Zephaniah 2:4

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 is carried out ⌞and⌟ the day passes like windblown husks, before the Lord’s burning anger comes to you, before the day of the Lord’s anger comes to you. 3Search for the Lord, all you humble people in the land who carry out his justice. Search for what is right. Search for humility. Maybe you will find shelter on the day of the Lord’s anger. Gaza will be deserted, and Ashkelon will be destroyed. Ashdod will be driven out at noon, and Ekron will be torn out by the roots. 5How horrible it will be for those who live on the seacoast, for the nation from Crete. The Lord’s word is against you, Canaan, the land of the Philistines: “I will destroy you so that no one will be living there.” 6The seacoast will become pastureland with meadows for shepherds and fenced-off places for sheep.

Zephaniah 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 people living among them; all the kings of the land of Uz; all the kings of Philistia, those from the cities of Ashkelon, Gaza, and Ekron, and the people left in Ashdod;
• Jeremiah 47:1The Lord spoke this message to the prophet Jeremiah about the Philistines before Pharaoh defeated Gaza.
• Ezekiel 25:15“ ‘This is what the Almighty Lord says: The Philistines have taken revenge with spiteful hearts. They have tried to destroy their long-time enemies.
• Amos 1:6This is what the Lord says: Because Gaza has committed three crimes, and now a fourth crime, I will not change my plans. The Philistines have taken all the people captive in order to hand them over to the Edomites.
• Zechariah 9:5Ashkelon will see ⌞this⌟ and be afraid. Gaza will also be in great pain, also Ekron, because its hope will fade. Gaza will lose its king. Ashkelon will no longer be lived in.
• Psalms 91:6plagues that roam the dark, epidemics that strike at noon.
• Jeremiah 6:4⌞The shepherds say,⌟ ‘Prepare yourselves for war against Zion. Let’s attack at noon! How horrible it will be for us. The day is passing, and the shadows of evening are growing longer.
• Jeremiah 15:8Their widows will be more numerous than the grains of sand on the seashore. At noontime I will send a destroyer against the mothers of young men. I will suddenly bring anguish and terror to them.

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

• Ashdod
• Ashkelon
• Ekron
• Gaza
• Philistines

In the dictionaries

• Ashdod
• Ashkelon
• Ekron
• Gaza
• Ekron; Ekronite
• Ashdod, or Azotus
• Ashdod, Azotus
• Ekron, Ekronites
• Cottage
• Nahum, 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