1. Zephaniah 2:11 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

What does the phrase “the lands of the nations” refer to?

Zephaniah 2:11 (ESV)

11 The LORD will be awesome against them; for he will famish all the gods of the earth, and to him shall bow down, each in its place, all the lands of the nations.

This phrase, which can also be translated the coastlands/islands of the nations, most likely refers to distant lands that travellers from Israel would reach only by water, particularly those surrounding the Mediterranean.1 These lands, originally populated by worshippers of false gods, will see their inhabitants worship the Lord (Isaiah 66:19).2