Zep 2 | ESV | STEP | Gather together, yes, gather , O shameless nation ,

1 Gather together, yes, gather,
O ^ashameless nation,
2 ^bbefore the decree takes effect ^{▼▼Hebrew gives birth}
—before the day passes away ^dlike chaff—
^ebefore there comes upon you
the burning anger of the Lord,
before there comes upon you
the day of the anger of the Lord.
3 ^fSeek the Lord, ^gall you humble of the land,
who do his just commands; ^{▼▼Or who carry out his judgment}
ⁱseek righteousness; seek humility;
^jperhaps ^kyou may be hidden
on the day of the anger of the Lord.
4 ^lFor 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 ^myou inhabitants of the seacoast,
you nation of ⁿthe Cherethites!
^oThe word of the Lord is against you,
^pO Canaan, land of the Philistines;
and I will destroy you ^quntil no inhabitant is left.
6 ^rAnd you, O seacoast, ^sshall be pastures,
with meadows ^{▼▼Or caves} for shepherds
and folds for flocks.
7 ^uThe seacoast shall become the possession
of ^vthe remnant of the house of Judah,
^won which they shall graze,
and in the houses of Ashkelon
they shall lie down at evening.
For the Lord their God ^xwill be mindful of them
and ^yrestore their fortunes.
8 “I have heard ^zthe taunts of Moab
and ^aathe revilings of the Ammonites,
how they have taunted my people
and made boasts ^abagainst their territory.
9 Therefore, ^acas I live,” declares the Lord of hosts,
the God of Israel,
“Moab shall become ^adlike Sodom,
and the Ammonites ^aelike 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 ^affor their pride,
because they taunted and boasted
against the people of the Lord of hosts.
11 The Lord will be awesome against them;
^agfor he will famish all the gods of the earth,
and ^ahto him shall bow down,
each in its place,
all ^aithe lands of the nations.
12 ^ajYou also, O Cushites,
shall be slain by my sword.
13 And he will stretch out his hand against the north
^akand destroy Assyria,
and he ^alwill make Nineveh a desolation,
a dry waste like the desert.
14 ^amHerds shall lie down in her midst,
all kinds of beasts; ^{▼▼Hebrew beasts of every nation}
^aoeven the owl and the hedgehog ^{▼▼The identity of the animals rendered owl and hedgehog is uncertain}
shall lodge in her capitals;
a voice shall hoot in the window;
devastation will be on the threshold;
for ^aqher cedar work will be laid bare.
15 This is the exultant city
^arthat lived securely,
that said in her heart,
“I am, and there is no one else.”
What a desolation she has become,
^asa lair for wild beasts!
^atEveryone who passes by her
hisses and ^aushakes his fist.