Zephaniah 3:6

NET Bible® (New English Translation)

The Lord’s Judgment will Purify“I destroyed nations; their walled cities are in ruins. I turned their streets into ruins; no one passes through them. Their cities are desolate; no one lives there.

Additional Resources

Referenced Verses

  • Lev 26:31 : 31 I will lay your cities waste and make your sanctuaries desolate, and I will refuse to smell your soothing aromas.
  • Isa 10:1-9 : 1 Beware, those who enact unjust policies, those who are always instituting unfair regulations, 2 to keep the poor from getting fair treatment, and to deprive the oppressed among my people of justice, so they can steal what widows own, and loot what belongs to orphans. 3 What will you do on judgment day, when destruction arrives from a distant place? To whom will you run for help? Where will you leave your wealth? 4 You will have no place to go, except to kneel with the prisoners, or to fall among those who have been killed. Despite all this, his anger does not subside, and his hand is ready to strike again. 5 The Lord Turns on Arrogant Assyria Beware, Assyria, the club I use to vent my anger, a cudgel with which I angrily punish. 6 I sent him against a godless nation, I ordered him to attack the people with whom I was angry, to take plunder and to carry away loot, to trample them down like dirt in the streets. 7 But he does not agree with this, his mind does not reason this way, for his goal is to destroy, and to eliminate many nations. 8 Indeed, he says:“Are not my officials all kings? 9 Is not Calneh like Carchemish? Hamath like Arpad? Samaria like Damascus? 10 I overpowered kingdoms ruled by idols, whose carved images were more impressive than Jerusalem’s or Samaria’s. 11 As I have done to Samaria and its idols, so I will do to Jerusalem and its idols.” 12 But when the Lord finishes judging Mount Zion and Jerusalem, then I will punish the king of Assyria for what he has proudly planned and for the arrogant attitude he displays. 13 For he says:“By my strong hand I have accomplished this, by my strategy that I devised. I invaded the territory of nations, and looted their storehouses. Like a mighty conqueror, I brought down rulers. 14 My hand discovered the wealth of the nations, as if it were in a nest, as one gathers up abandoned eggs, I gathered up the whole earth. There was no wing flapping, or open mouth chirping.” 15 Does an ax exalt itself over the one who wields it, or a saw magnify itself over the one who cuts with it? As if a scepter should brandish the one who raises it, or a staff should lift up what is not made of wood! 16 For this reason the Sovereign LORD of Heaven’s Armies, will make his healthy ones emaciated. His majestic glory will go up in smoke. 17 The Light of Israel will become a fire, their Holy One will become a flame; it will burn and consume the Assyrian king’s briers and his thorns in one day. 18 The splendor of his forest and his orchard will be completely destroyed, as when a sick man’s life ebbs away. 19 There will be so few trees left in his forest, a child will be able to count them. 20 At that time those left in Israel, those who remain of the family of Jacob, will no longer rely on a foreign leader that abuses them. Instead they will truly rely on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel. 21 A remnant will come back, a remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God. 22 For though your people, Israel, are as numerous as the sand on the seashore, only a remnant will come back. Destruction has been decreed; just punishment is about to engulf you. 23 The Sovereign LORD of Heaven’s Armies, is certainly ready to carry out the decreed destruction throughout the land. 24 So here is what the Sovereign LORD of Heaven’s Armies, says:“My people who live in Zion, do not be afraid of Assyria, even though they beat you with a club and lift their cudgel against you as Egypt did. 25 For very soon my fury will subside, and my anger will be directed toward their destruction.” 26 The LORD of Heaven’s Armies is about to beat them with a whip, similar to the way he struck down Midian at the rock of Oreb. He will use his staff against the sea, lifting it up as he did in Egypt. 27 At that time the LORD will remove their burden from your shoulders, and their yoke from your neck; the yoke will be taken off because your neck will be too large. 28 They attacked Aiath, moved through Migron, depositing their supplies at Micmash. 29 They went through the pass, spent the night at Geba. Ramah trembled, Gibeah of Saul ran away. 30 Shout out, daughter of Gallim! Pay attention, Laishah! Answer her, Anathoth! 31 Madmenah flees, the residents of Gebim have hidden. 32 This very day, standing in Nob, they shake their fist at Daughter Zion’s mountain– at the hill of Jerusalem. 33 Look, the Sovereign LORD of Heaven’s Armies, is ready to cut off the branches with terrifying power. The tallest trees will be cut down, the loftiest ones will be brought low. 34 The thickets of the forest will be chopped down with an ax, and mighty Lebanon will fall.
  • Isa 15:1-9 : 1 The Lord Will Judge Moab This is an oracle about Moab: Indeed, in a night it is devastated, Ar of Moab is destroyed! Indeed, in a night it is devastated, Kir of Moab is destroyed! 2 They went up to the temple, the people of Dibon went up to the high places to lament. Because of what happened to Nebo and Medeba, Moab wails. Every head is shaved bare, every beard is trimmed off. 3 In their streets they wear sackcloth; on their roofs and in their town squares all of them wail, they fall down weeping. 4 The people of Heshbon and Elealeh cry out, their voices are heard as far away as Jahaz. For this reason Moab’s soldiers shout in distress; their courage wavers. 5 My heart cries out because of Moab’s plight, and for the fugitives stretched out as far as Zoar and Eglath Shelishiyah. For they weep as they make their way up the ascent of Luhith; they loudly lament their demise on the road to Horonaim. 6 For the waters of Nimrim are gone; the grass is dried up, the vegetation has disappeared, and there are no plants. 7 For this reason what they have made and stored up, they carry over the Stream of the Poplars. 8 Indeed, the cries of distress echo throughout Moabite territory; their wailing can be heard in Eglaim and Beer Elim. 9 Indeed, the waters of Dimon are full of blood! Indeed, I will heap even more trouble on Dimon. A lion will attack the Moabite fugitives and the people left in the land.
  • Isa 19:1-9 : 1 The Lord Will Judge Egypt This is an oracle about Egypt: Look, the LORD rides on a swift-moving cloud and approaches Egypt. The idols of Egypt tremble before him; the Egyptians lose their courage. 2 “I will provoke civil strife in Egypt, brothers will fight with each other, as will neighbors, cities, and kingdoms. 3 The Egyptians will panic, and I will confuse their strategy. They will seek guidance from the idols and from the spirits of the dead, from the pits used to conjure up underworld spirits, and from the magicians. 4 I will hand Egypt over to a harsh master; a powerful king will rule over them,” says the Sovereign LORD of Heaven’s Armies. 5 The water of the sea will be dried up, and the river will dry up and be empty. 6 The canals will stink; the streams of Egypt will trickle and then dry up; the bulrushes and reeds will decay, 7 along with the plants by the mouth of the river. All the cultivated land near the river will turn to dust and be blown away. 8 The fishermen will mourn and lament, all those who cast a fishhook into the river, and those who spread out a net on the water’s surface will grieve. 9 Those who make clothes from combed flax will be embarrassed; those who weave will turn pale. 10 Those who make cloth will be demoralized; all the hired workers will be depressed. 11 The officials of Zoan are nothing but fools; Pharaoh’s wise advisers give stupid advice. How dare you say to Pharaoh,“I am one of the sages, one well-versed in the writings of the ancient kings?” 12 But where, oh where, are your wise men? Let them tell you, let them find out what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies has planned for Egypt. 13 The officials of Zoan are fools, the officials of Memphis are misled; the rulers of her tribes lead Egypt astray. 14 The LORD has made them undiscerning; they lead Egypt astray in all she does, so that she is like a drunk sliding around in his own vomit. 15 Egypt will not be able to do a thing, head or tail, shoots or stalk. 16 At that time the Egyptians will be like women. They will tremble and fear because the LORD of Heaven’s Armies brandishes his fist against them. 17 The land of Judah will humiliate Egypt. Everyone who hears about Judah will be afraid because of what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies is planning to do to them. 18 At that time five cities in the land of Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. One will be called the City of the Sun. 19 At that time there will be an altar for the LORD in the middle of the land of Egypt, as well as a sacred pillar dedicated to the LORD at its border. 20 It will become a visual reminder in the land of Egypt of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. When they cry out to the LORD because of oppressors, he will send them a deliverer and defender who will rescue them. 21 The LORD will reveal himself to the Egyptians, and they will acknowledge the LORD’s authority at that time. They will present sacrifices and offerings; they will make vows to the LORD and fulfill them. 22 The LORD will strike Egypt, striking and then healing them. They will turn to the LORD and he will listen to their prayers and heal them. 23 At that time there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will visit Egypt, and the Egyptians will visit Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together. 24 At that time Israel will be the third member of the group, along with Egypt and Assyria, and will be a recipient of blessing in the earth. 25 The LORD of Heaven’s Armies will pronounce a blessing over the earth, saying,“Blessed be my people, Egypt, and the work of my hands, Assyria, and my special possession, Israel!”
  • Isa 37:11-13 : 11 Certainly you have heard how the kings of Assyria have annihilated all lands. Do you really think you will be rescued? 12 Were the nations whom my predecessors destroyed– the nations of Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden in Telassar– rescued by their gods? 13 Where are the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, and the kings of Lair, Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?’”
  • Isa 37:24-26 : 24 Through your messengers you taunted the Lord,‘With my many chariots I climbed up the high mountains, the slopes of Lebanon. I cut down its tall cedars and its best evergreens. I invaded its most remote regions, its thickest woods. 25 I dug wells and drank water. With the soles of my feet I dried up all the rivers of Egypt.’ 26 Certainly you must have heard! Long ago I worked it out, in ancient times I planned it, and now I am bringing it to pass. The plan is this: Fortified cities will crash into heaps of ruins.
  • Isa 37:36 : 36 The LORD’s angel went out and killed 185,000 troops in the Assyrian camp. When they got up early the next morning, there were all the corpses!
  • Jer 25:9-9 : 9 So I, the LORD, affirm that I will send for all the peoples of the north and my servant, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants and all the nations that surround it. I will utterly destroy this land, its inhabitants, and all the nations that surround it and make them everlasting ruins. I will make them objects of horror and hissing scorn. 10 I will put an end to the sounds of joy and gladness, to the glad celebration of brides and grooms in these lands. I will put an end to the sound of people grinding meal. I will put an end to lamps shining in their houses. 11 This whole area will become a desolate wasteland. These nations will be subject to the king of Babylon for seventy years.’
  • Jer 25:18-26 : 18 I made Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, its kings and its officials drink it. I did it so Judah would become a ruin. I did it so Judah, its kings, and its officials would become an object of horror and of hissing scorn, an example used in curses. Such is already becoming the case! 19 I made all of these other people drink it: Pharaoh, king of Egypt; his attendants, his officials, his people, 20 the foreigners living in Egypt; all the kings of the land of Uz; all the kings of the land of the Philistines, the people of Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, the people who had been left alive from Ashdod; 21 all the people of Edom, Moab, Ammon; 22 all the kings of Tyre, all the kings of Sidon; all the kings of the coastlands along the sea; 23 the people of Dedan, Tema, Buz, all the desert people who cut their hair short at the temples; 24 all the kings of Arabia who live in the desert; 25 all the kings of Zimri; all the kings of Elam; all the kings of Media; 26 all the kings of the north, whether near or far from one another; and all the other kingdoms which are on the face of the earth. After all of them have drunk the wine of the LORD’s wrath, the king of Babylon must drink it.
  • Nah 2:1-3 : 1 Proclamation of the Destruction of Nineveh(2:2)“An enemy who will scatter you, Nineveh, has advanced against you!”“Guard the rampart! Watch the road! Prepare yourselves for battle! Muster your mighty strength!” 2 For the LORD is about to restore the majesty of Jacob, as well as the majesty of Israel, though their enemies have plundered them and have destroyed their fields. 3 Prophetic Vision of the Fall of Nineveh The shields of his warriors are dyed red; the mighty soldiers are dressed in scarlet garments. The chariots are in flashing metal fittings on the day of battle; the soldiers brandish their spears.
  • Zeph 2:5 : 5 Beware, you who live by the sea, the people who came from Crete. The LORD’s message is against you, Canaan, land of the Philistines:“I will destroy everyone who lives there!”
  • Zech 7:14 : 14 ‘Rather, I will sweep them away in a storm into all the nations they are not familiar with.’ Thus the land had become desolate because of them, with no one crossing through or returning, for they had made the fruitful land a waste.”
  • 1 Cor 10:6 : 6 These things happened as examples for us, so that we will not crave evil things as they did.
  • 1 Cor 10:11 : 11 These things happened to them as examples and were written for our instruction, on whom the ends of the ages have come.

Similar Verses (AI)

These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.

  • Isa 6:11-12
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    11I replied,“How long, Lord?” He said,“Until cities are in ruins and unpopulated, and houses are uninhabited, and the land is ruined and devastated,

    12and the LORD has sent the people off to a distant place, and the very heart of the land is completely abandoned.

  • Ezek 30:7
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    7They will be desolate among desolate lands, and their cities will be among ruined cities.

  • Jer 9:10-11
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    10The Coming Destruction Calls For Mourning I said,“I will weep and mourn for the grasslands on the mountains, I will sing a mournful song for the pastures in the wilderness because they are so scorched no one travels through them. The sound of livestock is no longer heard there. Even the birds in the sky and the wild animals in the fields have fled and are gone.”

    11The LORD said,“I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins. Jackals will make their home there. I will destroy the towns of Judah so that no one will be able to live in them.”

  • Jer 51:43
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    43The towns of Babylonia have become heaps of ruins. She has become a dry and barren desert. No one lives in those towns any more. No one even passes through them.

  • Ezek 35:9
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    9I will turn you into a perpetual desolation, and your cities will not be inhabited. Then you will know that I am the LORD.

  • Isa 33:8
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    8Highways are empty, there are no travelers. Treaties are broken, witnesses are despised, human life is treated with disrespect.

  • Mic 5:11
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    11I will destroy the cities of your land, and tear down all your fortresses.

  • Isa 1:7
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    7Your land is devastated, your cities burned with fire. Right before your eyes your crops are being destroyed by foreign invaders. They leave behind devastation and destruction.

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    9At that time their fortified cities will be like the abandoned summits of the Amorites, which they abandoned because of the Israelites; there will be desolation.

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    20The inhabited towns will be left in ruins and the land will be devastated. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’”

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    26I looked and saw that the fruitful land had become a desert and that all of the cities had been laid in ruins. The LORD had brought this all about because of his blazing anger.

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    11They will lay it waste. It will lie parched and empty before me. The whole land will be laid waste. But no one living in it will pay any heed.

  • Jer 19:8
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    8I will make this city an object of horror, a thing to be hissed at. All who pass by it will be filled with horror and will hiss out their scorn because of all the disasters that have happened to it.

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    8“‘People from other nations will pass by this city. They will ask one another,“Why has the LORD done such a thing to this great city?”

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    7Like a lion that has come up from its lair the one who destroys nations has set out from his home base. He is coming out to lay your land waste. Your cities will become ruins and lie uninhabited.

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    28I will turn the land into a desolate ruin; her confident pride will come to an end. The mountains of Israel will be so desolate no one will pass through them.

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    6In all your dwellings, the cities will be laid waste and the high places ruined so that your altars will be laid waste and ruined, your idols will be shattered and demolished, your incense altars will be broken down, and your works wiped out.

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    37Their peaceful dwelling places will be laid waste by the fierce anger of the LORD.

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    14‘Rather, I will sweep them away in a storm into all the nations they are not familiar with.’ Thus the land had become desolate because of them, with no one crossing through or returning, for they had made the fruitful land a waste.”

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    2Indeed, you have made the city into a heap of rubble, the fortified town into a heap of ruins; the fortress of foreigners is no longer a city, it will never be rebuilt.

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    15Like lions his enemies roar victoriously over him; they raise their voices in triumph. They have laid his land waste; his cities have been burned down and deserted.

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  • Lev 26:31-32
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    31I will lay your cities waste and make your sanctuaries desolate, and I will refuse to smell your soothing aromas.

    32I myself will make the land desolate and your enemies who live in it will be appalled.

  • Jer 44:2
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    2“The LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel says,‘You have seen all the disaster I brought on Jerusalem and all the towns of Judah. Indeed, they now lie in ruins and are deserted.

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    25Certainly you must have heard! Long ago I worked it out. In ancient times I planned it; and now I am bringing it to pass. The plan is this: Fortified cities will crash into heaps of ruins.

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    9The LORD of Heaven’s Armies told me this:“Many houses will certainly become desolate, large, impressive houses will have no one living in them.

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    14“I will make you desolate and an object of scorn among the nations around you, in the sight of everyone who passes by.

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    16So their land will become an object of horror. People will forever hiss out their scorn over it. All who pass that way will be filled with horror and will shake their heads in derision.

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    29At the sound of the approaching horsemen and archers the people of every town will flee. Some of them will hide in the thickets. Others will climb up among the rocks. All the cities will be deserted. No one will remain in them.

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    13Their wealth will be stolen and their houses ruined! They will not live in the houses they have built, nor will they drink the wine from the vineyards they have planted.

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    14I will uproot your images of Asherah from your midst, and destroy your idols.

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    10For the fortified city is left alone; it is a deserted settlement and abandoned like the wilderness. Calves graze there; they lie down there and eat its branches bare.

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    22For I, the LORD, affirm that I will soon give the order and bring them back to this city. They will fight against it and capture it and burn it down. I will also make the towns of Judah desolate so that there will be no one living in them.”’”

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    24I will bring the most wicked of the nations and they will take possession of their houses. I will put an end to the arrogance of the strong, and their sanctuaries will be desecrated.

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    12The city is left in ruins; the gate is reduced to rubble.

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    28he lived in ruined towns and in houses where no one lives, where they are ready to crumble into heaps.

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    6A sword will flash in their cities, it will destroy the bars of their city gates, and will devour them in their fortresses.