Judgment on Judah's Enemies
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Gather together, yes, gather,
O s shameless nation,
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t before the decree takes effect
- before the day passes away u like chaff -
v before there comes upon you
the burning anger of the Lord,
before there comes upon you
the day of the anger of the Lord.
3
w Seek the Lord, x all you humble of the land,
who do his just commands;
y seek righteousness; seek humility;
y perhaps z you may be hidden
on the day of the anger of the Lord.
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a For Gaza shall be deserted,
and Ashkelon shall become a desolation;
Ashdod's people shall be driven out at noon,
and Ekron shall be uprooted.
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Woe to b you inhabitants of the seacoast,
you nation of c the Cherethites!
d The word of the Lord is against you,
e O Canaan, land of the Philistines;
and I will destroy you f until no inhabitant is left.
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g And you, O seacoast, h shall be pastures,
with meadows for shepherds
and folds for flocks.
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i The seacoast shall become the possession
of j the remnant of the house of Judah,
h on which they shall graze,
and in the houses of Ashkelon
they shall lie down at evening.
For the Lord their God k will be mindful of them
and l restore their fortunes.
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"I have heard m the taunts of Moab
and n the revilings of the Ammonites,
how they have taunted my people
and made boasts o against their territory.
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Therefore, p as I live," declares the Lord of hosts,
the God of Israel,
"Moab shall become q like Sodom,
and the Ammonites q like 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."
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This shall be their lot in return r for their pride,
because they taunted and boasted
against the people of the Lord of hosts.
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The Lord will be awesome against them;
s for he will famish all the gods of the earth,
and t to him shall bow down,
each in its place,
all u the lands of the nations.
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v You also, O Cushites,
shall be slain by my sword.
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And he will stretch out his hand against the north
w and destroy Assyria,
and he x will make Nineveh a desolation,
a dry waste like the desert.
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y Herds shall lie down in her midst,
all kinds of beasts;
z even the owl and the hedgehog
shall lodge in her capitals;
a voice shall hoot in the window;
devastation will be on the threshold;
for a her cedar work will be laid bare.
15
This is the exultant city
b that lived securely,
that said in her heart,
"I am, and there is no one else."
What a desolation she has become,
c a lair for wild beasts!
d Everyone who passes by her
hisses and e shakes his fist.
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Cross References
Jeremiah 6:15
Were they ashamed when they committed abomination? No, they were not at all ashamed; they did not know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; at the time that I punish them, they shall be overthrown," says the Lord.
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Cross References
Zephaniah 3:8
Therefore wait for me," declares the Lord, "for the day when I rise up to seize the prey. For my decision is to gather nations, to assemble kingdoms, to pour out upon them my indignation, all my burning anger; for in the fire of my jealousy all the earth shall be consumed.
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Cross References
Psalms 1:4
The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
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Cross References
2 Kings 23:26
Still the Lord did not turn from the burning of his great wrath, by which his anger was kindled against Judah, because of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked him.
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Cross References
Amos 5:6
Seek the Lord and live, lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and it devour, with none to quench it for Bethel.
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Cross References
Psalms 76:9
When God arose to establish judgment, to save all the humble of the earth. Selah
Isaiah 11:4
But with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.
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Cross References
Amos 5:14 - 15
Seek good, and not evil, that you may live; and so the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with you, as you have said.
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Cross References
Amos 5:14 - 15
Seek good, and not evil, that you may live; and so the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with you, as you have said.
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Cross References
Isaiah 2:10
Enter into the rock and hide in the dust from before the terror of the Lord, and from the splendor of his majesty.
Isaiah 26:20 - 21
Come, my people, enter your chambers, and shut your doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until the fury has passed by.
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Cross References
Zechariah 9:5 - 6
Ashkelon shall see it, and be afraid; Gaza too, and shall writhe in anguish; Ekron also, because its hopes are confounded. The king shall perish from Gaza; Ashkelon shall be uninhabited.
Jeremiah 47:5
Baldness has come upon Gaza; Ashkelon has perished. O remnant of their valley, how long will you gash yourselves?
Amos 1:6 - 8
Thus says the Lord : "For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they carried into exile a whole people to deliver them up to Edom.
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Cross References
Jeremiah 47:7
How can it be quiet when the Lord has given it a charge? Against Ashkelon and against the seashore he has appointed it.
Ezekiel 25:16
Therefore thus says the Lord God, Behold, I will stretch out my hand against the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethites and destroy the rest of the seacoast.
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Cross References
1 Samuel 30:14
We had made a raid against the Negeb of the Cherethites and against that which belongs to Judah and against the Negeb of Caleb, and we burned Ziklag with fire.
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Cross References
Nahum 2:13
Behold, I am against you, declares the Lord of hosts, and I will burn your chariots in smoke, and the sword shall devour your young lions. I will cut off your prey from the earth, and the voice of your messengers shall no longer be heard.
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Cross References
Joshua 13:3
(from the Shihor, which is east of Egypt, northward to the boundary of Ekron, it is counted as Canaanite; there are five rulers of the Philistines, those of Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron), and those of the Avvim.
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Cross References
Zephaniah 3:6
I have cut off nations; their battlements are in ruins; I have laid waste their streets so that no one walks in them; their cities have been made desolate, without a man, without an inhabitant.
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Cross References
Zephaniah 2:7
The seacoast shall become the possession of the remnant of the house of Judah, on which they shall graze, and in the houses of Ashkelon they shall lie down at evening. For the Lord their God will be mindful of them and restore their fortunes.
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Cross References
Isaiah 65:10
Sharon shall become a pasture for flocks, and the Valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down, for my people who have sought me.
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Cross References
Joshua 19:29
Then the boundary turns to Ramah, reaching to the fortified city of Tyre. Then the boundary turns to Hosah, and it ends at the sea; Mahalab, Achzib.
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Cross References
Zephaniah 3:13
Those who are left in Israel; they shall do no injustice and speak no lies, nor shall there be found in their mouth a deceitful tongue. For they shall graze and lie down, and none shall make them afraid.
Obadiah 1:19
Those of the Negeb shall possess Mount Esau, and those of the Shephelah shall possess the land of the Philistines; they shall possess the land of Ephraim and the land of Samaria, and Benjamin shall possess Gilead.
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Cross References
Zephaniah 2:6
And you, O seacoast, shall be pastures, with meadows for shepherds and folds for flocks.
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Cross References
Zechariah 10:3
My anger is hot against the shepherds, and I will punish the leaders; for the Lord of hosts cares for his flock, the house of Judah, and will make them like his majestic steed in battle.
Luke 1:68
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people
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Cross References
Zephaniah 3:20
At that time I will bring you in, at the time when I gather you together; for I will make you renowned and praised among all the peoples of the earth, when I restore your fortunes before your eyes," says the Lord.
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Cross References
Jeremiah 48:27
Was not Israel a derision to you? Was he found among thieves, that whenever you spoke of him you wagged your head?
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Cross References
Ezekiel 25:3
Say to the Ammonites, Hear the word of the Lord God : Thus says the Lord God, Because you said, 'Aha!' over my sanctuary when it was profaned, and over the land of Israel when it was made desolate, and over the house of Judah when they went into exile.
Ezekiel 25:6
For thus says the Lord God : Because you have clapped your hands and stamped your feet and rejoiced with all the malice within your soul against the land of Israel.
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Cross References
Jeremiah 49:1
Concerning the Ammonites. Thus says the Lord : "Has Israel no sons? Has he no heir? Why then has Milcom dispossessed Gad, and his people settled in its cities?
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Cross References
Isaiah 49:18
Lift up your eyes around and see; they all gather, they come to you. As I live, declares the Lord, you shall put them all on as an ornament; you shall bind them on as a bride does.
Ezekiel 16:48
As I live, declares the Lord God, your sister Sodom and her daughters have not done as you and your daughters have done.
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Cross References
Deuteronomy 29:23
The whole land burned out with brimstone and salt, nothing sown and nothing growing, where no plant can sprout, an overthrow like that of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, which the Lord overthrew in his anger and wrath -
Isaiah 13:19
And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the splendor and pomp of the Chaldeans, will be like Sodom and Gomorrah when God overthrew them.
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Cross References
Deuteronomy 29:23
The whole land burned out with brimstone and salt, nothing sown and nothing growing, where no plant can sprout, an overthrow like that of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, which the Lord overthrew in his anger and wrath -
Isaiah 13:19
And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the splendor and pomp of the Chaldeans, will be like Sodom and Gomorrah when God overthrew them.
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Cross References
Isaiah 16:6
We have heard of the pride of Moab - how proud he is! - of his arrogance, his pride, and his insolence; in his idle boasting he is not right.
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Cross References
Isaiah 17:4
And in that day the glory of Jacob will be brought low, and the fat of his flesh will grow lean.
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Cross References
Psalms 22:27
All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you.
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Cross References
Genesis 10:5
From these the coastland peoples spread in their lands, each with his own language, by their clans, in their nations.
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Cross References
Zephaniah 3:10
From beyond the rivers of Cush my worshipers, the daughter of my dispersed ones, shall bring my offering.
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Cross References
Isaiah 10:12
When the Lord has finished all his work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, he will punish the speech of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and the boastful look in his eyes.
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Cross References
Nahum 3:7
And all who look at you will shrink from you and say, Wasted is Nineveh; who will grieve for her? Where shall I seek comforters for you?
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Cross References
Isaiah 13:21 - 22
But wild animals will lie down there, and their houses will be full of howling creatures; there ostriches will dwell, and there wild goats will dance.
Isaiah 34:14
And wild animals shall meet with hyenas; the wild goat shall cry to his fellow; indeed, there the night bird settles and finds for herself a resting place.
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Cross References
Isaiah 34:11
But the hawk and the porcupine shall possess it, the owl and the raven shall dwell in it. He shall stretch the line of confusion over it, and the plumb line of emptiness.
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Cross References
Jeremiah 22:14 - 15
Who says, 'I will build myself a great house with spacious upper rooms,' who cuts out windows for it, paneling it with cedar and painting it with vermilion.
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Cross References
Isaiah 47:8
Now therefore hear this, you lover of pleasures, who sit securely, who say in your heart, "I am, and there is no one besides me; I shall not sit as a widow or know the loss of children":
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Cross References
Ezekiel 25:5
I will make Rabbah a pasture for camels and Ammon a fold for flocks. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
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Cross References
Jeremiah 19:8
And I will make this city a horror, a thing to be hissed at. Everyone who passes by it will be horrified and will hiss because of all its wounds.
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Cross References
Nahum 3:19
There is no easing your hurt; your wound is grievous. All who hear the news about you clap their hands over you. For upon whom has not come your unceasing evil?
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.