Zephaniah 2:6 (GNV)

Passage

And the sea coast shall be dwellings and cotages for shepheardes and sheepefoldes.

Nearby Context

Zephaniah 2:4 For Azzah shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon desolate: they shall driue out Ashdod at the noone day, and Ekron shalbe rooted vp.

Zephaniah 2:5 Wo vnto the inhabitants of the sea coast. the nation of the Cherethims, the worde of the Lord is against you: O Canaan, the lande of the Philistims, I will euen destroye thee without an inhabitant.

Zephaniah 2:6 And the sea coast shall be dwellings and cotages for shepheardes and sheepefoldes.

Zephaniah 2:7 And that coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Iudah, to feede thereupon: in the houses of Ashkelon shall they lodge toward night: for the Lord their God shall visite them, and turne away their captiuitie.

Zephaniah 2:8 I haue heard the reproch of Moab, and the rebukes of the children of Ammon, whereby they vpbraided my people, and magnified themselues against their borders.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "sheep", "coast", "shall", "dwellings", "cotages", "shepheardes", and "sheepefoldes". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "sheep" and "coast", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 5's "Wo vnto the inhabitants of the sea..." into verse 7's "And that coast shall be for the...", so "sheep" and "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 "sheep" and "coast" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.