Zephaniah 2:12 (DBY)

Passage

Ye Ethiopians also, ye shall be the slain of my sword.

Nearby Context

Zephaniah 2:10 This shall they have for their pride, because they have reproached and magnified themselves against the people of Jehovah of hosts.

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

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

Zephaniah 2:13 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.

Zephaniah 2:14 And 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.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "ethiopians", "shall", "slain", and "sword". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "ethiopians" and "shall", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 11's "Jehovah will be terrible unto them for..." into verse 13's "And he will stretch out his hand...", so "ethiopians" and "shall" 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 "ethiopians" and "shall" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.