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Zephaniah 2:13–15
2:13 The Lord46 will attack the north47
and destroy Assyria.
He will make Nineveh a heap of ruins;
it will be as barren48 as the desert.
2:14 Flocks and herds49 will lie down in the middle of it,
as well as every kind of wild animal.50
Owls51 will sleep in the tops of its support pillars;
they will hoot through the windows.52
Rubble will cover the thresholds;53
even the cedar work54 will be exposed to the elements.55
2:15 This is how the once-proud city will end up56—
the city that was so secure.57
She thought to herself,58 “I am unique! No one can compare to me!”59
What a heap of ruins she has become, a place where wild animals live!
Everyone who passes by her taunts her60 and shakes his fist.61
46 | tn Heb “He”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity. |
47 | tn Heb “he will stretch out his hand against the north.” |
48 | tn Or “dry.” |
49 | tn Heb “flocks.” The Hebrew word can refer to both flocks of sheep and herds of cattle. |
50 | |
51 | tn The Hebrew text reads here גַּם־קָאַת גַּם־קִפֹּד (gam-qa’at gam-qippod). The term קָאַת refers to some type of bird (see Lev 11:18; Deut 14:17) that was typically found near ruins (Isa 34:11); one of the most common translations is “owl” (cf. NEB “horned owl”; NIV, NRSV “desert owl”; contra NASB “pelican”). The term קִפֹּד may also refer to a type of bird (cf. NEB “ruffed bustard”; NIV, NRSV “screech owl”). Some suggest a rodent may be in view (cf. NASB “hedgehog”); this is not unreasonable, for a rodent or some other small animal would be able to sleep in the tops of pillars which would be lying in the ruins of the fallen buildings. |
52 | |
53 | |
54 | |
55 | tn Heb “one will expose.” The subject is probably indefinite, though one could translate, “for he [i.e., God] will lay bare.” |
56 | tn Heb “this is the proud city.” |
57 | tn Heb “the one that lived securely.” |
58 | tn Heb “the one who says in her heart.” |
59 | tn Heb “I [am], and besides me there is no other.” |
60 | tn Heb “hisses”; or “whistles.” |
61 | sn Hissing (or whistling) and shaking the fist were apparently ways of taunting a defeated foe or an object of derision in the culture of the time. |
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