| International Standard Version | NET Bible |
| 1"Gather together! Yes, indeed, gather together, you shameless nation! | 1Bunch yourselves together like straw, you undesirable nation, |
| 2Before the decree is carried out, before the day flies away like chaff, before the fierce anger of the LORD visits you, before the Day of the LORD's wrath surprises you, | 2before God's decree becomes reality and the day of opportunity disappears like windblown chaff, before the LORD's raging anger overtakes you--before the day of the LORD's angry judgment overtakes you! |
| 3seek the LORD, all you humble people of the land, who do what he commands. Seek righteousness! Seek humility! Maybe you will be protected in the Day of the LORD's anger." | 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. |
| 4"For Gaza will be forsaken, and Ashkelon deserted— Ashdod will be emptied at high noon; even Ekron will be uprooted. | 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. |
| 5Woe to those who live along the coast, the people of Philistia! This message from the LORD is being spoken against you, Canaan, land of the Philistines: 'I'll destroy you until no one lives there!' | 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!" |
| 6The Philistine coast will become meadows for shepherds and sheep pens. | 6The seacoast will be used as pasture lands by the shepherds and as pens for their flocks. |
| 7The survivors of Judah will find pasture on it; at twilight they will lie down in the houses of Ashkelon, for the LORD their God will visit them, restoring their prosperity." | 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. |
| 8"I've heard Moab's insults and the curses from those Ammonites by which they defame my people and boast about their territory. | 8"I have heard Moab's taunts and the Ammonites' insults. They taunted my people and verbally harassed those living in Judah. |
| 9Therefore as I'm alive and living," declares the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, "Moab will surely become like Sodom, and the Ammonites like Gomorrah, a place overrun by weeds and salty marshes, unpopulated forever. The survivors of my people will confiscate their property, and those who remain of my nation will inherit what was theirs. | 9Therefore, as surely as I live," says the LORD who commands armies, the God of Israel, "be certain that Moab will become like Sodom and the Ammonites like Gomorrah. They will be overrun by weeds, filled with salt pits, and permanently desolate. Those of my people who are left will plunder their belongings; those who are left in Judah will take possession of their land." |
| 10This they will have in lieu of their pride, because they have insulted and mocked the people of the LORD of the Heavenly Armies. | 10This is how they will be repaid for their arrogance, for they taunted and verbally harassed the people of the LORD who commands armies. |
| 11The LORD will incite them to terror, because he will cause all the gods of the earth to waste away. They will worship him, every person in his own home, including even the coastlands of the nations." | 11The LORD will terrify them, for he will weaken all the gods of the earth. All the distant nations will worship the LORD in their own lands. |
| 12"Now as for you, Cush, you will surely be slain by my sword! | 12"You Ethiopians will also die by my sword!" |
| 13"And the LORD will attack the north, destroying Assyria. He will turn Nineveh into a desolate ruin, as dry as a desert wilderness. | 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 will lie down in her midst, along with animals of every kind. Desert owls and screeching owls will nest at the top of the pillars, hooting through the vacant windows, 'Ruin sits at these doorsills,' for he will expose even the cedar framework. | 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. |
| 15This is that carefree city that lived irresponsibly, that told herself, 'Me first!' and, 'There will be no one else!' How ruined she has become— a habitat for wild animals! Everyone who passes by her will sneer at her and make obscene gestures!" | 15This 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. |
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