Zephaniah 2 · Verse 14

Zephaniah 2:14

And 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.
Zephaniah 2:14, King James Version

Zephaniah 2:14 in other translations

BSBHerds 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.
WEBHerds will lie down in the middle of her, all kinds of animals. Both the pelican and the porcupine will lodge in its capitals. Their calls will echo through the windows. Desolation will be in the thresholds, for he has laid bare the cedar beams.
ASVAnd 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.
YLTAnd 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 is at the threshold, For the cedar-work is exposed.'
DARBYAnd 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.
BBEAnd 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.
WebsterAnd 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 threshholds: for he shall uncover the cedar work.

What does Zephaniah 2:14 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
14. flocks--of sheep; answering to "beasts" in the parallel clause. Wide pastures for sheep and haunts for wild beasts shall be where once there was a teeming population (compare Zep 2:6). Maurer, needlessly for the parallelism, makes it "flocks of savage animals." beasts of the nations--that is, beasts of the earth (Ge 1:24). Not as Rosenmuller, "all kinds of beasts that form a nation," that is, gregarious beasts (Pr 30:25, 26). cormorant--rather, the "pelican" (so Psa 102:6; Is 34:11, Margin). bittern--(Is 14:23). Maurer translates, "the hedgehog"; Henderson, "the porcupine." upper lintels--rather, "the capitals of her columns," namely, in her temples and palaces [Maurer]. Or, "on the pomegranate-like knops at the tops of the houses" [Grotius]. their voice shall sing in the windows--The desert-frequenting birds' "voice in the windows" implies desolation reigning in the upper parts of the palaces, answering to "desolation ... in the thresholds," that is, in the lower. he shall uncover the cedar work--laying the cedar wainscoting on the walls, and beams of the ceiling, bare to wind and rain, the roof being torn off, and the windows and doors broken through. All this is designed as a consolation to the Jews that they may bear their calamities patiently, knowing that God will avenge them.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 14 And flocks shall lie down in the midst of her - Nineveh was so completely destroyed, that its situation is not at present even known. The present city of Mossoul is supposed to be in the vicinity of the place where this ancient city stood. The cormorant קאת kaath; and the bittern, קפד kippod. These Newcome translates, "The pelican and the porcupine." Their voice shall sing in the windows - The windows shall be all demolished; wild fowl shall build their nests in them, and shall be seen coming from their sills, and the fine cedar ceilings shall be exposed to the weather, and by and by crumble to dust. See the note on Isa 34:11-14 (note), where nearly the same terms are used. I have in another place introduced a remarkable couplet quoted by Sir W. Jones from a Persian poet, which speaks of desolation in nearly the same terms. "The spider holds the veil in the palace of Caesar: The owl stands sentinel in the watchtower of Afrasiab."

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Zephaniah 2:4-15

Those are really in a woful condition who have the word of the Lord against them, for no word of his shall fall to the ground. God will restore his people to their rights, though long kept from them. It has been the common lot of God's people, in all ages, to be reproached and reviled. God shall be worshipped, not only by all Israel, and the strangers who join them, but by the heathen. Remote nations must be…

Read the full comment on Zephaniah 2:4-15 →

Zephaniah 2:14 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וְרָבְצ֨וּve.ra.ve.Tzuand they will lie downH7257
בְתוֹכָ֤הּve.to.Khahin [the] midst of itH8432
עֲדָרִים֙'a.da.RimherdsH5739
כָּל\־kol-everyH3605
חַיְתוֹ\־chay.tov-animal ofH2416
ג֔וֹיGoya nationH1471
גַּם\־gam-bothH1571
קָאַת֙ka.'Atdesert owlH6893
גַּם\־gam-as well asH1571
קִפֹּ֔דki.PodhedgehogH7090
בְּכַפְתֹּרֶ֖יהָbe.khaf.to.Rei.haon capitals itsH3730
יָלִ֑ינוּya.Li.nuthey will spend [the] nightH3885
ק֠וֹלKola soundH6963
יְשׁוֹרֵ֤רye.sho.Rerit will singH7891
בַּֽחַלּוֹן֙ba.cha.lOnin the windowH2474
חֹ֣רֶבCho.revdesolationH2721
בַּסַּ֔ףba.Saf[will be] on the thresholdH5592
כִּ֥יkiforH3588
אַרְזָ֖ה'ar.Zahcedar-workH731
עֵרָֽה\׃'e.Rahhe will lay bareH6168

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Zephaniah 2:14

  • Amos 9:1

    I saw the Lord standing upon the altar: and he said, Smite the lintel of the door, that the posts may shake: and cut them in the head, all of them; and I will slay the last of them with the sword: he that fleeth of them shall not flee away, and he that escapeth of them shall not be delivered.

  • Isaiah 34:11-17

    But the cormorant and the bittern shall possess it; the owl also and the raven shall dwell in it: and he shall stretch out upon it the line of confusion, and the stones of emptiness. They shall call the nobles thereof to the kingdom, but none shall be there, and all her princes shall be nothing. And thorns shall come up in her palaces, nettles and brambles in the fortresses thereof: and it shall be an habitation of dragons, and a court for owls. The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the wild beasts of the island, and the satyr shall cry to his fellow; the screech owl also shall rest there, and find for herself a place of rest. …

  • Jeremiah 22:14

    That saith, I will build me a wide house and large chambers, and cutteth him out windows; and it is cieled with cedar, and painted with vermilion.

  • Isaiah 13:19-22

    And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees’ excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there. But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there. And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces: and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged.

  • Revelation 18:2

    And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.

  • Isaiah 14:23

    I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the Lord of hosts.

  • Zephaniah 2:6

    And the sea coast shall be dwellings and cottages for shepherds, and folds for flocks.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
flocks.
6; Isa 13:19-22; 34:11-17; Re 18:2
commorant. or, pelican. upper lintels. or, knops, orchapiters.
Am 9:1
for he shall uncover. or, when he hath uncovered. the cedar.
Jer 22:14

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Zephaniah 2:13

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

  • Zephaniah 2:14

    And 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.

  • Zephaniah 2:15

    This is the rejoicing city that dwelt carelessly, that said in her heart, I am, and there is none beside 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.

Read all of Zephaniah 2

Zephaniah 2:14 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y rebaños de ganado harán en ella majada, todas las bestias de las gentes; el onocrótalo también y el erizo dormirán en sus umbrales: su voz cantará en las ventanas; asolación será en las puertas, porque su enmaderamiento de cedro será descubierto.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et les troupeaux se coucheront au milieu d’elle, toutes les bêtes, en foule; le pélican aussi, et le butor, passeront la nuit sur ses chapiteaux; il y aura la voix des oiseaux qui chantent aux fenêtres, la désolation sera sur le seuil; car il a mis à nu les lambris de cèdre.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und in seiner Mitte werden Herden sich lagern, allerlei Tiere in Menge; auch Pelikane, auch Igel werden auf seinen Säulenknäufen übernachten Eine Stimme singt im Fenster, Trümmer sind auf der Schwelle, denn er hat das Cederngetäfel bloßgelegt.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Et accubabunt in medio ejus greges, omnes bestiæ gentium; et onocrotalus et ericius in liminibus ejus morabuntur: vox cantantis in fenestra, corvus in superliminari, quoniam attenuabo robur ejus.