Zephaniah 2:7
in Zephaniah 2The coast will belong to the remnant of the house of Judah; there they will find pasture. They will lie down in the evening among the houses of Ashkelon, for the LORD their God will attend to them and restore their captives.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Judah; they shall feed their flocks thereupon; in the houses of Ashkelon shall they lie down in the evening; for Jehovah their God will visit them, and bring back their captivity.
KJV
And the coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Judah; they shall feed thereupon: in the houses of Ashkelon shall they lie down in the evening: for the Lord their God shall visit them, and turn away their captivity.
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This verse in Zephaniah 2
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
And the coast shall be - Or probably, “It shall be a portion for the remnant of the house of Judah.” He uses the word, employed in the first assignment of the land to Israel ; and of the whole people as belonging to God, “Jacob is the ‘lot’ of His inheritance” Deu 32:9. “The tract of the sea,” which, with the rest, was assigned to Israel, which, for its unfaithfulness, was seldom, even in part, possessed, and at this time, was wholly forfeited, should be a portion for the mere “remnant” which should be brought back.
This site's exposition
the nation of the Cherethites
on Zephaniah 2:5-7
Cherethites is a name for the Philistines the bench connects to Crete, David's own bodyguard the Cherethites and Pelethites carrying the same word, and calling the land Canaan alongside Philistines widens the judgment to the whole coastal strip by its older, pre-Philistine name. The oracle turns at verse 7 from destruction to inheritance, the same coast becoming dwellings for shepherds and folds for flocks that the remnant of Judah will feed upon and lie down in come evening, judgment on one people making room for the return of another. For the Lord their God shall visit them, and turn away their captivity closes the reversal, the land emptied of its old inhabitants filled again with the people it belonged to by promise.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 5-7.) Woe to those who dwell by the sea, the nation of the lost: the word of the Lord is against you, O Canaan, land of the Philistines; and I will destroy you so that there will be no inhabitant. And the sea coast shall be pastures, with shelters for shepherds and folds for flocks. And the remnant of the house of Judah shall possess it; they shall feed on it. In the houses of Ashkelon they shall lie down at evening; for the Lord their God will visit them and restore their fortunes.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
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. They are both charged with the same crime, and that was reproaching and reviling the people of God and triumphing in their calamities (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
And the coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Judah,.... The same tract of land become so desolate through the Chaldeans, should in future time, when those that remained of the Jews were returned from their captivity in Babylon, be inhabited by them.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Judah--those of the Jews who shall be left after the coming calamity, and who shall return from exile. feed thereupon--namely, in the pastures of that seacoast region (Zep 2:6). visit--in mercy (Ex 4:31).
The coast shall be for the remnant - Several devastations fell on the Philistines. Gaza was ruined by the army of Alexander the Great, and the Maccabees finally accomplished all that was predicted by the prophets against this invariably wicked people. They lost their polity, and were at last obliged to receive circumcision.
The words behind it
17 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהָ֣יָה | vehayah | and it will belong | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| חֶ֗בֶל | chevel | [the] region | H2256 → | 62 times |
| לִשְׁאֵרִ֛ית | lisherit | to [the] remnant of | H7611 → | 66 times |
| בֵּ֥ית | beit | [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| יְהוּדָ֖ה | yehudah | Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| עֲלֵיהֶ֣ם | ʾaleihem | on them | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| יִרְע֑וּן | yirun | they will graze ! | H7462 → | 177 times |
| בְּבָתֵּ֣י | bevatei | in [the] houses of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| אַשְׁקְל֗וֹן | ʾashkelon | Ashkelon | H831 → | |
| בָּעֶ֙רֶב֙ | baerev | in the evening | H6153 → | |
| יִרְבָּצ֔וּן | yirbatzun | they will lie down ! | H7257 → | 30 times |
| כִּ֧י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| יִפְקְדֵ֛ם | yifkedem | he will visit them | H6485 → | 303 times |
| יְהוָ֥ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֵיהֶ֖ם | ʾeloheihem | God their | H430 → | 2601 times |
| וְשָׁ֥ב | veshav | and he will turn back | H7725 → | |
| שְׁבִיתָֽם׃ | shevutam | captivity their | H7622 → |
וְהָ֣יָהand it will belong
vehayahH1961 →3559 times
חֶ֗בֶל[the] region
chevelH2256 →62 times
לִשְׁאֵרִ֛יתto [the] remnant of
lisheritH7611 →66 times
בֵּ֥ית[the] house of
beitH1004 →2046 times
יְהוּדָ֖הJudah
yehudahH3063 →819 times
עֲלֵיהֶ֣םon them
ʾaleihemH5921 →5755 times
יִרְע֑וּןthey will graze !
yirunH7462 →177 times
בְּבָתֵּ֣יin [the] houses of
bevateiH1004 →2046 times
אַשְׁקְל֗וֹןAshkelon
ʾashkelonH831 →
בָּעֶ֙רֶב֙in the evening
baerevH6153 →
יִרְבָּצ֔וּןthey will lie down !
yirbatzunH7257 →30 times
כִּ֧יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
יִפְקְדֵ֛םhe will visit them
yifkedemH6485 →303 times
יְהוָ֥הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֵיהֶ֖םGod their
ʾeloheihemH430 →2601 times
וְשָׁ֥בand he will turn back
veshavH7725 →
שְׁבִיתָֽם׃captivity their
shevutamH7622 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Luke 1:68“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, because He has visited and redeemed His people.
it leads to
- Psalms 106:48
Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Let all the people say, “Amen!” Hallelujah!
- Luke 7:16
A sense of awe swept over all of them, and they glorified God. “A great prophet has appeared among us!” they said. “God has visited His people!”
- Psalms 111:9
He has sent redemption to His people; He has ordained His covenant forever; holy and awesome is His name.
- Psalms 41:13
Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and Amen.
- Exodus 4:31
and they believed. And when they heard that the LORD had attended to the Israelites and had seen their affliction, they bowed down and worshiped.
- Psalms 106:48
Through
Zephaniah 3:20At that time I will bring you in; yes, at that time I will gather you. For I will give you fame and praise among all the peoples of the earth when I restore…
it leads to
- Malachi 3:12
“Then all the nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight,” says the LORD of Hosts.
- Jeremiah 29:14
I will be found by you, declares the LORD, and I will restore you from captivity and gather you from all the nations and places to which I have banished you, declares the LORD.…
- Isaiah 56:5
I will give them, in My house and within My walls, a memorial and a name better than that of sons and daughters. I will give them an everlasting name that will not be…
- Malachi 3:12
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Zephaniah
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Zephaniah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.