Zephaniah 2:2 (DBY)

Passage

before the decree bring forth, [before] the day pass away as chaff, before the fierce anger of Jehovah come upon you, before the day of Jehovah's anger come upon you.

Nearby Context

Zephaniah 2:1 Collect yourselves and gather together, O nation without shame,

Zephaniah 2:2 before the decree bring forth, [before] the day pass away as chaff, before the fierce anger of Jehovah come upon you, before the day of Jehovah's anger come upon you.

Zephaniah 2:3 Seek Jehovah, all ye meek of the land, who have performed his ordinance; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of Jehovah's anger.

Zephaniah 2:4 For Gazah shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon shall be a desolation; they shall drive out Ashdod at noonday, and Ekron shall be rooted up.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "before", "decree", "bring", "forth", "pass", "away", and "chaff". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "before" and "decree", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 1's "Collect yourselves and gather together O nation..." into verse 3's "Seek Jehovah all ye meek of the...", so "before" and "decree" 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 "before" and "decree" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.