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

2Gather before judgment begins, before your time to repent is blown away like chaff. Act now, before the fierce fury of the Lord falls and the terrible day of the Lord’s anger begins. 3Seek the Lord, all who are humble, and follow his commands. Seek to do what is right and to live humbly. Perhaps even yet the Lord will protect you— protect you from his anger on that day of destruction. Gaza and Ashkelon will be abandoned, Ashdod and Ekron torn down. 5And what sorrow awaits you Philistines who live along the coast and in the land of Canaan, for this judgment is against you, too! The Lord will destroy you until not one of you is left. 6The Philistine coast will become a wilderness pasture, a place of shepherd camps and enclosures for sheep and goats.

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 25:20along with all the foreigners living in that land. I also gave it to all the kings of the land of Uz and the kings of the Philistine cities of Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and what remains of Ashdod.
• Jeremiah 47:1This is the Lord’s message to the prophet Jeremiah concerning the Philistines of Gaza, before it was captured by the Egyptian army.
• Ezekiel 25:15“This is what the Sovereign Lord says: The people of Philistia have acted against Judah out of bitter revenge and long-standing contempt.
• Amos 1:6This is what the Lord says: “The people of Gaza have sinned again and again, and I will not let them go unpunished! They sent whole villages into exile, selling them as slaves to Edom.
• Zechariah 9:5The city of Ashkelon will see Tyre fall and will be filled with fear. Gaza will shake with terror, as will Ekron, for their hopes will be dashed. Gaza’s king will be killed, and Ashkelon will be deserted.
• Psalms 91:6Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness, nor the disaster that strikes at midday.
• Jeremiah 6:4They shout, ‘Prepare for battle! Attack at noon!’ ‘No, it’s too late; the day is fading, and the evening shadows are falling.’
• Jeremiah 15:8There will be more widows than the grains of sand on the seashore. At noontime I will bring a destroyer against the mothers of young men. I will cause anguish and terror to come upon them suddenly.

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