Zephaniah / Question
Zephaniah says the LORD will be “terrible” to the nations and will make the gods of the earth “waste away.” The result described is widespread worship, with people worshiping from their own places, including the coasts and islands (Zephaniah 2:11).
In Zephaniah 2:11, Yahweh is portrayed as overwhelming and fear-inducing to the surrounding peoples, because he will “famish” the gods tied to their lands, reducing those gods’ power and presence. The result is a reversal of normal expectations: instead of nations streaming to their own deities at central shrines, people “from his place” will worship Yahweh. This verse stands within Zephaniah’s sequence of announcements against nearby nations in chapter 2, following words directed at Moab and Ammon (2:8–10) and moving on toward other regions (2:12–15).
Zephaniah 2:11 presents Yahweh as fearsome in relation to surrounding peoples. The verse connects that fearsome presence to an action directed against “all the gods of the land,” pictured as being “famished” (made to waste away).
A common mistake is to turn the wording into a slogan. The better reading keeps the phrase tied to the passage, the speaker, and the problem the book is addressing.
Start with Zephaniah 2:11, then read the surrounding section so the answer stays connected to the passage's flow.
11Yahweh will be awesome to them, for he will famish all the gods of the land. Men will worship him, everyone from his place, even all the shores of the nations.