Zephaniah 2:13 (DBY)

Passage

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.

Nearby Context

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.

Zephaniah 2:15 This is the rejoicing city that dwelt in security, that said in her heart, I am, and there is none else beside me: how is she become a desolation, a couching-place for beasts! Every one that passeth by her shall hiss, shall wave 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 the..." into verse 14's "And flocks 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.