Zephaniah 2:13

¹¹ The LORD will be terrifying to them when He starves all the gods of the earth. Then the nations of every shore will bow in worship to Him, each in its own place.

¹² “You too, O Cushites, will be slain by My sword.”

And He will stretch out His hand against the north and destroy Assyria; He will make Nineveh a desolation, as dry as a desert.

¹⁴ Herds will lie down in her midst, creatures of every kind. Both the desert owl and screech owl will roost atop her pillars. Their calls will sound from the window, but desolation will lie on the threshold, for He will expose the beams of cedar.

¹⁵ This carefree city that dwells securely, that thinks to herself: “I am it, and there is none besides me,” what a ruin she has become, a resting place for beasts. Everyone who passes by her hisses and shakes his fist.

This was said to Israel at a particular time, so it is wise to read it together with the surrounding text. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: And He will stretch out His hand against the north and destroy Assyria; He will make Nineveh a desolation, as dry as a desert.
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.
WEB: He will stretch out his hand against the north, destroy Assyria, and will make Nineveh a desolation, as dry as 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.
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.
BLB: And He will stretch out His hand against the north, and He will destroy Assyria; and He will set Nineveh as a desolation, as dry as the desert.

ÅB: Han rekker sin hånd ut mot Norden og ødelegger Assur og gjør Ninive til et øde, tørt som en ørken.
OTB: Og Han skal strekke ut sin hånd mot nord
Og bringe Assyria ned,
Og Han skal gjøre Ninive til en ødemark,
Tørr som ørkenen.
B1930: Han rekker sin hånd ut mot Norden og ødelegger Assur og gjør Ninive til et øde, tørt som en ørken.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

Nahum 3:7
Then all who see you will recoil from you and say, ‘Nineveh is devastated; who will grieve for her?’ Where can I find comforters for you?”
Read in context
Nahum 3:18–19
O king of Assyria, your shepherds slumber; your officers sleep. Your people are scattered on the mountains with no one to gather them.
Read in context
Nahum 1:1
This is the burden against Nineveh, the book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite:
Read in context
Isaiah 10:12
So when the Lord has completed all His work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, He will say, “I will punish the king of Assyria for the fruit of his arrogant heart and the proud look in his eyes.
Read in context
Isaiah 10:16
Therefore the Lord GOD of Hosts will send a wasting disease among Assyria’s stout warriors, and under his pomp will be kindled a fire like a burning flame.
Read in context
Micah 5:6
And they will rule the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod with the blade drawn. So He will deliver us when Assyria invades our land and marches into our borders.
Read in context
Isaiah 11:11
On that day the Lord will extend His hand a second time to recover the remnant of His people from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.
Read in context
Zechariah 10:10–11
I will bring them back from Egypt and gather them from Assyria. I will bring them to Gilead and Lebanon until no more room is found for them.
Read in context