Zephaniah 2:9

Zephaniah 2:9

Therefore as I live, saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Surely Moab shall be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, even the breeding of nettles, and salt pits, and a perpetual desolation: the residue of my people shall spoil them, and the remnant of my people shall possess them.

a. NLT: Now, as surely as I live,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel,
“Moab and Ammon will be destroyed—destroyed as completely as Sodom and Gomorrah.
Their land will become a place of stinging nettles, salt pits, and eternal desolation.
The remnant of my people will plunder them and take their land.”

b. NIV: Therefore, as surely as I live,” declares the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, “surely Moab will become like Sodom, the Ammonites like Gomorrah— a place of weeds and salt pits, a wasteland forever. The remnant of my people will plunder them; the survivors of my nation will inherit their land.”

c. YLT: Therefore, I live, An affirmation of Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel, Surely, Moab is as Sodom, And the sons of Ammon as Gomorrah, An overrunning of nettles and salt-pits, And a desolation -- unto the age. A residue of My people do seize them, And a remnant of My nation inherit them.

d. Amplified Bible: Therefore, as I live, says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Moab shall become like Sodom and the Ammonites like Gomorrah, a land possessed by nettles and wild vetches and salt pits, and a perpetual desolation. The remnant of My people shall make a prey of them and what is left of My nation shall possess them.

e. Septuagint: Therefore, [as] I live, saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Moab shall be as Sodoma, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrha; and Damascus [shall be] left as a heap of the threshing-floor, and desolate for ever: and the remnant of my people shall plunder them, and the remnant of my nations shall inherit them.

f. Stone Edition Torah/Writings/Prophets: Therefore, as I live, the word of HASHEM, Master of Legions, God of Israel, [I swear] that Moab will be like Sodom and the Children of Ammon like Gomorrah, a rustling thornbush, a salt mine, a desolate wasteland forever. The remnant of My people will loot them and the remainder of My nation will inherit them.

1. “Therefore as I live, saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel…”

a. Therefore as I live [2416 * chay] [Strong: from 2421; alive; hence, raw (flesh); fresh (plant, water, year), strong; also (as noun, especially in the feminine singular and masculine plural) life (or living thing), whether literally or figuratively:--+ age, alive, appetite, (wild) beast, company, congregation, life(-time), live(-ly), living (creature, thing), maintenance, + merry, multitude, + (be) old, quick, raw, running, springing, troop.]

b. saith [5002 * n’um] [Strong: from 5001; an oracle:--(hath) said, saith.]

c. the LORD [3068 * Yhovah] [Strong: from 1961; (the) self-Existent or Eternal; Jehovah, Jewish national name of God:--Jehovah, the Lord.]

d. of hosts [6635 tsaba’] [Strong:  from 6633; a mass of persons (or figuratively, things), especially reg. organized for war (an army); by implication, a campaign, literally or figuratively (specifically, hardship, worship):--appointed time, (+) army, (+) battle, company, host, service, soldiers, waiting upon, war(-fare).]

e. the God [430 * ‘elohiym] [Strong: plural of 433; gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God; occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates; and sometimes as a superlative:--angels, X exceeding, God (gods)(-dess, -ly), X (very) great, judges, X mighty.]

f. of Israel [3478 * Yisra’el] Strong: from 8280 and 410; he will rule as God; Jisrael, a symbolical name of Jacob; also (typically) of his posterity: --Israel.]

2. “…Surely Moab shall be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah…”

a. Surely Moab [4124 * Mow’ab] [Strong: from a prolonged form of the prepositional prefix m- and 1; from (her (the mother's)) father; Moab, an incestuous son of Lot; also his territory and descendants:--Moab.]

b. shall be as Sodom [5467 * Cdom] [Strong:  from an unused root meaning to scorch; burnt (i.e. volcanic or bituminous) district; Sedom, a place near the Dead Sea:-- Sodom.]

c. and the children [1121 * ben] [Strong: from 1129; a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etc., (like 1, 251, etc.)):--+ afflicted, age, (Ahoh-) (Ammon-) (Hachmon-) (Lev-)ite, (anoint-)ed one, appointed to, (+) arrow, (Assyr-) (Babylon-) (Egypt-) (Grec-)ian, one born, bough, branch, breed, + (young) bullock, + (young) calf, X came up in, child, colt, X common, X corn, daughter, X of first, + firstborn, foal, + very fruitful, + postage, X in, + kid, + lamb, (+) man, meet, + mighty, + nephew, old, (+) people, + rebel, + robber, X servant born, X soldier, son, + spark, + steward, + stranger, X surely, them of, + tumultuous one, + valiant(-est), whelp, worthy, young (one), youth.]

d. of Ammon [5983 * ‘Ammown] [Strong: from 5971; tribal, i.e. inbred; Ammon, a son of Lot; also his posterity and their country:--Ammon, Ammonites.]

e. as Gomorrah [6017 * ‘Amorah] [Strong: from 6014; a (ruined) heap; Amorah, a place in Palestine:--Gomorrah.]

1). Here it is stated that Moab and Ammon shall receive the same judgment as Sodom and Gomorrah and the reason is stated in the previous verse Zephaniah 2:8. They scornfully insulted the people of God, using abusive and slanderous language against them, and finding fault with them without reason. They also boasted and magnified themselves in pride against their border. They were also accused by God in the next verse, Zephaniah 2:10 as being prideful, their reproaching, taunting, blaspheming, defying, and railing against God’s people. The obvious implication is that Sodom and Gomorrah were guilty of the same sins. In light of Jesus’ statement in Luke 17:28-30, “Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot… Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed”, we can expect that God’s people, the church can expect the same attacks upon them. True to the accuracy of the Word of God that is exactly what is occurring in our day.

3. “…even the breeding of nettles, and salt pits, and a perpetual desolation…”

a. even the breeding [4476 * mimshaq] [Strong: from the same as 4943; a possession:--breeding.]

b. nettles [2738 * charuwl] [Strong: apparently, a passive participle of an unused root probably meaning to be prickly; properly, pointed, i.e. a bramble or other thorny weed: nettle.]

c. salt pits [4379 * mikreh] [Strong:  from 3738; a pit (for salt):--(salt-)pit.]

1) salt pits [4417 * melach] [Strong: from 4414; properly, powder, i.e. (specifically) salt (as easily pulverized and dissolved:--salt((-pit)).]

d. and a perpetual [5704 * ‘ad] [Strong: the same as 5703 (used as a preposition, adverb or conjunction; especially with a preposition); as far (or long, or much) as, whether of space (even unto) or time (during, while, until) or degree (equally with):--against, and, as, at, before, by (that), even (to), for(-asmuch as), (hither-)to, + how long, into, as long (much) as, (so) that, till, toward, until, when, while, (+ as) yet.]

1). perpetual [5769 * ‘owlam] [Strong: from 5956; properly, concealed, i.e. the vanishing point; generally, time out of mind (past or future), i.e. (practically) eternity; frequentatively, adverbial (especially with prepositional prefix) always:--alway(-s), ancient (time), any more, continuance, eternal, (for, (n-))ever(-lasting, -more, of old), lasting, long (time), (of) old (time), perpetual, at any time, (beginning of the) world (+ without end).]

e. desolation [8077 * shmamah] [Strong:  feminine of 8076; devastation; figuratively, astonishment:--(laid, X most) desolate(- ion), waste.]

4. “…the residue of my people shall spoil them, and the remnant of my people shall possess them.”

a. the residue [7611 * sh’eriyth] [Strong: from 7604; a remainder or residual (surviving, final) portion:--that had escaped, be left, posterity, remain(-der), remnant, residue, rest.]

b. of my people [5971 * ‘am] [Strong: from 6004; a people (as a congregated unit); specifically, a tribe (as those of Israel); hence (collectively) troops or attendants; figuratively, a flock:--folk, men, nation, people.]

c. shall spoil [962 * bazaz] [Strong: a primitive root; to plunder:--catch, gather, (take) for a prey, rob(-ber), spoil, take (away, spoil), X utterly.]

d. and the remnant [3499 * yether] [Strong: from 3498; properly, an overhanging, i.e. (by implication) an excess, superiority, remainder; also a small rope (as hanging free):--+ abundant, cord, exceeding, excellancy(-ent), what they leave, that hath left, plentifully, remnant, residue, rest, string, with.]

e. of my people [1471 * gowy] [Strong: apparently from the same root as 1465 (in the sense of massing); a foreign nation; hence, a Gentile; also (figuratively) a troop of animals, or a flight of locusts:--Gentile, heathen, nation, people.]

f. shall possess them [5157 * nachal] [Strong: a primitive root; to inherit (as a (figurative) mode of descent), or (generally) to occupy; causatively, to bequeath, or (generally) distribute, instate:--divide, have ((inheritance)), take as a heritage, (cause to, give to, make to) inherit, (distribute for, divide (for, for an, by), give for, have, leave for, take (for)) inheritance, (have in, cause to, be made to) possess(-ion).]