Zephaniah 2:10
What does Zephaniah 2:10 mean?
A plain-English look at Zephaniah 2:10 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Zephaniah 2:10 means
Zephaniah states the moral calculus: the desolation promised to Moab and Ammon comes “for their pride,” because they reproached and exalted themselves against “the people of Jehovah of hosts.” Pride sets itself against God by attacking those He calls His own. Judgment, then, is not random; it is the fitting response to arrogance that scorns God’s covenant community. This verse clarifies that divine justice answers specific sins—mockery, self-exaltation, boundary violation—not mere national rivalry. It cautions that how one treats God’s people is spiritually significant, and that human boasting, when aimed at them, rises to an offense before the Lord of hosts.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000This shall they have for their pride, because they have reproached and magnified themselves against the people of Jehovah of hosts.
KJV
King James Version · 1611This shall they have for their pride, because they have reproached and magnified themselves against the people of the Lord of hosts.
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901This shall they have for their pride, because they have reproached and magnified themselves against the people of Jehovah of hosts.
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949This will be their fate because of their pride, because they have said evil, lifting themselves up against the people of the Lord of armies.
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862This <FI>is<Fi> to them for their arrogancy, Because they have reproached, And they magnify <FI>themselves<Fi> against the people of Jehovah of Hosts.
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752This shall befall them for their pride: because they have blasphemed, and have been magnified against the people of the Lord of hosts.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890This shall they have for their pride, because they have reproached and magnified themselves against the people of Jehovah of hosts.
Context
After the solemn oath and sentence in verse 9, this line provides the theological reason. It prepares the way for verse 11’s wider vision: when God humbles the proud and topples idols, He will be “terrible unto them,” and true worship will spread. The flow moves from cause (pride), to effect (judgment), to purpose (God’s glory recognized among the nations).
v.9Therefore 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.
v.10This passage
v.11Jehovah will be terrible unto them; for he will famish all the gods of the earth; and men shall worship him, every one from his place, even all the isles of the nations.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Ezekiel 38:14
Therefore, son of man, prophesy, and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: In that day when my people Israel dwelleth securely, shalt thou not know it?
- Isaiah 37:22
this is the word which Jehovah hath spoken concerning him: The virgin daughter of Zion hath despised thee and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee.
- Daniel 5:20
But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit was hardened so that he dealt proudly, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him:
- Zephaniah 2:8
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.
- Daniel 4:37
Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven; for all his works are truth, and his ways justice; and those that walk in pride he is able to abase.
- Exodus 10:3
And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and said unto him, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of the Hebrews, How long wilt thou refuse to humble thyself before me? let my people go, that they may serve me.
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