The Bible in Its Traditions

Zephaniah 2:13–15

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13  And He will stretch out His hand against the north, and destroy Assyria; and will make Nineveh a desolation, and dry like the wilderness.

13  And he shall stretch forth his hand against the north and destroy the Assyrian, and make Nineve a dry wilderness, even as a desert.

13  And he will extend his hand over the North, and he will destroy Assur. And he will set the Beautiful in the wilderness, and in an impassable place, and like a desert.

14  And all beasts of every kind shall lie down in the midst of her in herds; both the pelican and the bittern shall lodge in the capitals thereof; voices shall sing in the windows; desolation shall be in the posts; for the cedar-work thereof shall be uncovered.

14  And flocks, and all the wild beasts of the land, and chameleons shall feed in the midst thereof: and hedgehogs shall lodge in the ceilings thereof; and wild beasts shall cry in the breaches thereof, and ravens in her porches, whereas her loftiness was as as cedar.

14  And flocks will lie down in its midst, all the beasts of the Gentiles. And the pelican and the hedgehog will stay at its threshold; the voice of the singing bird will be at the window, with the crow above its threshold, for I will diminish her strength.

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15  This is the joyous city that dwelt without care, that said in her heart: 'I am, and there is none else beside me'; how is she become a desolation, a place for beasts to lie down in! Every one that passeth by her shall hiss, and wag his hand.

15  This is the glorious city, dwelling in trust, which said in her heart, “I am and there is no one other than me.” How has she become a lair for beasts in the desert? All who pass through her will hiss and wag their hand.