New English Translation
Zephaniah 2:5
5Those who live by the sea, the people who came from Crete, are as good as dead. The Lord has decreed your downfall, Canaan, land of the Philistines: “I will destroy everyone who lives there!”
Zephaniah 2:5 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Woe unto the inhabitants of the sea coast, the nation of the Cherethites! the word of the Lord is against you; O Canaan, the land of the Philistines, I will even destroy thee, that there shall be no inhabitant.
- New International Version (NIV)Woe to you who live by the sea, you Kerethite people; the word of the Lord is against you, Canaan, land of the Philistines. He says, “I will destroy you, and none will be left.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)Woe to you inhabitants of the seacoast, you nation of the Cherethites! The word of the Lord is against you, O Canaan, land of the Philistines; and I will destroy you until no inhabitant is left.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Woe to the inhabitants of the seacoast, The nation of the Cherethites! The word of the Lord is against you, O Canaan, land of the Philistines: “I will destroy you; So there shall be no inhabitant.”
Context of Zephaniah 2:5
3Seek the Lord’s favor, all you humble people of the land who have obeyed his commands! Strive to do what is right! Strive to be humble! Maybe you will be protected on the day of the Lord’s angry judgment. 4Indeed, Gaza will be deserted and Ashkelon will become a heap of ruins. Invaders will drive away the people of Ashdod by noon, and Ekron will be overthrown. Those who live by the sea, the people who came from Crete, are as good as dead. The Lord has decreed your downfall, Canaan, land of the Philistines: “I will destroy everyone who lives there!” 6The seacoast will be used as pasture lands by the shepherds and as pens for their flocks. 7Those who are left from the kingdom of Judah will take possession of it. By the sea they will graze, in the houses of Ashkelon they will lie down in the evening, for the Lord their God will intervene for them and restore their prosperity.
Read all of Zephaniah 2Zephaniah 2:5 word by word
ה֗וֹי יֹֽשְׁבֵ֛י חֶ֥בֶל הַיָּ֖ם גּ֣וֹי כְּרֵתִ֑ים דְּבַר־יְהוָ֣ה עֲלֵיכֶ֗ם כְּנַ֙עַן֙ אֶ֣רֶץ פְּלִשְׁתִּ֔ים וְהַאֲבַדְתִּ֖יךְ מֵאֵ֥ין יוֹשֵֽׁב׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Woeהוֹיhôy · woe!H1945
- unto the inhabitantsיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427
- of the seaיָםyâm · seaH3220
- coastחֶ֫בֶלchebel chêbel · cordH2256
- the nationגּוֹיgôy gôy · nationH1471
- of the Cherethitesכְּרֵתִיkerêthîy · CherethiteH3774
- the wordדָּבָרdâbâr · wordH1697
- of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- against you; O Canaanכְּנַ֫עַןkena‛an · CanaanH3667
- the landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
- of the Philistinesפְּלִשְׁתִּיpelishtîy · PhilistineH6430
- I will even destroyאָבַד'âbad · to perishH6
Cross-references for Zephaniah 2:5
- Jeremiah 47:7But how can it rest when I, the Lord, have given it orders? I have ordered it to attack the people of Ashkelon and the seacoast.
- Ezekiel 25:16So this is what the sovereign Lord says: Take note, I am about to stretch out my hand against the Philistines. I will kill the Cherethites and destroy those who remain on the seacoast.
- Amos 3:1Listen, you Israelites, to this message which the Lord is proclaiming against you! This message is for the entire clan I brought up from the land of Egypt:
- Amos 5:1Listen to this funeral song I am ready to sing about you, family of Israel:
- Zechariah 1:6But have my words and statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, not outlived your fathers? Then they paid attention and confessed, ‘The Lord who rules over all has indeed done what he said he would do to us, because of our sinful ways.’”
- Mark 12:12Now they wanted to arrest him (but they feared the crowd), because they realized that he told this parable against them. So they left him and went away.
- Joshua 13:3from the Shihor River east of Egypt northward to the territory of Ekron (it is regarded as Canaanite territory), including the area belonging to the five Philistine lords who ruled in Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron, as well as Avvite land
- Judges 3:3These were the nations: the five lords of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites living in Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal Hermon to Lebo-Hamath.
Commentaries on Zephaniah 2:5
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5The sea-coasts, the nation of the Cherethites - The sea-coasts mean all the country lying on the Mediterranean coast from Egypt to Joppa and Gaza. The Cherethites - the Cretans who were probably a colony of the Phoenicians. See on 1 Samuel 30:14; (note), and Amos 9:7; (note).Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5The “woe” having been pronounced on the five cities apart, now falls upon the whole nation of the Cherethites or Philistines. The Cherethites are only named as equivalent to the Philistines, probably as originally a distinct immigration of the same people. The name is used by the Egyptian slave of the Amalekite 1 Samuel 30:14 for those whom the author of the first book of Samuel calls Philistines 1 Samuel 30:16. Ezekiel uses the name parallel with that of…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. 5Old Testament scholars think the Philistines came from the island of Crete (compare Ezekiel 25:16).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. inhabitants of the seacoast--the Philistines dwelling on the strip of seacoast southwest of Canaan. Literally, the "cord" or "line" of sea (compare Jr 47:7; Eze 25:16). the Cherethites--the Cretans, a name applied to the Philistines as sprung from Crete (De 2:23; Jr 47:4; Am 9:7). Philistine means "an emigrant." Canaan ... land of the Philistines--They occupied the southwest of Canaan (Jos 13:2, 3); a name which hints that they are doomed to the same…Read the comment
Topics related to Zephaniah 2:5
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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