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 bringeth forth, before the day passeth as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the LORD cometh upon you, before the day of the LORD’S anger cometh upon you. 3Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, who have performed his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hidden in the day of the LORD’S anger. For Gaza shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon a desolation: they shall drive out Ashdod at the noonday, and Ekron shall be rooted out. 5Woe to 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. 6And the sea coast shall be dwellings and cottages for shepherds, and folds for flocks.

Zephaniah 2:4 word by word

כִּ֤י עַזָּה֙ עֲזוּבָ֣ה תִֽהְיֶ֔ה וְאַשְׁקְל֖וֹן לִשְׁמָמָ֑ה אַשְׁדּ֗וֹד בַּֽצָּהֳרַ֙יִם֙ יְגָ֣רְשׁ֔וּהָ וְעֶקְר֖וֹן תֵּעָקֵֽר׃ סRead the interlinear

• Gazaעַזָּה‛azzâh · GazaH5804
• forsakenעָזַב‛âzab · to leave: forsakeH5800
• Ashkelonאַשְׁקְלוֹן'ashqelôn · AshkelonH831
• desolationשְׁמָמָהshemâmâh shimâmâh · devastationH8077
• outגָּרַשׁgârash · to drive out: drive outH1644
• Ashdodאַשְׁדּוֹד'ashdôd · AshdodH795
• noondayצֹ֫הַרtsôhar · middayH6672
• Ekronעֶקְרוֹן‛eqrôn · EkronH6138
• outעָקַר‛âqar · to uprootH6131

Cross-references for Zephaniah 2:4

• Jeremiah 25:20And all the mixed people, and all the kings of the land of Uz, and all the kings of the land of the Philistines, and Ashkelon, and Azzah, and Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod,
• Jeremiah 47:1The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet against the Philistines, before Pharaoh smote Gaza.
• Ezekiel 25:15Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because the Philistines have dealt by revenge, and have taken vengeance with a despiteful heart, to destroy it for the old hatred;
• Amos 1:6Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment ; because they carried away captive the whole captivity, to deliver them up to Edom:
• Zechariah 9:5Ashkelon shall see it, and fear; Gaza also shall see it, and be very sorrowful, and Ekron; for her expectation shall be ashamed; and the king shall perish from Gaza, and Ashkelon shall not be inhabited.
• Psalms 91:6Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
• Jeremiah 6:4Prepare ye war against her; arise, and let us go up at noon. Woe to us! for the day departeth, for the shadows of the evening are lengthened.
• Jeremiah 15:8Their widows are multiplied to me above the sand of the seas: I have brought upon them against the mother of the young men a spoiler at noonday: I have caused him to fall upon it suddenly, and terrors upon the city.

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