The Meaning of Zephaniah 2:5 Explained

Zephaniah 2:5

KJV: 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.

YLT: Ho! O inhabitants of the sea-coast, Nation of the Cherethites, A word of Jehovah is against you, Canaan, land of the Philistines, And I have destroyed thee without an inhabitant.

Darby: Woe unto the inhabitants of the sea-coast, the nation of the Cherethites! The word of Jehovah is against you, O Canaan, land of the Philistines: I will destroy thee, that there shall be no inhabitant;

ASV: Woe unto the inhabitants of the sea-coast, the nation of the Cherethites! The word of Jehovah is against you, O Canaan, the land of the Philistines; I will destroy thee, that there shall be no inhabitant.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does Zephaniah 2:5 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Zephaniah announced woe on the Philistines because destruction was coming on them. They inhabited the Mediterranean seacoast, and they had come from Crete (cf. 1 Samuel 30:14; 2 Samuel 8:18; 2 Samuel 20:23; 1 Chronicles 18:17; Ezekiel 25:16). Yahweh"s powerful word was all it took to afflict them, and it would come against them. He promised to destroy them and their land, the coastal plain of Canaan, so no one would live there any longer. Pharaoh Neco II of Egypt (609-594 B.C.) initially fulfilled this prophecy (cf. Jeremiah 47).

Context Summary

Zephaniah 2:1-15 - Meekness Saves, Pride Destroys
The nation, on the whole, had no remorse, no desire for God; but there were a few meek and lowly souls, and the hope was held out to them that they would be hidden from the coming overthrow. God discriminates in His judgments, and sends His angels to conduct Lot out of Sodom. The judgment of the surrounding nations occupies Zephaniah 2:4-15. Philistia, Moab, Amnion, Ethiopia and Assyria, are mentioned. God never forgets the treatment meted out to His people by their foes, Zephaniah 2:8-10. The captivity of Israel would be turned again, but there was no hope of recovery for the peoples that had rejoiced in their overthrow. What a picture is given in Zephaniah 2:11 of famished gods! It seemed incredible that great Nineveh should become a wilderness, yet so it has been for centuries. Whenever an individual or nation dwells carelessly, destruction is not far away. [source]

Chapter Summary: Zephaniah 2

1  An exhortation to repentance
4  The judgment of the Philistines,
8  of Moab and Ammon,
12  of Ethiopia,
13  and of Assyria

What do the individual words in Zephaniah 2:5 mean?

Woe to the inhabitants of the seacoast the nation of the Cherethites the word of Yahweh [is] against you Canaan land of the Philistines and I will destroy you so there shall be no inhabitant
ה֗וֹי יֹֽשְׁבֵ֛י חֶ֥בֶל הַיָּ֖ם גּ֣וֹי ! כְּרֵתִ֑ים דְּבַר־ יְהוָ֣ה עֲלֵיכֶ֗ם כְּנַ֙עַן֙ אֶ֣רֶץ פְּלִשְׁתִּ֔ים וְהַאֲבַדְתִּ֖יךְ מֵאֵ֥ין יוֹשֵֽׁב

ה֗וֹי  Woe 
Parse: Interjection
Root: הֹוי  
Sense: ah!, alas!, ha!, ho!, O!, woe!.
יֹֽשְׁבֵ֛י  to  the  inhabitants 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural construct
Root: יָשַׁב 
Sense: to dwell, remain, sit, abide.
הַיָּ֖ם  the  seacoast 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: יָם  
Sense: sea.
גּ֣וֹי  the  nation 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: גֹּוי 
Sense: nation, people.
! כְּרֵתִ֑ים  of  the  Cherethites 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine plural
Root: כְּרֵתִי  
Sense: a group of foreign mercenary soldiers serving as a bodyguard for king David; also executioners.
דְּבַר־  the  word 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: דָּבָר  
Sense: speech, word, speaking, thing.
יְהוָ֣ה  of  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
עֲלֵיכֶ֗ם  [is]  against  you 
Parse: Preposition, second person masculine plural
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
כְּנַ֙עַן֙  Canaan 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: כְּנַעַן 
Sense: the 4th son of Ham and the progenitor of the Phoenicians and of the various nations who peopled the seacoast of Palestine.
אֶ֣רֶץ  land 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
פְּלִשְׁתִּ֔ים  of  the  Philistines 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine plural
Root: פְּלִשְׁתִּי  
Sense: an inhabitant of Philistia; descendants of Mizraim who immigrated from Caphtor (Crete?) to the western seacoast of Canaan.
וְהַאֲבַדְתִּ֖יךְ  and  I  will  destroy  you 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Conjunctive perfect, first person common singular, second person feminine singular
Root: אָבַד  
Sense: perish, vanish, go astray, be destroyed.
מֵאֵ֥ין  so  there  shall  be  no 
Parse: Preposition-m, Adverb
Root: אַיִן 
Sense: nothing, not, nought n.
יוֹשֵֽׁב  inhabitant 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: יָשַׁב 
Sense: to dwell, remain, sit, abide.