For Gaza will be abandoned, and Ashkelon left in ruins. Ashdod will be driven out at noon, and Ekron will be uprooted.
Parallel translations
- WEB For Gaza will be forsaken, and Ashkelon a desolation. They will drive out Ashdod at noonday, and Ekron will be rooted up.
- KJV For Gaza shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon a desolation: they shall drive out Ashdod at the noon day, and Ekron shall be rooted up.
- NKJV For Gaza shall be forsaken, And Ashkelon desolate; They shall drive out Ashdod at noonday, And Ekron shall be uprooted.
- NASB ¶For Gaza will be abandoned, And Ashkelon will become a desolation; The inhabitants of Ashdod will be driven out at noon, And Ekron will be uprooted.
- NLT Gaza and Ashkelon will be abandoned, Ashdod and Ekron torn down.
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
Zephaniah announces the desolation of the Philistine cities to the west of Judah. It matters because it shows God's judgment extending to the surrounding nations, not only Judah.
Overview
Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, and Ekron were the major Philistine cities and long-standing enemies of Israel. Their downfall demonstrates that the day of Yahweh is universal in scope. By judging the nations, God reveals Himself as Lord over all peoples, not a merely local deity.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Zech 9:5–7Ashkelon will see and fear; Gaza will writhe in agony, as will Ekron, for her hope will wither. There will cease to be a king in Gaza, and Ashkelon will be uninhabited.
- Amos 1:6–8This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Gaza, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because they exiled a whole population, delivering them up to Edom.
- Jer 47:1–7This is the word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet about the Philistines before Pharaoh struck down Gaza.
- Jer 25:20all the mixed tribes; all the kings of Uz; all the kings of the Philistines: Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod;
- Ezek 25:15–17This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Because the Philistines acted in vengeance, taking vengeance with malice of soul to destroy Judah with ancient hostility,
- Jer 15:8I will make their widows more numerous than the sand of the sea. I will bring a destroyer at noon against the mothers of young men. I will suddenly bring upon them anguish and dismay.
- Jer 6:4‘Prepare for battle against her; rise up, let us attack at noon. Woe to us, for the daylight is fading; the evening shadows grow long.
- Ps 91:6nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the calamity that destroys at noon.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 2:4 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.