Zephaniah 2

Zephaniah 2:1

II. JUDAH IS CALLED TO REPENT (2:1-3)God calls on the undesirable (or shameless, NKJV marg.) nation to repent. Verse 3 seems to point to a remnant of righteous Jews. If they seek the LORD, they will be hidden in the day of His fierce anger.

Zephaniah 2:4

III. THE DOOM OF GENTILE NATIONS (2:4-15) A. The Philistines (2:4-7)Verses 4-15 foretell judgment on surrounding nations to the west, east, south, and north. First are the Philistines, who are also identified by their other namethe Cherethites. Their citiesGaza, Ashkelon, Ashdodwill be forsaken and desolate. They will be destroyed, and their land will be used by Judah for pasture.

Zephaniah 2:8

B. The Moabites and Ammonites (2:8-11)Next come Moab and Ammon. God had heard their insolent words and boasts against His people. They will be left desolate, and the residue of God’s people will dwell there. Verse 11 anticipates millennial conditions, when the LORD has reduced to nothing all the gods of the earth.

Zephaniah 2:12

C. The Ethiopians (2:12)Ethiopia will be punished by God’s sword (the king of Babylon). Some, such as Feinberg, link “Ethiopians” here with Egypt: The fortunes of Ethiopia were bound up with those of Egypt which was subject to Ethiopic dynasties. Note Jer_46:9 and Eze_30:5, Eze_30:9. There is reason to believe that Egypt itself is meant under the term Ethiopians.

Zephaniah 2:13

D. The Assyrians and Especially the City of Nineveh (2:13-15)Nebuchadnezzar will also destroy Assyria. Nineveh will be a refuge for animals and birds, and everyone who passes by her shall hiss and shake his fist.