Zephaniah 2:7 (KJV)

Passage

And the coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Judah; they shall feed thereupon: in the houses of Ashkelon shall they lie down in the evening: for the LORD their God shall visit them, and turn away their captivity.

Nearby Context

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

Zephaniah 2:6 And the sea coast shall be dwellings and cottages 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 thereupon: in the houses of Ashkelon shall they lie down in the evening: for the LORD their God shall visit them, and turn away their captivity.

Zephaniah 2:8 I have heard the reproach of Moab, and the revilings of the children of Ammon, whereby they have reproached my people, and magnified themselves against their border.

Zephaniah 2:9 Therefore as I live, saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Surely Moab shall be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, even the breeding of nettles, and saltpits, and a perpetual desolation: the residue of my people shall spoil them, and the remnant of my people shall possess them.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "coast", "shall", "remnant", "house", "judah", "feed", and "thereupon". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "coast" and "shall", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 6's "And the sea coast shall be dwellings..." into verse 8's "I have heard the reproach of Moab...", so "coast" and "shall" 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 "coast" and "shall" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.