Zephaniah 2:13 NIV

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Zephaniah 2:13

And he will stretch out his hand against the north ,.... Either the Lord, or Nebuchadnezzar his sword; who, as he would subdue the nations that lay southward, he would lead his army northward against the land of Assyria, which lay to the north of Judea, as next explained: and destroy Assyria ; that famous monarchy, which had ruled over the kingdoms of the earth, now should come to an end, and be reduced to subjection to the king of Babylon: and will make Nineveh a desolation ; which... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Zephaniah 2:13

He will - destroy Assyria - He will overthrow the empire, and Nineveh, their metropolitan city. See on Jonah and Nahum. read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Zephaniah 2:13

Verse 13 The Prophet proceeds here to the Assyrians, whom we know to have been special enemies to the Church of God. For the Moabites and the Ammonites were fans only, as we have elsewhere seen, as they could not do much harm by their own strength. Hence they stirred up the Assyrians, they stirred up the Ethiopians and remote nations. The meaning, then, is, that no one of all the enemies of the Church would be left unpunished by God, as every one would receive a reward for his cruelty. He... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Zephaniah 2:12-15

5. The judgment shall fall upon the Ethiopians and Assyrians, representing the south and north. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Zephaniah 2:13

The north, represented by Assyria, as yet unconquered, and still apparently flourishing. Though this country lay to the northeast of Palestine, its armies attacked from the north, and it is generally represented as a northern power. Its destruction was foretold ( Isaiah 10:12 ; Ezekiel 31:11 , etc.; Nahum 1:14 , etc.). In this verse the Hebrew verbs are not in the simple future, but in the imperative or optative mood, "Let him stretch out his hand," etc; as though the prophet were... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Zephaniah 2:13

Zephaniah began by singling out Judah amid the general destruction, “I will also stretch out My Hand upon Judah” Zephaniah 1:4; he sums up the judgment of the world in the same way; “He will stretch out, or, Stretch He forth, “His Hand against the north and destroy Asshur, and make Nineveh a desolation.” Judah had, in Zephaniah’s time, nothing to fear from Assyria. Isaiah Isaiah 39:6 and Micah Micah 4:10 had already foretold, that the captivity would be to Babylon. Yet of Assyria alone the... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Zephaniah 2:13-14

Zephaniah 2:13-14. And he will stretch out his hand against the north Nor will the southern nations only be punished, but judgments will be executed by the divine justice on the nations lying toward the north; and will make Nineveh a desolation What is here foretold was fulfilled before the predictions recorded in the foregoing verses. Dr. Prideaux observes, that “Chyniladanus being king of the Assyrian and Babylonian empire, Nabopolassar, his general, took the latter from him, in the... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Zephaniah 2:1-15

The certainty of judgment (2:1-15)In spite of the certainty of judgment, there is still hope for those who will turn to God in humility and faith. The only ones to escape the divine wrath will be those who renounce their former wrongdoing and determine to live in obedience to God (2:1-3).To impress upon the Jerusalemites that no sinners will escape God’s wrath, Zechariah gives them examples of coming judgment on neighbouring nations. The first judgment concerns regions to the west of Judah. The... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Zephaniah 2:13

And He. See note on "For", Zephaniah 2:4 . stretch out His hand. Idiom for executing judgment. the north: i.e. against Assyria, because although west of Canaan, the road and entrance was by the north. read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Zephaniah 2:13

"And he will stretch out his hand against the north, and destroy Assyria, and will make Nineveh a desolation, and dry like the wilderness.""The north ..." Thus Zephaniah touches all the cardinal points of the compass. That anyone prior to the time when Assyria fell, about 612 B.C., would have dared to prophesy the destruction of so proud and powerful a city is simply incredible, from the human standpoint; and even Zephaniah did so only because he knew that he was declaring the true Word of God.... read more