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Zephaniah 2:9

in Zephaniah 2

Therefore, as surely as I live,” declares the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, “surely Moab will be like Sodom and the Ammonites like Gomorrah—a place of weeds and salt pits, a perpetual wasteland. The remnant of My people will plunder them; the remainder of My nation will dispossess them.”

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

Therefore as I live, saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, Surely Moab shall be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, a possession of nettles, and saltpits, and a perpetual desolation: the residue of my people shall make a prey of them, and the remnant of my nation shall inherit them.

KJV

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 saltpits, and a perpetual desolation: the residue of my people shall spoil them, and the remnant of my people shall possess them.

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This verse in Zephaniah 2

Commentary

9 notes on this verse

A commentator

Jerome

Commentary on Zephaniah · Written before 420.

(Ver. 8 onwards) I have heard the reproach of Moab and the blasphemies of the sons of Ammon, who have reproached my people and magnified themselves against their borders. Therefore, as I live, says the Lord God (God remains silent), the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Moab shall be like Sodom, and the sons of Ammon like Gomorrah, a land of thorns and salt pits, and a desolation forever. The remnant of my people shall plunder them; the survivors of my nation shall possess them.

This site's exposition

the reproach of Moab

on Zephaniah 2:8-10

Moab and Ammon, Lot's descendants, are judged for "the reproach of Moab and the insults of the Ammonites." Verse 9 makes them "like Sodom" and "like Gomorrah," the cities their ancestor fled in Genesis 19. "The remnant of My people will plunder them," the same reversal given the Philistine coast.

This site's exposition

as surely as I live

The LORD of Hosts swears by His own life. Moab and Ammon are compared to Sodom and Gomorrah, the two cities Lot fled in Genesis 19, though both peoples descend from Lot. Albert Barnes grounds the oath in John 5:26, where the Father has life in Himself.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

proposed

Salt-pits - A dry, barren earth, fit only to dig salt out of. The residue - That return out of Babylon. Possess them - Settle upon those parts of their lands, that are fit for habitation.
Therefore as I live, saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel,....

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

It is the Lord of hosts, the sovereign Lord of all, who has authority to pass this sentence and ability to execute it; it is the God of Israel, who is jealous for their honour; it is he that has said it, nay, he has sworn it, As I live, saith the Lord.

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

Therefore as I live, saith the Lord of hosts - Life especially belongs to God, since He Alone is Underived Life. “He hath life in Himself” Joh 5:

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

the breeding of nettles--or, the overspreading of nettles, that is, a place overrun with them. salt pits--found at the south of the Dead Sea. The water overflows in the spring, and salt is left by the evaporation. Salt land is barren (Jud 9:45;

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens

1 more voice on this verse

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

The breeding of nettles - That is, their land shall become desolate, and be a place for nettles, thorns, etc., to flourish in, for want of cultivation.

The words behind it

28 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • לָכֵ֣ן<to> therefore

    lakhenH3651 →

  • חַי־[by] [the] life

    chai-H2416 →498 times

  • אָ֡נִיof me

    ʾaniH589 →

  • נְאֻם֩[the] utterance of

    neumH5002 →376 times

  • יְהוָ֨הYahweh

    yahwehH3068 →6520 times

  • צְבָא֜וֹתof hosts

    tzevaotH6635 →485 times

  • אֱלֹהֵ֣י[the] God of

    ʾeloheiH430 →2601 times

  • יִשְׂרָאֵ֗לIsrael

    yisraelH3478 →2507 times

  • כִּֽי־that

    ki-H3588 →4482 times

  • מוֹאָ֞בMoab

    moavH4124 →

  • כִּסְדֹ֤םlike Sodom

    kisdomH5467 →

  • תִּֽהְיֶה֙it will be

    tihyehH1961 →3559 times

  • וּבְנֵ֤יand [the] people of

    uveneiH1121 →4930 times

  • עַמּוֹן֙Ammon

    ʾamonH5983 →

  • כַּֽעֲמֹרָ֔הlike Gomorrah

    kaamorahH6017 →

  • מִמְשַׁ֥קa place possessed of

    mishakH4476 →

  • חָר֛וּלnettle[s]

    charulH2738 →

  • וּמִכְרֵה־and a pit of

    umikhreh-H4379 →

  • מֶ֥לַחsalt

    melachH4417 →

  • וּשְׁמָמָ֖הand a waste

    ushemamahH8077 →57 times

  • עַד־until

    ʾad-H5704 →

  • עוֹלָ֑םperpetuity

    olamH5769 →

  • שְׁאֵרִ֤ית[the] remnant of

    sheeritH7611 →66 times

  • עַמִּי֙people my

    ʾamiH5971 →1873 times

  • יְבָזּ֔וּםthey will plunder them

    yevazumH962 →

  • וְיֶ֥תֶרand [the] rest ofK:

    veyeterH3499 →

  • גּוֹיִ֖יnation my

    goyiH1471 →561 times

  • יִנְחָלֽוּם׃they will take possession of them

    yinchalumH5157 →

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

18 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Isaiah 15:1–9This is the burden against Moab: Ar in Moab is ruined, destroyed in a night! Kir in Moab is devastated, destroyed in a night!8 worksIsaiah 11:14They will swoop down on the slopes of the Philistines to the west; together they will plunder the sons of the east. They will lay their hands on Edom and Moab, and the Ammonites will be subject to them.7 worksDeuteronomy 29:23All its soil will be a burning waste of sulfur and salt, unsown and unproductive, with no plant growing on it, just like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the LORD overthrew in His fierce anger.6 worksRomans 14:11It is written: “As surely as I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow before Me; every tongue will confess to God.”6 worksIsaiah 25:10For the hand of the LORD will rest on this mountain. But Moab will be trampled in his place as straw is trodden into the dung pile.5 works2 Peter 2:6if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction, reducing them to ashes as an example of what is coming on the ungodly;5 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
Isaiah 13:19And Babylon, the jewel of the kingdoms, the glory of the pride of the Chaldeans, will be overthrown by God like Sodom and Gomorrah.5 worksJeremiah 48:1Concerning Moab, this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “Woe to Nebo, for it will be devastated. Kiriathaim will be captured and disgraced; the fortress will be shattered and dismantled.4 worksIsaiah 49:18Lift up your eyes and look around. They all gather together; they come to you. As surely as I live,” declares the LORD, “you will wear them all as jewelry and put them on like a bride.4 worksGenesis 19:24Then the LORD rained down sulfur and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the LORD out of the heavens.4 worksLuke 17:29But on the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.4 worksAmos 1:13This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of the Ammonites, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because they ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead in order to enlarge their territory.3 worksJoel 3:19–20Egypt will become desolate, and Edom a desert wasteland, because of the violence done to the people of Judah, in whose land they shed innocent blood.3 worksMicah 5:7–8Then the remnant of Jacob will be in the midst of many peoples like dew from the LORD, like showers on the grass, which do not wait for man or linger for mankind.3 worksZephaniah 2:14Herds will lie down in her midst, creatures of every kind. Both the desert owl and screech owl will roost atop her pillars. Their calls will sound from the window, but desolation will lie on the threshold, for He will expose the beams of cedar.3 worksJeremiah 46:18As surely as I live, declares the King, whose name is the LORD of Hosts, there will come one who is like Tabor among the mountains and like Carmel by the sea.3 worksEzekiel 25:1–17Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,3 worksZephaniah 2:7The 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.3 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    Deuteronomy 29:23

    All its soil will be a burning waste of sulfur and salt, unsown and unproductive, with no plant growing on it, just like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the…

    it leads to

    • Jeremiah 17:6

      He will be like a shrub in the desert; he will not see when prosperity comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.

    • Genesis 19:24–25

      Then the LORD rained down sulfur and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the LORD out of the heavens.

    • Genesis 14:2

      went to war against Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar).

    • Isaiah 34:9

      Edom’s streams will be turned to tar, and her soil to sulfur; her land will become a blazing pitch.

  • Through

    Isaiah 11:14

    They will swoop down on the slopes of the Philistines to the west; together they will plunder the sons of the east. They will lay their hands on Edom and Moab, and the Ammonites…

    it leads to

    • Joel 3:19

      Egypt will become desolate, and Edom a desert wasteland, because of the violence done to the people of Judah, in whose land they shed innocent blood.

    • Jeremiah 49:28

      Concerning Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated, this is what the LORD says: “Rise up, advance against Kedar, and destroy the people of the east!

    • Isaiah 25:10

      For the hand of the LORD will rest on this mountain. But Moab will be trampled in his place as straw is trodden into the dung pile.

    • Daniel 11:41

      He will also invade the Beautiful Land, and many countries will fall. But these will be delivered from his hand: Edom, Moab, and the leaders of the Ammonites.

Where this verse is studied

About Zephaniah

Zephaniah: the study guide →Read Zephaniah 2 →
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, The Twelve Minor Prophets; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Zephaniah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Zephaniah 2 →