Zephaniah 2:14
What does Zephaniah 2:14 mean?
A plain-English look at Zephaniah 2:14 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Zephaniah 2:14 means
The ruin of Nineveh is pictured with haunting detail: herds lounging in city streets, wild creatures at ease where armies once marched. Birds like the pelican and porcupine nest even in the capitals of grand buildings. Their voices echo through broken windows, and thresholds lie desolate. The “cedar-work” laid bare means palatial paneling stripped and exposed to weather and scavengers. Nature reclaims what human pride built. The scene is not just physical decay; it is theological commentary. Where self-exaltation reigned, silence and creaturely occupation now testify that God has humbled what seemed untouchable.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000And herds shall lie down in the midst of her, all the beasts of the nations: both the pelican and the porcupine shall lodge in the capitals thereof; their voice shall sing in the windows; desolation shall be in the thresholds: for he hath laid bare the cedar-work.
KJV
King James Version · 1611And flocks shall lie down in the midst of her, all the beasts of the nations: both the cormorant and the bittern shall lodge in the upper lintels of it; their voice shall sing in the windows; desolation shall be in the thresholds: for he shall uncover the cedar work.
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901And herds shall lie down in the midst of her, all the beasts of the nations: both the pelican and the porcupine shall lodge in the capitals thereof; their voice shall sing in the windows; desolation shall be in the thresholds: for he hath laid bare the cedar-work.
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949And herds will take their rest in the middle of her, all the beasts of the valley: the pelican and the porcupine will make their living-places on the tops of its pillars; the owl will be crying in the window; the raven will be seen on the doorstep.
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862And crouched in her midst have droves, Every beast of the nation, Both pelican and hedge-hog in her knobs lodge, A voice doth sing at the window, `Destruction <FI>is<Fi> at the threshold, For the cedar-work is exposed.'
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752And flocks shall lie down in the midst thereof, all the beasts of the nations: and the bittern and the urchin shall lodge in the threshold thereof: the voice of the singing bird in the window, the raven on the upper post, for I will consume her strength.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890And flocks shall lie down in the midst of her, all the crowd of beasts; both the pelican and the bittern shall lodge in the chapiters thereof; a voice shall sing in the windows; desolation shall be on the thresholds: for he hath laid bare the cedar work.
Context
This vivid aftermath follows the sentence of verse 13. The imagery prepares for the interpretive punchline in verse 15 that names the core sin—complacent self-sufficiency—and the shock of onlookers at Nineveh’s fall. By slowing down to describe the ruins, Zephaniah lets readers feel the completeness of judgment before hearing why it happened, driving home the lesson that pride ends in desolation.
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.
v.14This passage
v.15This is the joyous city that dwelt carelessly, that said in her heart, I am, and there is none besides me: how is she become a desolation, a place for beasts to lie down in! every one that passeth by her shall hiss, and wag his hand.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Amos 9:1
I saw the Lord standing beside the altar: and he said, Smite the capitals, that the thresholds may shake; and break them in pieces on the head of all of them; and I will slay the last of them with the sword: there shall not one of them flee away, and there shall not one of them escape.
- Isaiah 14:23
I will also make it a possession for the porcupine, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith Jehovah of hosts.
- Revelation 18:2
And he cried with a mighty voice, saying, Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, and is become a habitation of demons, and a hold of every unclean spirit, and a hold of every unclean and hateful bird.
- Zephaniah 2:6
And the sea-coast shall be pastures, with cottages for shepherds and folds for flocks.
- Isaiah 13:19
And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldeans’ pride, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.
- Isaiah 34:11
But the pelican and the porcupine shall possess it; and the owl and the raven shall dwell therein: and he will stretch over it the line of confusion, and the plummet of emptiness.
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