The people of Judah came together to ask for help from the Lord. They came from out of all the towns of Judah to ask for the Lord’s help.
Zephaniah 2:1 - Easy To Read Version Shameless people, change your lives Tuilleadh leaganachaKing James Version (Oxford) 1769 Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not desired; Amplified Bible - Classic Edition COLLECT YOUR thoughts, yes, unbend yourselves [in submission and see if there is no sense of shame and no consciousness of sin left in you], O shameless nation [not desirous or desired]! American Standard Version (1901) Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation that hath no shame; Common English Bible Gather together and assemble yourselves, shameless nation, Catholic Public Domain Version Assemble, be gathered together, O people not worthy to be loved. Douay-Rheims version of The Bible - 1752 version Assemble yourselves together, be gathered together, O nation not worthy to be loved: |
The people of Judah came together to ask for help from the Lord. They came from out of all the towns of Judah to ask for the Lord’s help.
So all the people of Israel met together in the seventh month {\cf2\super [42]} of the year. They were together and in agreement just as if they were one man. They all met together in the open place in front of the Water Gate. All those people asked Ezra the teacher to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses. That is the Law that the Lord had given to the people of Israel.
Then on the 24th day of that same month, the people of Israel gathered together for a day of fasting. {\cf2\super [48]} They wore clothes of sadness and put ashes on their heads \{to show they were sad and upset\}.
You sinned, so the rain has not come.\par There have not been any springtime rains.\par But still you refuse to be ashamed.\par The look on your face is like the look\par that a prostitute has when she\par refuses to be ashamed.\par You refuse to be ashamed of what you did.\par
The priests and prophets should\par be ashamed\par of the bad things they do.\par But they are not ashamed at all.\par They don’t know enough\par to be embarrassed of their sins.\par So they will be punished with everyone else.\par They will be thrown to the ground\par when I punish the people.”\par The Lord said those things.\par
Tell the people that there will be a special time for not eating food. Call the people together for a special meeting. Bring the leaders and all the people that live in the land together. Bring them to the temple {\cf2\super [7]} of the Lord your God, and pray to the Lord.
But God is still in that city. And he continues to be good. God does not do anything wrong. He continues to help his people. Morning after morning he helps his people make good decisions. But those bad people are not ashamed of the bad things they do.
I fired the three shepherds all in one month. I became angry at the sheep, and they began to hate me.
This is true, because if two or three people are together believing in me, I am there with them.”