Zephaniah 2:12
What does Zephaniah 2:12 mean?
A plain-English look at Zephaniah 2:12 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Zephaniah 2:12 means
The brief oracle against the Ethiopians (Cushites) shows that no nation, however distant to Judah, lies beyond God’s reach. “Ye shall be slain by my sword” personifies divine judgment: God Himself wields the instrument, whether by providential events or conquering armies. The terseness underscores certainty. Even those far to the south, with little direct involvement in Judah’s affairs, must account to the Lord of all the earth. The message levels human pretensions—proximity to Israel or power on one’s own borders offers no shield when the Sovereign Judge executes His will.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000Ye Ethiopians also, ye shall be slain by my sword.
KJV
King James Version · 1611Ye Ethiopians also, ye shall be slain by my sword.
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901Ye Ethiopians also, ye shall be slain by my sword.
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949And you Ethiopians will be put to death by my sword.
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862Also ye, O Cushim, pierced of My sword <FI>are<Fi> they.
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752You Ethiopians, also shall be slain with my sword.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890Ye Ethiopians also, ye shall be the slain of my sword.
Context
This one-verse judgment fits the chapter’s pattern of moving around the compass: west (Philistia), east (Moab and Ammon), south (Ethiopia), and next north (Assyria). The design highlights the universality of God’s rule. Verse 13 will expand the northern judgment, naming Assyria and Nineveh. By touching every direction, Zephaniah prepares the reader to see Nineveh’s fall as part of a comprehensive divine campaign.
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.
v.12This passage
v.13And he will stretch out his hand against the north, and destroy Assyria, and will make Nineveh a desolation, and dry like the wilderness.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Isaiah 10:5
Ho Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, the staff in whose hand is mine indignation!
- Jeremiah 46:9
Go up, ye horses; and rage, ye chariots; and let the mighty men go forth: Cush and Put, that handle the shield; and the Ludim, that handle and bend the bow.
- Isaiah 43:3
For I am Jehovah thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour; I have given Egypt as thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in thy stead.
- Ezekiel 30:4
And a sword shall come upon Egypt, and anguish shall be in Ethiopia, when the slain shall fall in Egypt; and they shall take away her multitude, and her foundations shall be broken down.
- Isaiah 20:4
so shall the king of Assyria lead away the captives of Egypt, and the exiles of Ethiopia, young and old, naked and barefoot, and with buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt.
- Isaiah 13:5
They come from a far country, from the uttermost part of heaven, even Jehovah, and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land.
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