2:12
And a very brief mention for the Cushites! The Cushites were Ethiopians, though this could be a reference to Egypt. The reference is to the upper Nile region. Whatever the case, they will be slain by the sword, so things aren’t good for them!
2:13
Next is Assyria and its capital city Nineveh. Geographically Assyria was more east of Judah, but the usual direction of attack was from the north, hence the reference to the north in this verse. Nineveh was destroyed in 612 BC, so Zephaniah must have prophesied before this date. The city was utterly destroyed and was only discovered by relatively modern excavations.
2:14,15
The description on verse 14 emphasises the complete destruction of the place. The place will be bereft of people, occupied instead by various forms of wildlife. The latter part of verse 14 describes the destruction of buildings. We often get these graphic accounts of destruction in the Bible. This is because of the wish to emphasise the utter reality of the destruction. In the New Testament we get some of this as well, but we also get some graphic descriptions of hell, mostly from Jesus. The historical reality of the destruction in the Old Testament is a clear indication that the horrors of hell are real.
Verse 15 contrasts the boasting of Nineveh in the past, when she was at the peak of her powers, with the state she would be in in the near future. She had become proud, and pride comes before a fall. We do well to remember this when we see the boasting of the world.
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