You Cushites also, you will be killed by my sword.
Parallel translations
- KJV Ye Ethiopians also, ye shall be slain by my sword.
- BSB “You too, O Cushites, will be slain by My sword.”
- ESV You also, O Cushites, shall be slain by my sword.
- NKJV “YouEthiopians also, You shall be slain by My sword.”
- NASB ¶“You also, Ethiopians, will be slain by My sword.”
- NLT “You Ethiopians will also be slaughtered by my sword,” says the Lord.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God declares that the Cushites also will fall by His sword. It matters because it extends the judgment southward, showing no nation is beyond His reach.
Overview
Cush, in the region south of Egypt, represents distant peoples drawn into the universal day of judgment. The brevity of the oracle underscores the certainty of God's verdict. Yet later in the book Cush also appears among those who will bring offerings, hinting that judgment is not God's final word.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Ezek 30:4–9A sword shall come on Egypt, and anguish shall be in Ethiopia, when the slain shall fall in Egypt; and they shall take away her multitude, and her foundations shall be broken down.
- Jer 46:9–10Go up, you horses; and rage, you chariots! Let the mighty men go out: Cush and Put, who handle the shield; and the Ludim, who handle and bend the bow.
- Isa 20:4–5so the king of Assyria will lead away the captives of Egypt and the exiles of Ethiopia, young and old, naked and barefoot, and with buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt.
- Isa 18:1–7Ah, the land of the rustling of wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia;
- Isa 43:3For I am Yahweh your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I have given Egypt as your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in your place.
- Jer 51:20–23“You are my battle ax and weapons of war. With you I will break the nations into pieces. With you I will destroy kingdoms.
- Isa 13:5They come from a far country, from the uttermost part of heaven, even Yahweh, and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land.
- Ps 17:13Arise, Yahweh, confront him. Cast him down. Deliver my soul from the wicked by your sword;
- Jer 47:6–7“‘You sword of Yahweh, how long will it be before you are quiet? Put yourself back into your scabbard; rest, and be still.’
- Isa 10:5Alas Assyrian, the rod of my anger, the staff in whose hand is my indignation!
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The day of the LORD gives way to the promise that God himself will be in the midst of his people, rejoicing over them with singing — fulfilled in the saving presence of Christ.
How Zephaniah 2:12 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.