1Gather yourselves together; yes, gather together, you nation that has no shame,
2before the appointed time when the day passes like chaff, before Yahweh’s fierce anger comes upon you, before the day of Yahweh’s anger comes upon you.
3Seek Yahweh, all you humble people of the land, who obey his commands. Seek what is right. Seek humility. Perhaps you will be protected on the day of Yahweh’s anger.
4For Gaza will be abandoned, and Ashkelon will become a wasteland. They will drive out the people of Ashdod at noon, and Ekron will be uprooted.
5Woe to the inhabitants of the seacoast, the nation of the Cherethites! Yahweh’s word is against you, Canaan, land of the Philistines. I will destroy you, so no one will live there.
6The coastal region will become pastures with cottages for shepherds and pens for flocks.
7This coast will belong to the survivors of the people of Judah. They will find pasture there. In the evenings, they will rest in the houses of Ashkelon, because Yahweh, their God, will visit them and restore them.
8I have heard the insults of Moab and the taunts of the Ammonites, how they have insulted my people and boasted against their territory.
9Therefore, as surely as I live, says Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, Moab will certainly become like Sodom, and the Ammonites like Gomorrah—a place overgrown with weeds, salt pits, and a lasting wasteland. The survivors of my people will plunder them, and those of my nation who remain will inherit their land.
10They will suffer this because of their pride, because they insulted and boasted against the people of Yahweh of Armies.
11Yahweh will be terrifying to them, for he will destroy all the gods of the land. Then, from their own places, people from all the shores of the nations will worship him.
12You people of Cush will also be killed by my sword.
13He will reach out his hand to the north, destroy Assyria, and make Nineveh a desolate, dry wasteland.
14Herds will lie down in its center, all kinds of wild animals. Both pelicans and porcupines will nest on its ruined pillars. Their calls will echo through the windows. Desolation will cover the doorways, for he has stripped away the cedar beams.
15This was the joyful city that lived carelessly, saying to herself, "I am supreme, and there is no one else." How it has become a wasteland, a place for animals to lie down! Everyone who passes by will hiss in scorn and shake their fists at it.