Therefore, as I live,” declares Yahweh of hosts, The God of Israel, “Surely Moab will be like Sodom And the sons of Ammon like Gomorrah— A place possessed by nettles and salt pits, And a perpetual desolation. The remnant of My people will plunder them, And the remainder of My nation will inherit them.”
Zephaniah 2:7 And the coast will be For the remnant of the house of Judah; They will feed upon it. In the houses of Ashkelon they will lie down at evening; For Yahweh their God will care for them And restore their fortune.
Zephaniah 2:8 “I have heard the reproach of Moab And the revilings of the sons of Ammon, With which they have reproached My people And magnified themselves against their territory.
Zephaniah 2:9 Therefore, as I live,” declares Yahweh of hosts, The God of Israel, “Surely Moab will be like Sodom And the sons of Ammon like Gomorrah— A place possessed by nettles and salt pits, And a perpetual desolation. The remnant of My people will plunder them, And the remainder of My nation will inherit them.”
Zephaniah 2:10 This they will have in return for their pride because they have reproached and magnified themselves against the people of Yahweh of hosts.
Zephaniah 2:11 Yahweh will be fearsome to them, for He will starve all the gods of the earth; and all the coastlands of the nations will bow down to Him, everyone from his own place.
The verse centers on "therefore", "live", "declares", "yahweh", "hosts", "israel", "surely", and "moab". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "therefore" and "live", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 8's "I have heard the reproach of Moab..." into verse 10's "This they will have in return for...", so "therefore" and "live" 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 "therefore" and "live" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.