Zephaniah 2:5 (DBY)

Passage

Woe unto the inhabitants of the sea-coast, the nation of the Cherethites! The word of Jehovah is against you, O Canaan, land of the Philistines: I will destroy thee, that there shall be no inhabitant;

Nearby Context

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.

Zephaniah 2:5 Woe unto the inhabitants of the sea-coast, the nation of the Cherethites! The word of Jehovah is against you, O Canaan, land of the Philistines: I will destroy thee, that there shall be no inhabitant;

Zephaniah 2:6 and the sea-coast shall be cave-dwellings for shepherds, and folds for flocks.

Zephaniah 2:7 And the coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Judah; they shall feed thereon: in the houses of Ashkelon shall they lie down in the evening: for Jehovah their God shall visit them, and turn again their captivity.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "inhabitants", "sea-coast", "nation", "cherethites", "word", "jehovah", "against", and "canaan". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "inhabitants" and "sea-coast", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 4's "For Gazah shall be forsaken and Ashkelon..." into verse 6's "and the sea-coast shall be cave-dwellings for...", so "inhabitants" and "sea-coast" 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 "inhabitants" and "sea-coast" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.