Zephaniah 2:13

Zephaniah 2:13 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And he will stretch out his hand against the north, and destroy Assyria; and will make Nineveh a desolation, and dry like a wilderness.
• New International Version (NIV)He will stretch out his hand against the north and destroy Assyria, leaving Nineveh utterly desolate and dry as the desert.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And he will stretch out his hand against the north and destroy Assyria, and he will make Nineveh a desolation, a dry waste like the desert.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And He will stretch out His hand against the north, Destroy Assyria, And make Nineveh a desolation, As dry as the wilderness.

Context of Zephaniah 2:13

11The Lord will be terrifying to them when he starves all the gods of the earth. Then all the distant coasts and islands of the nations will bow in worship to him, each in its own place. 12You Cushites will also be slain by my sword. He will also stretch out his hand against the north and destroy Assyria; he will make Nineveh a desolate ruin, dry as the desert. 14Herds will lie down in the middle of it, every kind of wild animal. Both eagle owls and herons will roost in the capitals of its pillars. Their calls will sound from the window, but devastation will be on the threshold, for he will expose the cedar work. 15This is the jubilant city that lives in security, that says to herself: I exist, and there is no one else. What a desolation she has become, a place for wild animals to lie down! Everyone who passes by her scoffs and shakes his fist.

Zephaniah 2:13 word by word

וְיֵ֤ט יָדוֹ֙ עַל־צָפ֔וֹן וִֽיאַבֵּ֖ד אֶת־אַשּׁ֑וּר וְיָשֵׂ֤ם אֶת־נִֽינְוֵה֙ לִשְׁמָמָ֔ה צִיָּ֖ה כַּמִּדְבָּֽר׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And he will stretch outנָטָהnâţâh · to stretchH5186
• his handיָדyâd · handH3027
• against the northצָפוֹןtsâphôn tsâphôn · northH6828
• and destroyאָבַד'âbad · to perishH6
• Assyriaאַשּׁוּר'ashshûr 'ashshûr · AssyriaH804
• and will makeשׂוּםώûm ώîym · to set: makeH7760
• Ninevehנִינְוֵהnîynevêh · NinevehH5210
• a desolationשְׁמָמָהshemâmâh shimâmâh · devastationH8077
• dryצִיָּהtsîyâh · drynessH6723
• like a wildernessמִדְבָּרmidbâr · wildernessH4057

Cross-references for Zephaniah 2:13

• Psalms 83:8Even Assyria has joined them; they lend support to the sons of Lot.Selah
• Isaiah 10:12But when the Lord finishes all his work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, he will say, “I will punish the king of Assyria for his arrogant acts and the proud look in his eyes.”
• Isaiah 11:11On that day the Lord will extend his hand a second time to recover the remnant of his people who survive — from Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath, and the coasts and islands of the west.
• Ezekiel 31:3Think of Assyria, a cedar in Lebanon, with beautiful branches and shady foliage and of lofty height. Its top was among the clouds.
• Nahum 1:1The pronouncement concerning Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.
• Nahum 2:10Desolation, decimation, devastation! Hearts melt, knees tremble, insides churn, every face grows pale!
• Nahum 3:7Then all who see you will recoil from you, saying, “Nineveh is devastated; who will show sympathy to her?” Where can I find anyone to comfort you?
• Zechariah 10:10I will bring them back from the land of Egypt and gather them from Assyria. I will bring them to the land of Gilead and to Lebanon, but it will not be enough for them.

Commentaries on Zephaniah 2:13

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 13He will - destroy Assyria - He will overthrow the empire, and Nineveh, their metropolitan city. See on Jonah and Nahum.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. 13Zephaniah shifts focus from the south (Zephaniah 2:12) to the north. Like Nahum before him, he predicts the downfall of Assyria that would happen soon.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1313. Here he passes suddenly to the north. Nineveh was destroyed by Cyaxares and Nabopolassar, 625 B.C. The Scythian hordes, by an inroad into Media and thence in the southwest of Asia (thought by many to be the forces described by Zephaniah, as the invaders of Judea, rather than the Chaldeans), for a while interrupted Cyaxares' operations; but he finally succeeded. Arbaces and Belesis previously subverted the Assyrian empire under Sardanapalus (that is…Read the comment

Topics related to Zephaniah 2:13

• Assyria
• Nineveh

In the dictionaries

• Assyria
• Nineveh
• Assyria, Assyrian, Assyrian Empire
• Nineveh, Ninevite
• Cottage
• Nahum, Book of
• Thereupon
• Judah, Kingdom of
• North; North Country
• 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