Zephaniah 2:15

Zephaniah 2:15 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)This is the rejoicing city that dwelt carelessly, that said in her heart, I am, and there is none beside me: how is she become a desolation, a place for beasts to lie down in! every one that passeth by her shall hiss, and wag his hand.
• New International Version (NIV)This is the city of revelry that lived in safety. She said to herself, “I am the one! And there is none besides me.” What a ruin she has become, a lair for wild beasts! All who pass by her scoff and shake their fists.
• English Standard Version (ESV)This is the exultant city that lived securely, that said in her heart, "I am, and there is no one else." What a desolation she has become, a lair for wild beasts! Everyone who passes by her hisses and shakes his fist.
• New King James Version (NKJV)This is the rejoicing city That dwelt securely, That said in her heart, “I am it, and there is none besides me.” How has she become a desolation, A place for beasts to lie down! Everyone who passes by her Shall hiss and shake his fist.

Context of Zephaniah 2:15

13The Lord will attack the north and destroy Assyria. He will make Nineveh a heap of ruins; it will be as barren as the desert. 14Flocks and herds will lie down in the middle of it, as well as every kind of wild animal. Owls will sleep in the tops of its support pillars; they will hoot through the windows. Rubble will cover the thresholds; even the cedar work will be exposed to the elements. This is how the once-proud city will end up – the city that was so secure. She thought to herself, “I am unique! No one can compare to me!” What a heap of ruins she has become, a place where wild animals live! Everyone who passes by her taunts her and shakes his fist.

Zephaniah 2:15 word by word

זֹ֠את הָעִ֤יר הָעַלִּיזָה֙ הַיּוֹשֶׁ֣בֶת לָבֶ֔טַח הָאֹֽמְרָה֙ בִּלְבָבָ֔הּ אֲנִ֖י וְאַפְסִ֣י ע֑וֹד אֵ֣יךְ׀ הָיְתָ֣ה לְשַׁמָּ֗ה מַרְבֵּץ֙ לַֽחַיָּ֔ה כֹּ֚ל עוֹבֵ֣ר עָלֶ֔יהָ יִשְׁרֹ֖ק יָנִ֥יעַ יָדֽוֹ׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• the rejoicingעַלִּיז‛allîyz · jubilantH5947
• cityעִיר‛îyr ‛âr ‛âyar · cityH5892
• that dweltיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427
• carelesslyבֶּ֫טַחbeţach · securityH983
• that saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• in her heartלֵבָבlêbâb · heartH3824
• none besideאֶ֫פֶס'ephes · endH657
• me: how is she become a desolationשַׁמָּהshammâh · horror: destroyedH8047
• a place for beastsחַיָּהchay · living thingH2416
• to lie down inמַרְבֵּץmarbêts · restingH4769
• every one that passeth byעָבַר‛âbar · to passH5674
• her shall hissשָׁרַקshâraq · to whistleH8319
• wagנוּעַnûa‛ · to shakeH5128
• his handיָדyâd · handH3027

Cross-references for Zephaniah 2:15

• Isaiah 10:12But when the sovereign master finishes judging Mount Zion and Jerusalem, then I will punish the king of Assyria for what he has proudly planned and for the arrogant attitude he displays.
• Isaiah 22:2The noisy city is full of raucous sounds; the town is filled with revelry. Your slain were not cut down by the sword; they did not die in battle.
• Isaiah 47:7You said, ‘I will rule forever as permanent queen!’ You did not think about these things; you did not consider how it would turn out.
• Revelation 18:7As much as she exalted herself and lived in sensual luxury, to this extent give her torment and grief because she said to herself, ‘I rule as queen and am no widow; I will never experience grief!’
• Isaiah 47:8So now, listen to this, O one who lives so lavishly, who lives securely, who says to herself, ‘I am unique! No one can compare to me! I will never have to live as a widow; I will never lose my children.’
• Ezekiel 28:2“Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: “‘Your heart is proud and you said, “I am a god; I sit in the seat of gods, in the heart of the seas” – yet you are a man and not a god, though you think you are godlike.
• Ezekiel 29:3Tell them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: “‘Look, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great monster lying in the midst of its waterways, who has said, “My Nile is my own, I made it for myself.”
• Isaiah 14:4you will taunt the king of Babylon with these words: “Look how the oppressor has met his end! Hostility has ceased!
• Lamentations 1:1Alas! The city once full of people now sits all alone! The prominent lady among the nations has become a widow! The princess who once ruled the provinces has become a forced laborer! ב (Bet)
• Lamentations 2:1Alas! The Lord has covered Daughter Zion with his anger. He has thrown down the splendor of Israel from heaven to earth; he did not protect his temple when he displayed his anger. ב (Bet)
• Revelation 18:10They will stand a long way off because they are afraid of her torment, and will say, “Woe, woe, O great city, Babylon the powerful city! For in a single hour your doom has come!”
• 1 Kings 9:7then I will remove Israel from the land I have given them, I will abandon this temple I have consecrated with my presence, and Israel will be mocked and ridiculed among all the nations.
• Job 27:23It claps its hands at him in derision and hisses him away from his place.
• Psalms 52:6When the godly see this, they will be filled with awe, and will mock the evildoer, saying:
• Lamentations 2:15All who passed by on the road clapped their hands to mock you. They sneered and shook their heads at Daughter Jerusalem. “Ha! Is this the city they called ‘The perfection of beauty, the source of joy of the whole earth!’?” פ (Pe)
• Ezekiel 27:36The traders among the peoples hiss at you; you have become a horror, and will be no more.’”

Commentaries on Zephaniah 2:15

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 15This is the rejoicing city - The city in which mirth, jocularity, and pleasure, reigned without interruption. And wag his hand - Will point her out as a mark and monument of Divine displeasure.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. 15ruin: The destruction was certain and could not be reversed (see Nahum 1:14; 2:13; 3:19). Zephaniah saw no future for Assyria or its capital. Nineveh was so completely destroyed that the Greek historian Xenophon passed by its ruins without knowing it was there. hisses and shakes his fist: Those who suffered under Assyria's cruel empire would feel glad seeing it come to an end.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1515. Nothing then seemed more improbable than that the capital of so vast an empire, a city sixty miles in compass, with walls one hundred feet high, and so thick that three chariots could go abreast on them, and with fifteen hundred towers, should be so totally destroyed that its site is with difficulty discovered. Yet so it is, as the prophet foretold. there is none beside me--This peculiar phrase, expressing self-gratulation as if peerless, is plainly…Read the comment

Topics related to Zephaniah 2:15

• Assyria
• Confidence
• Nineveh
• Pride

In the dictionaries

• Cottage
• Nahum, Book of
• Thereupon
• Couching-Place
• Judah, Kingdom of
• Zephaniah, Book of
• Assyria, Asshur
• Nineveh
• exult, exultant

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