Zephaniah 2:5

2:5 Those who live by the sea, the people who came from Crete, ¹  are as good as dead. ² 

The Lord has decreed your downfall, ³  Canaan, land of the Philistines:

“I will destroy everyone who lives there!” ⁴ 

[2:5]  ¹ tn Heb “Kerethites,” a people settled alongside the Philistines in the coastal areas of southern Palestine (cf. 1 Sam 30:14; Ezek 25:16). They originally came from the island of Crete.

[2:5]  ² tn Heb “Woe, inhabitants of the coast of the sea, nation of Kerethites.” The Hebrew term הוֹי (hoy, “ah, woe”), is used to mourn the dead and express outwardly one’s sorrow (see 1 Kgs 13:30; Jer 22:18; 34:5). By using it here the prophet mourns in advance the downfall of the Philistines, thereby emphasizing the certainty of their demise (“as good as dead”). Some argue the word does not have its earlier connotation here and is simply an attention-getting interjection, equivalent to “Hey!”

[2:5]  ³ tn Heb “the word of the Lord is against you.”

[2:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “I will destroy you so there is no inhabitant [remaining].”