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 terrify them, because he will make all the gods of the earth waste away. So every person from every coast and nation will bow to him. 12“Even you, the people from Sudan, you will also die by my sword.” The Lord will use his power against the north and destroy Assyria. He will turn Nineveh into a deserted ruin, a dried up wasteland like the desert. 14Flocks will lie down in it along with animals of every kind. Even pelicans and herons will nest on top of its columns. Listen! A bird will sing in a window. The doorway will be in ruins, because the Lord will expose the cedar beams. 15Is this the arrogant city? Is this the city that used to live securely, the city that used to think to itself, “I’m the only one, and no one else exists but me”? What a wasteland it is now, a resting place for wild animals! All who pass by it will hiss and make an obscene gesture.

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 helped the descendants of Lot. Selah
• Isaiah 10:12When the Lord has finished all his work on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, he will punish the king of Assyria for all his boasting and all his arrogance.
• Isaiah 11:11At that time the Lord will use his power again to recover what remains of his people in Assyria, Upper and Lower Egypt, Sudan, Elam, Babylonia, Hamath, and the islands of the sea.
• Ezekiel 31:3What about Assyria? It was a cedar in Lebanon with fine branches that shaded the forest. It was very tall. Its top was among the clouds.
• Nahum 1:1This is a revelation from the Lord about Nineveh. This book contains the vision of Nahum from Elkosh.
• Nahum 2:10Nineveh is destroyed, deserted, demolished. Hearts are melting. Knees are knocking. Every stomach becomes upset. Every face turns pale.
• Nahum 3:7Everyone who sees you will run from you, saying, ‘Nineveh has been violently destroyed! Who will feel sorry for her?’ Where can I find anyone to comfort you?”
• Zechariah 10:10I will bring them back from Egypt. I will gather them from Assyria. I will bring them to Gilead and to Lebanon, and there won’t be enough room 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