הִתְקוֹשְׁשׁוּ וָקוֹשּׁוּ הַגּוֹי לֹא נִכְסָף

Gather yourselves, gather others together, nation that does not yearn [shelo nikhsaf]. Alternatively, the term shelo nikhsaf means: That is unloved, or: That is not ashamed of its sins.

בְּטֶרֶם לֶדֶת חֹק כְּמוֹץ עָבַר יוֹם בְּטֶרֶם לֹא־יָבוֹא עֲלֵיכֶם חֲרוֹן אַף ה' בְּטֶרֶם לֹא־יָבוֹא עֲלֵיכֶם יוֹם אַף־ה'

Gather together and try to act before the decree is born; the day passes like chaff; before the decree arrives as quickly as wind passes through chaff. Seek to mend your ways before the enflamed wrath of the Lord comes upon you, before the day of the wrath of the Lord comes upon you. If you do, there is still hope for you.

בַּקְּשׁוּ אֶת־ה' כָּל־עַנְוֵי הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר מִשְׁפָּטוֹ פָּעָלוּ בַּקְּשׁוּ־צֶדֶק בַּקְּשׁוּ עֲנָוָה אוּלַי תִּסָּתְרוּ בְּיוֹם אַף־ה'

Seek the Lord, all the humble of the earth, the decent people who performed His ordinances, who obey the word of God; seek justice, seek humility, improve your character as well as your external behavior. Perhaps in the merit of your efforts to do good you will be hidden in some kind of shelter on the day of the wrath of the Lord.

כִּי עַזָּה עֲזוּבָה תִהְיֶה וְאַשְׁקְלוֹן לִשְׁמָמָה אַשְׁדּוֹד בַּצָּהֳרַיִם יְגָרְשׁוּהָ וְעֶקְרוֹן תֵּעָקֵר

The forthcoming troubles will affect many other places in the region, perhaps even more than Israel. The first casualties listed here are four of the five Philistine cities; note that the verse employs a significant amount of alliteration: For Gaza [Azza] will be forsaken [azzuva], and Ashkelon will be desolation [lishmama]; they will expel the inhabitants of Ashdod at noon, when there is no shelter or place to hide, and Ekron will be uprooted [te’aker] and its residents banished.

הוֹי יֹשְׁבֵי חֶבֶל הַיָּם גּוֹי כְּרֵתִים דְּבַר־ה' עֲלֵיכֶם כְּנַעַן אֶרֶץ פְּלִשְׁתִּים וְהַאֲבַדְתִּיךְ מֵאֵין יוֹשֵׁב

Woe! Inhabitants of the seacoast, where the Philistines resided, the nation from Crete. The word of the Lord is against you, Canaan, specifically the land of the Philistines; I will destroy you, Philistia, to be without an inhabitant.

וְהָיְתָה חֶבֶל הַיָּם נְוֹת כְּרֹת רֹעִים וְגִדְרוֹת צֹאן

The area of the seacoast, with its cities, ships, and coastal industries, will be pastures, meadows, or a place where wells are dug for shepherds and sheepfolds.

וְהָיָה חֶבֶל לִשְׁאֵרִית בֵּית יְהוּדָה עֲלֵיהֶם יִרְעוּן בְּבָתֵּי אַשְׁקְלוֹן בָּעֶרֶב יִרְבָּצוּן כִּי יִפְקְדֵם ה' אֱלֹהֵיהֶם וְשָׁב שְׁבִיתָם

It, that coastal region, will be a portion for the remnant of the house of Judah. Those left in Judah will settle in the abandoned places in nearby Philistia, upon which they will graze their flocks; they will lie in the empty houses of Ashkelon in the evening, as the Lord their God will reckon with them, the Jewish people, and He will return their captives to their land, and enable them to settle in areas that were formally inhabited by their enemies.

שָׁמַעְתִּי חֶרְפַּת מוֹאָב וְגִדֻּפֵי בְּנֵי עַמּוֹן אֲשֶׁר חֵרְפוּ אֶת־עַמִּי וַיַּגְדִּילוּ עַל־גְּבוּלָם

God will settle accounts with other nations as well: I have heard the reviling from Moav, and the taunts of the children of Amon, with which they have reviled My people, Israel, and they boasted at their border, the Land of Israel. Although Moav and Amon did not themselves conquer the Land of Israel, they rejoiced in the Israelites’ downfall and sought to infiltrate the land as deeply as they could.

לָכֵן חַי־אָנִי נְאֻם ה' צְבָאוֹת אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל כִּי מוֹאָב כִּסְדֹם תִּהְיֶה וּבְנֵי עַמּוֹן כַּעֲמֹרָה מִמְשַׁק חָרוּל וּמִכְרֵה מֶלַח וּשְׁמָמָה עַד־עוֹלָם שְׁאֵרִית עַמִּי יְבָזּוּם וְיֶתֶר גּוֹיִי יִנְחָלוּם

Therefore, as I live, which is an expression denoting an oath – the utterance of the Lord of hosts, God of Israel – Moav will be like Sodom, which was utterly destroyed, and the children of Amon will be like Gomorrah, as a growth of thorns, a desolate land overrun by wild thorns and weeds, a salt mine, and desolation forever; the remnant of My people, Judah, will loot them, and those left over of My nation will inherit them.

זֹאת לָהֶם תַּחַת גְּאוֹנָם כִּי חֵרְפוּ וַיַּגְדִּלוּ עַל־עַם ה' צְבָאוֹת

This, they, Moav and Amon, will have as punishment for their pride, because they taunted and boasted against the people of the Lord of hosts. Although the Israelites can be criticized, as the prophet himself does in the previous chapter, the gentile nations have no right to deride them, and they will be punished for their demeaning attitude.

נוֹרָא ה' עֲלֵיהֶם כִּי רָזָה אֵת כָּל־אֱלֹהֵי הָאָרֶץ וְיִשְׁתַּחֲווּ־לוֹ אִישׁ מִמְּקוֹמוֹ כֹּל אִיֵּי הַגּוֹיִם

The Lord is awe-inspiring to them and casts terror upon them, as He will shrivel all the gods of the earth, and each man will prostrate himself from his place, all the islands of the nations. When the distant nations see that God has revealed Himself in this place and has punished the wicked, they will show Him respect.

גַּם־אַתֶּם כּוּשִׁים חַלְלֵי חַרְבִּי הֵמָּה

The prophet first addressed the nations adjacent to Israel, the Philistines to the west of Judah, and Amon and Moav to the east. Here he declares that the more distant peoples in the north and south will also suffer the retribution they deserve: You too, Kushites, who live in Egypt or nearby; it is they who are punished, as they will be slain by My sword.

וְיֵט יָדוֹ עַל־צָפוֹן וִיאַבֵּד אֶת־אַשּׁוּר וְיָשֵׂם אֶת־נִינְוֵה לִשְׁמָמָה צִיָּה כַּמִּדְבָּר

He will extend His hand against the north and will destroy Assyria, which was still a great kingdom at the time; He will render Nineveh, the large, celebrated capital of Assyria, a desolation; it will be as arid as the desert.

וְרָבְצוּ בְתוֹכָהּ עֲדָרִים כָּל־חַיְתוֹ־גוֹי גַּם־קָאַת גַּם־קִפֹּד בְּכַפְתֹּרֶיהָ יָלִינוּ קוֹל יְשׁוֹרֵר בַּחַלּוֹן חֹרֶב בַּסַּף כִּי אַרְזָה עֵרָה

Herds will lie down in its midst, every nation’s beasts; both the eagle owl and the fish owl, wild nocturnal birds, will nest on its capitals, ornamental tops on the columns of the city’s most magnificent buildings; a trill of such birds will sing in the destroyed window of each house. Destruction will be in its doorway [saf]. Alternatively, saf refers to a drinking vessel or mug. Everything will dry out in these forsaken places, for the cedar from which the large houses of the city were constructed will be uprooted, becoming unstable and collapsing.

זֹאת הָעִיר הָעַלִּיזָה הַיּוֹשֶׁבֶת לָבֶטַח הָאֹמְרָה בִּלְבָבָהּ אֲנִי וְאַפְסִי עוֹד אֵיךְ הָיְתָה לְשַׁמָּה מַרְבֵּץ לַחַיָּה כֹּל עוֹבֵר עָלֶיהָ יִשְׁרֹק יָנִיעַ יָדוֹ

This is the once glad city that sits in security, that said in its heart: I, and nothing but me; no one can compare to me. How did it become desolation, a resting place for the beast? Zephaniah possibly knew of Nineveh’s immense size, and he might even have seen it at its zenith, when it was a ruling city full of inhabitants and animals. However, Nineveh was eventually struck down and utterly destroyed. Like other cities of its kind, all that was left were a few pillars, gates, and other ruins, and over the course of time it was covered with earth. Everyone who passes by it and sees the destruction of the city will whistle in astonishment and wave his hand in amazement at the city’s fate.