Zephaniah 2:1

Zephaniah 2:1 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not desired;
• New International Version (NIV)Gather together, gather yourselves together, you shameful nation,
• English Standard Version (ESV)Gather together, yes, gather, O shameless nation,
• New King James Version (NKJV)Gather yourselves together, yes, gather together, O undesirable nation,

Context of Zephaniah 2:1

Gather yourselves together [in repentance], yes, gather [in submission], O nation without shame, 2Before the decree takes effect [and the time for repentance is lost]— The day passes like the chaff [whirled by the wind]— Before the burning and fierce anger of the Lord comes upon you, Before the day of the wrath of the Lord comes upon you. 3Seek the Lord [search diligently for Him and regard Him as the foremost necessity of your life], All you humble of the land Who have practiced His ordinances and have kept His commandments; Seek righteousness, seek humility [regard them as vital]. Perhaps you will be hidden [and pardoned and rescued] In the day of the Lord’s anger.

Zephaniah 2:1 word by word

הִֽתְקוֹשְׁשׁ֖וּ וָק֑וֹשּׁוּ הַגּ֖וֹי לֹ֥א נִכְסָֽף׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Gather yourselves togetherקָשַׁשׁqâshash · to assembleH7197
• O nationגּוֹיgôy gôy · nationH1471
• not desiredכָּסַףkâsaph · to longH3700

Cross-references for Zephaniah 2:1

• 2 Chronicles 20:4So [the people of] Judah gathered together to seek help from the Lord; indeed they came from all the cities of Judah to seek the Lord [longing for Him with all their heart].
• Nehemiah 8:1Then all the people gathered together as one man at the open square in front of the Water Gate; and they asked Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses which the Lord had given to Israel.
• Nehemiah 9:1Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the Israelites assembled with fasting and in sackcloth and with dirt on their heads.
• Esther 4:16“Go, gather all the Jews that are present in Susa, and observe a fast for me; do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids also will fast in the same way. Then I will go in to [see] the king [without being summoned], which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish.”
• Joel 1:14Consecrate a fast, Proclaim a solemn assembly, Gather the elders And all the inhabitants of the land To the house of the Lord your God, And cry out to the Lord [in penitent pleadings].
• Joel 2:12“Even now,” says the Lord, “Turn and come to Me with all your heart [in genuine repentance], With fasting and weeping and mourning [until every barrier is removed and the broken fellowship is restored];
• Matthew 18:20For where two or three are gathered in My name [meeting together as My followers], I am there among them.”
• Isaiah 1:4Ah, sinful nation, A people loaded down with wickedness [with sin, with injustice, with wrongdoing], Offspring of evildoers, Sons who behave corruptly! They have abandoned (rejected) the Lord, They have despised the Holy One of Israel [provoking Him to anger], They have turned away from Him.
• Jeremiah 12:7“I have abandoned My house, I have given up My [precious] inheritance (Judah); I have given the [dearly] beloved of My life Into the hands of her enemies.
• Zechariah 11:8Then I eliminated the three [incompetent, unfit] shepherds [the civil rulers, the priests, and the prophets] in one month, for I was impatient with them, and they also were tired of me and despised me.
• Isaiah 26:8Indeed, in the path of Your judgments, O Lord, We have waited expectantly for You; Your name, even Your memory, is the desire and deep longing of our souls.

Commentaries on Zephaniah 2:1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1Gather yourselves - Others, sift yourselves. Separate the chaff from the wheat, before the judgments of God fall upon you. O nation not desired - unlovely, not delighted in; hated because of your sin. The Israelites are addressed.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1Having set forth the terrors of the Judgment Day, the prophet adds an earnest call to repentance; and then declares how judgments, forerunners of that Day, shall fall, one by one, on those nations around, who know not God, and shall rest upon Nineveh, the great beautiful ancient city of the world. Jerome: “See the mercy of God. It had been enough to have set before the wise the vehemence of the coming evil. But because He willeth not to punish, but to…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1An exhortation to repentance. (1-3) Judgments upon other nations. (4-15) Verses 1-3 The prophet calls to national repentance, as the only way to prevent national ruin. A nation not desiring, that has not desires toward God, is not desirous of his favour and grace, has no mind to repent and reform. Or, not desirable, not having any thing to recommend them to God; to whom God might justly say, Depart from me; but he says, Gather together to me that you may…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-3After describing the terrifying scene, Zephaniah urges his nation to repent and humble themselves before God.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-151. Gather yourselves--to a religious assembly, to avert the judgment by prayers (Joe 2:16) [Grotius]. Or, so as not to be dissipated "as chaff" (Zep 2:2). The Hebrew is akin to a root meaning "chaff." Self-confidence and corrupt desires are the dissipation from which they are exhorted to gather themselves [Calvin]. The foe otherwise, like the wind, will scatter you "as the chaff." Repentance is the gathering of themselves meant. nation not…Read the comment

Topics related to Zephaniah 2:1

• Wicked (People)

In the dictionaries

• Cottage
• Thereupon
• Desire
• Zephaniah, Book of

Commentaries on Zephaniah 2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings