Gather yourselves, gather together, O shameful nation,
Parallel translations
- WEB Gather yourselves together, yes, gather together, you nation that has no shame,
- KJV Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not desired;
- NKJV Gatheryourselves together, yes, gather together, O undesirable nation,
- NASB Gather yourselves together, yes, join together, You nation without shame,
- NLT Gather together—yes, gather together, you shameless nation.
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
The prophet urgently calls the shameless nation to gather itself together. It matters because it summons a complacent people to assemble for repentance before judgment falls.
Overview
The repeated call to 'gather' conveys urgency, addressing a nation that feels no shame for its sin. It is an appeal to assemble in humility and self-examination rather than continue in rebellion. This sets up the plea of the following verses, showing that God's warnings are also gracious invitations to turn back.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Joel 1:14Consecrate a fast; proclaim a solemn assembly! Gather the elders and all the residents of the land to the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the LORD.
- 2 Chr 20:4So the people of Judah gathered to seek the LORD, and indeed, they came from all the cities of Judah to seek Him.
- Neh 8:1At that time all the people gathered together in the square before the Water Gate, and they asked Ezra the scribe to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded for Israel.
- Esth 4:16“Go and assemble all the Jews who can be found in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day, and I and my maidens will fast as you do. After that, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish!”
- Neh 9:1On the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the Israelites gathered together, fasting and wearing sackcloth, with dust on their heads.
- Zech 11:8And in one month I dismissed three shepherds. My soul grew impatient with the flock, and their souls also detested me.
- Jer 3:3Therefore the showers have been withheld, and no spring rains have fallen. Yet you have the brazen look of a prostitute; you refuse to be ashamed.
- Jer 6:15Are they ashamed of the abomination they have committed? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush. So they will fall among the fallen; when I punish them, they will collapse,” says the LORD.
- Matt 18:20For where two or three gather together in My name, there am I with them.”
- Isa 1:4–6Alas, O sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a brood of evildoers, children of depravity! They have forsaken the LORD; they have despised the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on Him.
- Isa 26:8–9Yes, we wait for You, O LORD; we walk in the path of Your judgments. Your name and renown are the desire of our souls.
- Isa 1:10–15Hear the word of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom; listen to the instruction of our God, you people of Gomorrah!
- Jer 12:7–9I have forsaken My house; I have abandoned My inheritance. I have given the love of My life into the hands of her enemies.
- Joel 2:12–18“Yet even now,” declares the LORD, “return to Me with all your heart, with fasting, weeping, and mourning.”
Resources, by level
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 2:1 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.