8 I have heard the reproach of Moab, and the revilings of the children of Ammon, wherewith they have reproached my people, and magnified themselves against their border.
They say, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation, and let the name of Israel be mentioned no more. For they have consulted together with one heart: they have made an alliance together against thee. The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, Moab and the Hagarites; Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; Philistia, with the inhabitants of Tyre;
For was not Israel a derision unto thee? Was he found among thieves, that as oft as thou didst speak of him, thou didst shake the head? Leave the cities, and dwell in the rocks, ye inhabitants of Moab, and be like the dove, that maketh her nest in the sides of the cave's mouth. We have heard of the arrogance of Moab, -- [he is] very proud; -- his loftiness, and his arrogance, and his pride, and the haughtiness of his heart.
and say unto the children of Ammon, Hear the word of the Lord Jehovah. Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Because thou saidst, Aha, against my sanctuary, when it was profaned; and against the land of Israel, when it was made desolate; and against the house of Judah, when they went into captivity: therefore behold, I will give thee to the children of the east for a possession, and they shall set their encampments in thee, and make their dwellings in thee; they shall eat thy fruits, and they shall drink thy milk. And I will make Rabbah a pasture for camels, and the children of Ammon a couching-place for flocks: and ye shall know that I [am] Jehovah. For thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Because thou hast clapped the hands, and stamped with the feet, and rejoiced with all the despite of thy soul against the land of Israel; therefore behold, I will stretch out my hand upon thee, and will give thee for a spoil to the nations; and I will cut thee off from the peoples, and I will cause thee to perish out of the countries: I will destroy thee, and thou shalt know that I [am] Jehovah. Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Because Moab and Seir do say, Behold, the house of Judah is like unto all the nations, therefore behold, I will open the side of Moab from the cities, from his cities even to the last of them, the glory of the country, Beth-jeshimoth, Baal-meon, and Kirjathaim, unto the children of the east, with [the land of] the children of Ammon; and I will give it them for a possession, that the children of Ammon may not be remembered among the nations: and I will execute judgments upon Moab, and they shall know that I [am] Jehovah.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Zephaniah 2
Commentary on Zephaniah 2 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 2
In this chapter we have,
All these shall drink of the same cup of trembling that is put into the hands of God's people, as was also foretold by other prophets before and after.
Zep 2:1-3
Here we see what the prophet meant in that terrible description of the approaching judgments which we had in the foregoing chapter. From first to last his design was, not to drive the people to despair, but to drive them to God and to their duty-not to frighten them out of their wits, but to frighten them out of their sins. In pursuance of that he here calls them to repentance, national repentance, as the only way to prevent national ruin. Observe,
Zep 2:4-7
The prophet here comes to foretel what share the neighbouring nations should have in the destruction made upon those parts of the world by Nebuchadnezzar and his victorious Chaldees, as others of the prophets did at that time, which is designed,
In these verses we have the doom of the Philistines, who were near neighbours, and old enemies, to the people of Israel. Five lordships there were in that country; only four are here named-Gaza and Ashkelon, Ashdod and Ekron; Gath, the fifth, is not named, some think because it was now subject to Judah. They were the inhabitants of the sea-coasts (v. 5), for their country lay upon the Great Sea. The nation of the Cherethites is here joined with them, which bordered upon them (1 Sa. 30:14) and fell with them, as is foretold also, Eze. 25:16. The Philistines' land is here called Canaan, for it belonged to that country which God gave to his people Israel, and was inserted in the grant made to them, Jos. 13:3. This land is yet to be possessed (five lords of the Philistines), so that they wrongfully kept Israel out of the possession of it (Jdg. 3:3), which is now remembered against them. For, though the rights of others may be long detained unjustly, the righteous God will at length avenge the wrong.
Zep 2:8-11
The Moabites and Ammonites were both of the posterity of Lot; their countries joined, and, both adjoining to Israel, they are here put together in the prophecy against them.
Zep 2:12-15
The cup is going round, when Nebuchadnezzar is going on conquering and to conquer; and not only Israel's near neighbours, but those that lay more remote, must be reckoned with for the wrongs they have done to God's people; the Ethiopians and the Assyrians are here taken to task.