Zephaniah 2:14

Herds will lie down in her midst, creatures of every kind. Both the desert owl and screech owl will roost atop her pillars. Their calls will sound from the window, but desolation will lie on the threshold, for He will expose the beams of cedar.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Zephaniah pronounces judgment on a proud, secure city immediately after detailing the destruction of Nineveh. The prophet declares that divine action will strip the city of its defenses and leave it abandoned.

The words — וְרָבְצוּ (ve./ra.ve.Tzu) means "and they will lie down," describing wild animals occupying the ruins. קָאַת (ka.'At) translates as "desert owl," identifying the specific creature that will roost on the exposed pillars.

The thread — The occupation of ruined structures by desert owls appears in Isaiah 34:11, while the reference to cedar beams and cut windows parallels the palace construction described in Jeremiah 22:14.

Why it lands — The text states that desolation will rest on the threshold because divine action will strip away the cedar beams that symbolize human security. It requires readers to acknowledge that self-proclaimed invulnerability inevitably collapses into ruin.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

King James Version

And flocks shall lie down in the midst of her, all the beasts of the nations: both the cormorant and the bittern shall lodge in the upper lintels of it; their voice shall sing in the windows; desolation shall be in the thresholds: for he shall uncover the cedar work.

Cross-references

Isaiah 13:19 And Babylon, the jewel of the kingdoms, the glory of the pride of the Chaldeans, will be overthrown by God like Sodom and Gomorrah.
Isaiah 34:11 The desert owl and screech owl will possess it, and the great owl and raven will dwell in it. The LORD will stretch out over Edom a measuring line of chaos and a plumb line of destruction.
Jeremiah 22:14 who says, ‘I will build myself a great palace, with spacious upper rooms.’ So he cuts windows in it, panels it with cedar, and paints it with vermilion.
Amos 9:1 I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and He said: “Strike the tops of the pillars so that the thresholds shake. Topple them on the heads of all the people, and I will kill the rest with the sword. None of those who flee will get away; none of the fugitives will escape.
Isaiah 14:23 “I will make her a place for owls and for swamplands; I will sweep her away with the broom of destruction,” declares the LORD of Hosts.
Revelation 18:2 And he cried out in a mighty voice: “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a lair for demons and a haunt for every unclean spirit, every unclean bird, and every detestable beast.
Zephaniah 2:6 So the seacoast will become a land of pastures, with wells for shepherds and folds for sheep.