1. Zephaniah 2:9 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

What irony does 2:9 point up in relation to 2:8?

Zephaniah 2:9 (ESV)

9 Therefore, as I live,” declares the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, “Moab shall become like Sodom, and the Ammonites like Gomorrah, a land possessed by nettles and salt pits, and a waste forever. The remnant of my people shall plunder them, and the survivors of my nation shall possess them.”

Zephaniah 2:8 indicated that the people of Moab and Ammon wanted to seize Israel’s territory. Zephaniah 2:9 now states that the people of Judah would seize the territory of their greedy enemies. Motyer speaks of a "holy reality within the divine nature that the Lord’s people cannot be mistreated with impunity. Every earthly hurt is registered in heaven, for whoever touches his people touches the apple of the Lord’s eye (Zechariah 2:8).”1