Discovery BoxZephaniah 2:4 
Context2:4 Indeed, 1 Gaza will be deserted 2
and Ashkelon will become a heap of ruins. 3
Invaders will drive away the people of Ashdod by noon, 4
and Ekron will be overthrown. 5
Zephaniah 2:13
Context2:13 The Lord 6 will attack the north 7
and destroy Assyria.
He will make Nineveh a heap of ruins;
it will be as barren 8 as the desert.
1 tn Or “for” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV).
2 tn There is a sound play here in the Hebrew text: the name Gaza (עַזָּה, ’azzah) sounds like the word translated “deserted” (עֲזוּבָה, ’azuvah).
3 tn Or “a desolate place.”
4 tn Heb “[As for] Ashdod, at noon they will drive her away.”
sn The reference to noon may suggest a sudden, quick defeat (see Jer 6:4; 15:8).
5 tn Heb “uprooted.” There is a sound play here in the Hebrew text: the name “Ekron” (עֶקְרוֹן, ’eqron) sounds like the word translated “uprooted” (תֵּעָקֵר, te’aqer).
6 tn Heb “He”; the referent (the
7 tn Heb “he will stretch out his hand against the north.”
8 tn Or “dry.”
