Amplified Bible
Zephaniah 2:4
4For [this is the fate of the Philistines:] Gaza will be abandoned And Ashkelon a desolation; [The people of] Ashdod will be driven out at noon [in broad daylight] And Ekron will be uprooted and destroyed.
Zephaniah 2:4 in other versions
- King James Version (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.
- New International Version (NIV)Gaza will be abandoned and Ashkelon left in ruins. At midday Ashdod will be emptied and Ekron uprooted.
- English Standard Version (ESV)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.
- New King James Version (NKJV)For Gaza shall be forsaken, And Ashkelon desolate; They shall drive out Ashdod at noonday, And Ekron shall be uprooted.
Context of Zephaniah 2:4
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. For [this is the fate of the Philistines:] Gaza will be abandoned And Ashkelon a desolation; [The people of] Ashdod will be driven out at noon [in broad daylight] And Ekron will be uprooted and destroyed. 5Woe (judgment is coming) to the inhabitants of the seacoast, The nation of the Cherethites [in Philistia]! The word of the Lord is against you, O Canaan, land of the Philistines; I will destroy you So that no inhabitant will be left. 6So the [depopulated] seacoast shall be pastures, With [deserted] meadows for shepherds and folds for flocks.
Read all of Zephaniah 2Zephaniah 2:4 word by word
כִּ֤י עַזָּה֙ עֲזוּבָ֣ה תִֽהְיֶ֔ה וְאַשְׁקְל֖וֹן לִשְׁמָמָ֑ה אַשְׁדּ֗וֹד בַּֽצָּהֳרַ֙יִם֙ יְגָ֣רְשׁ֔וּהָ וְעֶקְר֖וֹן תֵּעָקֵֽר׃ סRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- For Gazaעַזָּה‛azzâh · GazaH5804
- shall be forsakenעָזַב‛âzab · to leave: forsakeH5800
- and Ashkelonאַשְׁקְלוֹן'ashqelôn · AshkelonH831
- a desolationשְׁמָמָהshemâmâh shimâmâh · devastationH8077
- they shall drive outגָּרַשׁgârash · to drive out: drive outH1644
- Ashdodאַשְׁדּוֹד'ashdôd · AshdodH795
- at the noon dayצֹ֫הַרtsôhar · middayH6672
- and Ekronעֶקְרוֹן‛eqrôn · EkronH6138
- shall be rooted upעָקַר‛âqar · to uprootH6131
Cross-references for Zephaniah 2:4
- Jeremiah 25:20and all the foreign (mixed) population, all the kings of the land of Uz, and all the kings of the land of the Philistines (and [their cities of] Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod);
- Jeremiah 47:1The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the Philistines before Pharaoh attacked and conquered [the Philistine city of] Gaza.
- Ezekiel 25:15‘Thus says the Lord God, “Because the Philistines have acted revengefully and have taken vengeance [contemptuously] with malice in their hearts to destroy with everlasting hostility and hatred,”
- Amos 1:6Thus says the Lord, “For three transgressions of Gaza [in Philistia] and for four (multiplied delinquencies) I will not reverse its punishment or revoke My word concerning it, Because [as slave traders] they took captive the entire [Jewish] population [of defenseless Judean border villages, of which none was spared] And deported them to Edom [for the slave trade].
- Zechariah 9:5Ashkelon will see it and fear; Gaza will writhe in pain, And Ekron, for her hope and expectation, has been ruined. The king will perish from Gaza, And Ashkelon will not be inhabited.
- Psalms 91:6Nor of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, Nor of the destruction (sudden death) that lays waste at noon.
- Jeremiah 6:4[They shout], ‘Prepare for war against her; Arise, let us [take her by surprise and] attack her at noon. But alas, the daylight pales, The evening shadows grow long.
- Jeremiah 15:8I will make their widows more numerous before Me Than the sand of the seas; I will bring against them, against the mother of the young men, A destroyer at noonday; I will suddenly cause anguish and terror To fall on her.
Commentaries on Zephaniah 2:4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Gaza shall be forsaken - This prophecy is against the Philistines. They had been greatly harassed by the kings of Egypt; but were completely ruined by Nebuchadnezzar, who took all Phoenicia from the Egyptians; and about the time of his taking Tyre, devastated all the seignories of the Philistines. This ruin we have seen foretold by the other prophets, and have already remarked its exact fulfillment.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4For - As a ground for repentance and perseverance, he goes through Pagan nations, upon whom God‘s wrath should come. Jerome: “As Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, after visions concerning Judah, turn to other nations round about, and according to the character of each, announce what shall come upon them, and dwell at length upon it, so doth this prophet, though more briefly” And thus under five nations, who lay west, east, south and north, he includes all…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 4-15Verses 4-15 Those are really in a woful condition who have the word of the Lord against them, for no word of his shall fall to the ground. God will restore his people to their rights, though long kept from them. It has been the common lot of God's people, in all ages, to be reproached and reviled. God shall be worshipped, not only by all Israel, and the strangers who join them, but by the heathen. Remote nations must be reckoned with for the wrongs done…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4Zephaniah first focuses on judging the foreign nations (Zephaniah 2:4–15). Then, he returns to judging Judah and Jerusalem (Zephaniah 3:1–8). Finally, he describes God's plans for his purified and obedient people (Zephaniah 3:9–20).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. For--He makes the punishment awaiting the neighboring states an argument why the ungodly should repent (Zep 2:1) and the godly persevere, namely, that so they may escape from the general calamity. Gaza shall be forsaken--In the Hebrew there is a play of similar sounds, Gaza Gazubah; Gaza shall be forsaken, as its name implies. So the Hebrew of the next clause, Ekron teeakeer. at the noonday--when on account of the heat Orientals usually sleep, and…Read the comment
Topics related to Zephaniah 2:4
In the dictionaries
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
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