| New King James Version | NET Bible |
| 1Gather yourselves together, yes, gather together, O undesirable nation, | 1Bunch yourselves together like straw, you undesirable nation, |
| 2Before the decree is issued, Or the day passes like chaff, Before the LORD’s fierce anger comes upon you, Before the day of the LORD’s anger comes upon 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 meek of the earth, Who have upheld His justice. Seek righteousness, seek humility. It may be that you will be hidden 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. |
| 4For Gaza shall be forsaken, And Ashkelon desolate; They shall drive out Ashdod at noonday, And Ekron shall 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 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.” | 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 seacoast shall be pastures, With shelters for shepherds and folds for flocks. | 6The seacoast will be used as pasture lands by the shepherds and as pens for their flocks. |
| 7The coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Judah; They shall feed their flocks there; In the houses of Ashkelon they shall lie down at evening. For the LORD their God will intervene for them, And return their captives. | 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 have heard the reproach of Moab, And the insults of the people of Ammon, With which they have reproached My people, And made arrogant threats against their borders. | 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 live,” Says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, “Surely Moab shall be like Sodom, And the people of Ammon like Gomorrah— Overrun with weeds and saltpits, And a perpetual desolation. The residue of My people shall plunder them, And the remnant of My people shall possess them.” | 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 shall have for their pride, Because they have reproached and made arrogant threats Against the people of the LORD of hosts. | 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 be awesome to them, For He will reduce to nothing all the gods of the earth; People shall worship Him, Each one from his place, Indeed all the shores 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“You Ethiopians also, You shall be slain by My sword.” | 12"You Ethiopians will also die by my sword!" |
| 13And He will stretch out His hand against the north, Destroy Assyria, And make Nineveh a desolation, As dry as the 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. |
| 14The herds shall lie down in her midst, Every beast of the nation. Both the pelican and the bittern Shall lodge on the capitals of her pillars; Their voice shall sing in the windows; Desolation shall be at the threshold; For He will lay bare the cedar work. | 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 the rejoicing city That dwelt securely, That said in her heart, “I am it, and there is none besides me.” How has she become a desolation, A place for beasts to lie down! Everyone who passes by her Shall hiss and shake his fist. | 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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