The Meaning of Zephaniah 2:13 Explained

Zephaniah 2:13

KJV: And he will stretch out his hand against the north, and destroy Assyria; and will make Nineveh a desolation, and dry like a wilderness.

YLT: And He stretcheth His hand against the north, And doth destroy Asshur, And he setteth Nineveh for a desolation, A dry land like a wilderness.

Darby: And he will stretch out his hand against the north, and destroy Assyria; and will make Nineveh a desolation, a place of drought like the wilderness.

ASV: And he will stretch out his hand against the north, and destroy Assyria, and will make Nineveh a desolation, and dry like the wilderness.

Discover Zephaniah 2:13

CONTEXT: What is the Context of Zephaniah 2:13?

MEANING: What does Zephaniah 2:13 Mean?

WORDS: What do the individual words in Zephaniah 2:13 mean?

RELATIONS: What do the major concepts mean in Zephaniah 2:13?

What is the context of Zephaniah 2:13?

Judgment against Ethiopia and Assyria (Zephaniah 2:12-15)
The Lord’s Rebuke to Cush and Nineveh (Zephaniah 2:12-15)
Judgment on Nations (Zephaniah 2:4-15)
Judgment against the Nations (Zephaniah 2:4-15)
Judgment on Judah's Enemies (Zephaniah 2:1-15)
Judgments on Judah’s Enemies (Zephaniah 2:1-15)
Judgment of Judah’s Enemies (Zephaniah 2:1-15)
Judah and Jerusalem Judged Along With the Nations (Zephaniah 2:1-15)

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And he will stretch out his hand against the north, and destroy Assyria; and will make Nineveh a desolation, [and] dry like a wilderness.

What does Zephaniah 2:13 Mean?

Study Notes

Nineveh
.

Nineveh stands in Scripture as the representative of apostate religious Gentiledom, as Babylon represents the confusion into which the Gentile political world-system has fallen Daniel 2:41-43 , (See Scofield " Isaiah 13:1 ") , Under the preaching of Jonah, B.C. 862, the city and king had turned to God (Elohim), Jonah 3:3-10 But in the time of Nahum, more than a century later, the city had wholly apostatized from God. It is this which distinguishes Nineveh from all the other ancient Gentile cities, and which makes her the suited symbol of the present religious Gentile world-system in the last day. Morally, Nineveh is described in Romans 1:21-23 . The chief deity of apostate Nineveh was the bull-god, with the face of a man and the wings of a bird: "an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts."

The message of Nahum, uttered about one hundred years before the destruction of Nineveh, is, therefore, not a call to repentance, but an unrelieved warning of judgment: "He will make an utter end: affliction shall not rise up the second time." Nahum 1:9 ; see, also, Nahum 3:10 . For there is no remedy for apostasy but utter judgment, and a new beginning. Cf.; Isaiah 1:4 ; Isaiah 1:5 ; Isaiah 1:24-28 ; Hebrews 6:4-8 ; Proverbs 29:1 .

It is the way of God; apostasy is punished by catastrophic destruction. Of this the flood and the destruction of Nineveh are witnesses. The coming destruction of apostate Christendom is foreshadowed by these. (Cf) Daniel 2:34 ; Daniel 2:35 ; Luke 17:26 ; Luke 17:27 ; Revelation 19:17-21 .

burden See note 1, (See Scofield " Isaiah 13:1 ")

Verse Meaning

Zephaniah also prophesied the destruction of Assyria to Judah"s north (really northeast) and her capital Nineveh (cf. Isaiah 14:24-27; Nah.). Since Nineveh fell to the combined forces of Babylonia, Media, and Scythia in612 B.C. Zephaniah must have uttered this prophecy before that date. The Lord would make Nineveh a parched desolation (cf. Nahum 3). Until her fall Nineveh had much water surrounding and circulating through it, but in the future she would be dry (cf. Nahum 1:8; Nahum 2:6; Nahum 2:8).

"Nineveh is part of Scripture"s early-warning system." ^[1]

Context Summary

Zephaniah 2:1-15 - Meekness Saves, Pride Destroys

The nation, on the whole, had no remorse, no desire for God; but there were a few meek and lowly souls, and the hope was held out to them that they would be hidden from the coming overthrow. God discriminates in His judgments, and sends His angels to conduct Lot out of Sodom. The judgment of the surrounding nations occupies Zephaniah 2:4-15. Philistia, Moab, Amnion, Ethiopia and Assyria, are mentioned. God never forgets the treatment meted out to His people by their foes, Zephaniah 2:8-10. The captivity of Israel would be turned again, but there was no hope of recovery for the peoples that had rejoiced in their overthrow. What a picture is given in Zephaniah 2:11 of famished gods! It seemed incredible that great Nineveh should become a wilderness, yet so it has been for centuries. Whenever an individual or nation dwells carelessly, destruction is not far away. [source]

Chapter Summary: Zephaniah 2

¹ An exhortation to repentance
⁴ The judgment of the Philistines,
⁸ of Moab and Ammon,
¹² of Ethiopia,
¹³ and of Assyria

What do the individual words in Zephaniah 2:13 mean?

And He will stretch out His hand against the north Destroy - Assyria and make Nineveh a desolation as dry as the wilderness

וְיֵ֤ט יָדוֹ֙ עַל־ צָפ֔וֹן וִֽיאַבֵּ֖ד אֶת־ אַשּׁ֑וּר וְיָשֵׂ֤ם נִֽינְוֵה֙ לִשְׁמָמָ֔ה צִיָּ֖ה כַּמִּדְבָּֽר

וְיֵ֤ט	And He will stretch out
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive imperfect Jussive, third person masculine singular Root: נָטָה Sense: to stretch out, extend, spread out, pitch, turn, pervert, incline, bend, bow.
יָדוֹ֙	His hand
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, third person masculine singular Root: יָד Sense: hand.
עַל־	against
Parse: Preposition Root: עַל Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
צָפ֔וֹן	the north
Parse: Noun, feminine singular Root: צָפֹון Sense: north (of direction), northward.
וִֽיאַבֵּ֖ד	Destroy
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Piel, Conjunctive imperfect, third person masculine singular Root: אָבַד Sense: perish, vanish, go astray, be destroyed.
אֶת־	-
Parse: Direct object marker Root: אֹות Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
אַשּׁ֑וּר	Assyria
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular Root: אַשּׁוּר Sense: the second son of Shem, eponymous ancestor of the Assyrians.
וְיָשֵׂ֤ם	and make
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive imperfect Jussive, third person masculine singular Root: שׂוּמָה Sense: to put, place, set, appoint, make.
נִֽינְוֵה֙	Nineveh
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular Root: נִינְוֵה Sense: capital of the ancient kingdom of Assyria; located on the east bank of the Tigris river, 550 miles (880 km) from its mouth and 250 miles (400 km) north of Babylon.
לִשְׁמָמָ֔ה	a desolation
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, feminine singular Root: שְׁמָמָה Sense: devastation, waste, desolation.
צִיָּ֖ה	as dry
Parse: Noun, feminine singular Root: צִיָּה Sense: dryness, drought, desert.
כַּמִּדְבָּֽר	as the wilderness
Parse: Preposition-k, Article, Noun, masculine singular Root: מִדְבָּר Sense: wilderness.

What are the major concepts related to Zephaniah 2:13?

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Similar Scriptures for Zephaniah 2:13

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