek GOD, all you quietly disciplined people who live by GOD’s justice. Seek GOD’s right ways. Seek a quiet and disciplined life. Perhaps you’ll be hidden on the Day of GOD’s anger. Gaza is scheduled for demolition, Ashdod will be cleaned out by high noon, Ekron pulled out by the roots. Doom to the seaside people, the seafaring people from Crete! The Word of GOD is bad news for you who settled Canaan, the Philistine country: “You’re slated for destruction— no survivors!” * * * The lands of the seafarers will become pastureland, A country for shepherds and sheep. What’s left of the family of Judah will get it. Day after day they’ll pasture by the sea, and go home in the evening to Ashkelon to sleep. Their very own GOD will look out for them. He’ll make things as good as before. * * *
Zephaniah 2:1-7 King James Version (KJV)
Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not desired; before 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. Seek 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. For Gaza shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon a desolation: they shall drive out Ashdod at the noon day, and Ekron shall be rooted up. Woe 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. And the sea coast shall be dwellings and cottages for shepherds, and folds for flocks. And 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.
Zephaniah 2:1-7 New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995 (NASB1995)
Gather yourselves together, yes, gather, O nation without shame, Before the decree takes effect— The day passes like the chaff— Before the burning anger of the LORD comes upon you, Before the day of the LORD’S anger comes upon you. Seek the LORD, All you humble of the earth Who have carried out His ordinances; Seek righteousness, seek humility. Perhaps you will be hidden In the day of the LORD’S anger. For Gaza will be abandoned And Ashkelon a desolation; Ashdod will be driven out at noon And Ekron will be uprooted. Woe to the inhabitants of the seacoast, The nation of the Cherethites! The word of the LORD is against you, O Canaan, land of the Philistines; And I will destroy you So that there will be no inhabitant. So the seacoast will be pastures, With caves for shepherds and folds for flocks. And the coast will be For the remnant of the house of Judah, They will pasture on it. In the houses of Ashkelon they will lie down at evening; For the LORD their God will care for them And restore their fortune.
Zephaniah 2:1-7 New Century Version (NCV)
Gather together, gather, you unwanted people. Do it before it’s too late, before you are blown away like chaff, before the LORD’s terrible anger reaches you, before the day of the LORD’s anger comes to you. Come to the LORD, all you who are not proud, who obey his laws. Do what is right. Learn to be humble. Maybe you will escape on the day the LORD shows his anger. No one will be left in the city of Gaza, and the city of Ashkelon will be destroyed. Ashdod will be empty by noon, and the people of Ekron will be chased away. How terrible it will be for you who live by the Mediterranean Sea, you Philistines! The word of the LORD is against you, Canaan, land of the Philistines. “I will destroy you so that no one will be left.” The land by the Mediterranean Sea, in which you live, will become pastures, fields for shepherds, and pens for sheep. It will belong to the descendants of Judah who are left alive. There they will let their sheep eat grass. At night they will sleep in the houses of Ashkelon. The LORD their God will pay attention to them and will make their life good again.
Zephaniah 2:1-7 American Standard Version (ASV)
Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation that hath no shame; before the decree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of Jehovah come upon you, before the day of Jehovah’s anger come upon you. Seek ye Jehovah, all ye meek of the earth, that have kept his ordinances; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye will be hid in the day of Jehovah’s anger. For Gaza shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon a desolation; they shall drive out Ashdod at noonday, and Ekron shall be rooted up. Woe unto the inhabitants of the sea-coast, the nation of the Cherethites! The word of Jehovah is against you, O Canaan, the land of the Philistines; I will destroy thee, that there shall be no inhabitant. And the sea-coast shall be pastures, with cottages for shepherds and folds for flocks. And the coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Judah; they shall feed their flocks thereupon; in the houses of Ashkelon shall they lie down in the evening; for Jehovah their God will visit them, and bring back their captivity.
Zephaniah 2:1-7 New International Version (NIV)
Gather together, gather yourselves together, you shameful nation, before the decree takes effect and that day passes like windblown chaff, before the LORD’s fierce anger comes upon you, before the day of the LORD’s wrath comes upon you. Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land, you who do what he commands. Seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the LORD’s anger. Gaza will be abandoned and Ashkelon left in ruins. At midday Ashdod will be emptied and Ekron uprooted. Woe to you who live by the sea, you Kerethite people; the word of the LORD is against you, Canaan, land of the Philistines. He says, “I will destroy you, and none will be left.” The land by the sea will become pastures having wells for shepherds and pens for flocks. That land will belong to the remnant 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.
Zephaniah 2:1-7 New King James Version (NKJV)
Gather yourselves together, yes, gather together, O undesirable nation, 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! Seek the LORD, all you meek of the earth, Who have upheld His justice. Seek righteousness, seek humility. It may be that you will be hidden In the day of the LORD’s anger. For Gaza shall be forsaken, And Ashkelon desolate; They shall drive out Ashdod at noonday, And Ekron shall be uprooted. Woe to the inhabitants of the seacoast, The nation of the Cherethites! The word of the LORD is against you, O Canaan, land of the Philistines: “I will destroy you; So there shall be no inhabitant.” The seacoast shall be pastures, With shelters for shepherds and folds for flocks. The coast shall be for 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 intervene for them, And return their captives.
Zephaniah 2:1-7 Amplified Bible (AMP)
Gather yourselves together [in repentance], yes, gather [in submission], O nation without shame, Before the decree takes effect [and the time for repentance is lost]— The day passes like the chaff [whirled by the wind]— Before the burning and fierce anger of the LORD comes upon you, Before the day of the wrath of the LORD comes upon you. Seek the LORD [search diligently for Him and regard Him as the foremost necessity of your life], All you humble of the land Who have practiced His ordinances and have kept His commandments; Seek righteousness, seek humility [regard them as vital]. Perhaps you will be hidden [and pardoned and rescued] In the day of the LORD’S anger. ¶For [this is the fate of the Philistines:] Gaza will be abandoned And Ashkelon a desolation; [The people of] Ashdod will be driven out at noon [in broad daylight] And Ekron will be uprooted and destroyed. Woe (judgment is coming) to the inhabitants of the seacoast, The nation of the Cherethites [in Philistia]! The word of the LORD is against you, O Canaan, land of the Philistines; I will destroy you So that no inhabitant will be left. So the [depopulated] seacoast shall be pastures, With [deserted] meadows for shepherds and folds for flocks. The seacoast will belong To the remnant of the house of Judah; They will pasture [their flocks] on it. In the [deserted] houses of Ashkelon [in Philistia] they [of Judah] will lie down and rest in the evening, For the LORD their God will care for them; And restore their fortune [permitting them to occupy the land]. [Is 14:29-31; Amos 1:6-8]
Zephaniah 2:1-7 New Living Translation (NLT)
Gather together—yes, gather together, you shameless nation. Gather before judgment begins, before your time to repent is blown away like chaff. Act now, before the fierce fury of the LORD falls and the terrible day of the LORD’s anger begins. Seek the LORD, all who are humble, and follow his commands. Seek to do what is right and to live humbly. Perhaps even yet the LORD will protect you— protect you from his anger on that day of destruction. Gaza and Ashkelon will be abandoned, Ashdod and Ekron torn down. And what sorrow awaits you Philistines who live along the coast and in the land of Canaan, for this judgment is against you, too! The LORD will destroy you until not one of you is left. The Philistine coast will become a wilderness pasture, a place of shepherd camps and enclosures for sheep and goats. The remnant of the tribe of Judah will pasture there. They will rest at night in the abandoned houses in Ashkelon. For the LORD their God will visit his people in kindness and restore their prosperity again.
Zephaniah 2:1-7 English Standard Version 2016 (ESV)
Gather together, yes, gather, O shameless nation, before the decree takes effect —before the day passes away like chaff— before there comes upon you the burning anger of the LORD, before there comes upon you the day of the anger of the LORD. Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land, who do his just commands; seek righteousness; seek humility; perhaps you may be hidden on the day of the anger of the LORD. 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. Woe to you inhabitants of the seacoast, you nation of the Cherethites! The word of the LORD is against you, O Canaan, land of the Philistines; and I will destroy you until no inhabitant is left. And you, O seacoast, shall be pastures, with meadows for shepherds and folds for flocks. The seacoast shall become the possession of the remnant of the house of Judah, on which they shall graze, and in the houses of Ashkelon they shall lie down at evening. For the LORD their God will be mindful of them and restore their fortunes.