Zephaniah 2:13 (ASV)

Passage

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

Nearby Context

Zephaniah 2:11 Jehovah will be terrible unto them; for he will famish all the gods of the earth; and men shall worship him, every one from his place, even all the isles of the nations.

Zephaniah 2:12 Ye Ethiopians also, ye shall be slain by my sword.

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 the wilderness.

Zephaniah 2:14 And 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.

Zephaniah 2:15 This is the joyous city that dwelt carelessly, that said in her heart, I am, and there is none besides 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.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "stretch", "hand", "against", "north", "destroy", "assyria", "make", and "nineveh". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "stretch" and "hand", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 12's "Ye Ethiopians also ye shall be slain..." into verse 14's "And herds shall lie down in the...", so "stretch" and "hand" belong inside that flow. In Zephaniah context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "stretch" and "hand" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.