Opening of the Chapter: From Rebuke to the Call to Repentance
Chapter 2 of Tzefanya continues the imagery described in the previous chapter, where Israel was compared to chaff and straw driven by the wind. From here on, the prophet issues a twofold call: first to the masses who have corrupted their ways, and then to the righteous; from there he turns to the retribution that will befall the nations of the world who oppressed Israel - Philistia, Moab and Ammon, Cush and Assyria. Let us proceed through the verses in order.
"Hitkosheshu Vakoshu" - Gathering from Dispersion
הִתְקוֹשְׁשׁוּ וָקוֹשּׁוּ הַגּוֹי לֹא נִכְסָף׃ - "Gather yourselves together and be gathered, O nation that has no longing."
The Malbim explains: Since the prophet compared them to chaff and straw that scatters when the wind carries it away, he therefore says "Hitkosheshu" - from the language of gathering, that all this straw should be gathered and bound together. And what does this mean? If scattering signifies moving away from Hashem, then gathering and collecting together signifies connecting and returning in repentance.
"The nation that is not desired (lo nichsaf)" - meaning the nation for whom Hashem does not yearn, as it were. Here the prophet speaks to people who do not do the will of Hashem, and therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, does not desire them; whereas later, when he says, "Seek Hashem, all you humble of the land," he will address those for whom Hashem does yearn - the humble and the righteous.
The Radak explains differently: "Hitkosheshu" means search out your blemishes. This is how Chazal expounded this verse: "Examine (adorn) yourself and then examine (adorn) others" - "Kashot garmecha ad lo tekashet achranin," meaning that a person must first rectify himself, and only afterwards rectify others. The word "kashot" is either related to truth, as in "di hu keshot" (which is truth), meaning that a person should verify and evaluate his actions and ways; or it stems from adornment (kishut), meaning that a person must rectify and beautify his deeds. According to this, "Hitkosheshu vakoshu" means: adorn and rectify your deeds.
The Radak also interprets "the nation not nichsaf" differently from the Malbim: the nation that has no yearning to repent. I tell you to rectify your deeds, yet you are the nation that does not yearn to return, that does not yearn to gather yourselves and reform. Both commentaries agree that the root "n-ch-s-f" denotes yearning (kisufim); however, according to the Malbim, Hashem does not yearn for you in your current state, while according to the Radak, you do not yearn to cleave to Hashem.
The Radak cites another interpretation in the name of his father: "lo nichsaf" means unashamed. In Aramaic, "kisufa" means shame and disgrace, as in the expression "ichsif" (he was embarrassed). In other words: you are the nation that is not ashamed of its deeds - and nevertheless, I command you: rectify your deeds.
"Before the Decree Is Born" - Preempting the Decree
בְּטֶרֶם לֶדֶת חֹק כְּמֹץ עָבַר יוֹם בְּטֶרֶם לֹא־יָבוֹא עֲלֵיכֶם חֲרוֹן אַף־יְהֹוָה בְּטֶרֶם לֹא־יָבוֹא עֲלֵיכֶם יוֹם אַף־יְהֹוָה׃ - "Before the decree gives birth, before the day passes like chaff, before the fierce anger of Hashem comes upon you, before the day of Hashem’s anger comes upon you."
What I advised you - to gather together and repent - should take place "before the decree gives birth like chaff," before the decree and statute are born and proclaimed that you should be like chaff. Chaff is worse than straw: straw can still be gathered and bundled together, but chaff is the outer husk of the wheat, "like chaff that the wind blows away" - a single gust and everything scatters. Therefore the prophet says: before the decree is passed upon you to become like chaff, repent and rectify your deeds.
"Before the fierce anger of Hashem comes upon you" - this means that even if that day comes, the wrath will not fall upon you. For even though wicked people exist, if you correct yourselves, you will have saved your own souls, and Hashem's wrath will not be upon you.
"Seek Hashem, all you humble of the land" - An Appeal to the Righteous
בַּקְּשׁוּ אֶת־יְהֹוָה כָּל עַנְוֵי הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר מִשְׁפָּטוֹ פָּעָלוּ בַּקְּשׁוּ־צֶדֶק בַּקְּשׁוּ עֲנָוָה אוּלַי תִּסָּתְרוּ בְּיוֹם אַף־יְהֹוָה׃ - Seek Hashem, all you humble of the land, who have fulfilled His justice; seek righteousness, seek humility, perhaps you will be concealed on the day of Hashem's anger.
Until now, the prophet spoke to "the nation not longed for", to those whom Hashem does not yearn for, to the corrupted masses. To them he called "gather together", for they are like straw (kash) that must be collected, and straw is lowly. Now, the Malbim explains: even if the masses do not want to repent, I plead with the righteous to straighten their ways and justify themselves even further.
Therefore, he turns to them: "Seek Hashem, all you humble of the land" - you, the righteous, "who have fulfilled His justice", who walk in Hashem's statutes and laws. "Seek righteousness, seek humility" - humble yourselves before the Holy One, Blessed be He, through righteousness, meaning through acts of charity, and through prayer. "Perhaps you will be concealed on the day of Hashem's anger" - even if the fierce wrath of Hashem falls upon those spoken of earlier who refuse to repent, you at least will be saved. At the very least, you, the righteous, must straighten your deeds even more, and thereby become worthy that the day of Hashem's fierce anger will not come upon you.
The Punishment of Philistia: Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, and Ekron
כִּי עַזָּה עֲזוּבָה תִהְיֶה וְאַשְׁקְלוֹן לִשְׁמָמָה אַשְׁדּוֹד בַּצָּהֳרַיִם יְגָרְשׁוּהָ וְעֶקְרוֹן תֵּעָקֵר׃ - For Gaza will be deserted, and Ashkelon will become a desolation; Ashdod will be driven out at noon, and Ekron will be uprooted.
The Malbim explains: now the prophet comes to declare that the day of Hashem's wrath will encompass all the nations. Let us not think that this pertains only to the Jewish people; all the more so (kal vachomer) will the day of Hashem's wrath reach the nations, who persecuted Israel and tormented us throughout the generations through massacres, murders, and persecutions.
He begins with the Philistines. As is well known, Israel suffered from the Philistines for hundreds of years, and anyone who reads through Tanach up to the destruction of the First Temple sees that the primary troubles came from the Philistines. Even today, the locations have not changed: Gaza is the same Gaza, and among the Philistines perhaps only the characters and methods of killing have changed, but the style is the same style and the nation is the same nation. We find with Shimshon that when he came to take his wife and saw that she had been given to another man, he did what he did with the foxes - and what did they do afterward to the young woman's father who gave her to his companion? They burned them with fire. The same old methods; nothing has changed. Therefore the prophet says: see how Hashem will ultimately settle the score with these nations.
The Radak notes that Tzefanya expresses himself here with poetic wordplay (lashon nofel al lashon): "Azza azuva" (Gaza deserted) - even though the similarity is not complete. Likewise, "Ekron te'aker" (Ekron uprooted) - another wordplay. And Ashdod comes from the root of shod (plunder/destruction), as in "fell plundered" (nafal shadud), and as in "from the destruction that ravages at noonday" (mi-ketev yashud tzahorayim). Ketev is the name of demons and forces of impurity, like the Ketev Meriri that rules during the Three Weeks (Bein HaMetzarim), which holds sway at noon; "yashud" means that anyone who encounters it is, as it were, plundered and struck down. According to this, "Ashdod will be driven out at noon" - the Ketev that ravages at noon will drive out the inhabitants of Ashdod, and they will suffer a downfall.
The Radak asks: and where is Gath, which was also one of the cities of the Philistines? He answers: Gath had already been conquered by Yehudah, and therefore the prophet does not address it.
Rashi explains the context as a condition: having opened with Israel and now turning to the nations - if you repent and return to the service of Hashem, I will visit retribution upon your wicked neighbors, upon Philistia, upon Ammon, and upon Moav, who are mentioned further on. And the Holy One, Blessed be He, says: I will deal with them, and they will be punished for all their deeds. Furthermore, Rashi interprets "they will drive her out at noon": that was a place of pasture for sheep, and midday is a time when sheep are not grazed because of the heat, but rather made to lie down - "one grazes and one lies down at noon." Therefore, "they will drive her out at noon" - they will drive them out at a time that is harsh for them.
"Woe to the Inhabitants of the Seacoast" - The Nation of the Cherethites
הוֹי יֹשְׁבֵי חֶבֶל הַיָּם גּוֹי כְּרֵתִים דְּבַר־יְהֹוָה עֲלֵיכֶם כְּנַעַן אֶרֶץ פְּלִשְׁתִּים וְהַאֲבַדְתִּיךְ מֵאֵין יוֹשֵׁב׃ - Woe to the inhabitants of the seacoast, the nation of the Cherethites! The word of Hashem is against you, O Canaan, land of the Philistines: "I will destroy you until there is no inhabitant."
"The seacoast" (chevel hayam) refers to the coastal region. The word chevel (literally, a measuring cord) denotes the measurement of land, as territories were measured with a cord to determine their size; therefore, "the inhabitants of the seacoast" are those whose land borders the sea. Once again, this refers to the Philistines, in the region of Ashkelon, Ashdod, and Gaza, where they dwelt.
"The nation of the Cherethites" - Targum Yonatan renders this as "those destined for destruction," meaning they are doomed to be cut off (lehikaret) by divine decree. Rashi notes that although Yonatan expounds it this way homiletically, Cherethites is actually the name of a place - not the modern island of Crete, but a region within the territory of the Philistines, as we find in the narrative of Tziklag: "We raided the South of the Cherethites and the territory of Yehudah." The Malbim merges both interpretations: the Philistines, who are called "the nation of the Cherethites," will indeed be cut off. It is a poetic play on words: the Cherethites shall be cut off.
"The word of Hashem is against you" - Hashem had already spoken of this previously, through Yoel, Amos, and Yeshayahu, who preceded Tzefanya, and had already decreed their destruction back then. And now He adds: "I will destroy you until there is no inhabitant" - not a single resident will remain there, eradication upon eradication.
וְהָיְתָה חֶבֶל הַיָּם נְוֺת כְּרֹת רֹעִים וְגִדְרוֹת צֹאן׃ - And the seacoast shall become pastures for shepherds' feasts and pens for flocks.
The devastation will be so complete that the "seacoast" will turn into "pastures for shepherds' feasts" - where shepherds prepare a meal (kirah), as in the phrase, "and he prepared a great feast for them." That is to say, it will become an utter wasteland, where one can graze flocks and sit down to dine in an open field, on land where a bustling city once stood.
וְהָיָה חֶבֶל לִשְׁאֵרִית בֵּית יְהוּדָה עֲלֵיהֶם יִרְעוּן בְּבָתֵּי אַשְׁקְלוֹן בָּעֶרֶב יִרְבָּצוּן כִּי יִפְקְדֵם יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵיהֶם וְשָׁב שְׁבִיתָם׃ - And the coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Yehudah; upon them they shall graze, in the houses of Ashkelon they shall lie down in the evening, for Hashem their God will remember them and restore their captivity.
The land of the Philistines was rightfully part of our inheritance, but we failed to dispossess them in time. And just as the Holy One, Blessed be He, warned, if we do not drive out the nations during the conquest of the Land - "they shall be as thorns in your eyes and as thistles in your sides," afflicting and harassing you. And that is precisely what happened. In the end, this territory will belong to the remnant of the House of Yehudah: they will graze there, and in the houses of Ashkelon they will lie down in the evening, for Hashem their God will remember them and restore their fortunes.
The Reproach of Moav and the Taunts of Ammon
שָׁמַעְתִּי חֶרְפַּת מוֹאָב וְגִדֻּפֵי בְּנֵי עַמּוֹן אֲשֶׁר חֵרְפוּ אֶת־עַמִּי וַיַּגְדִּילוּ עַל־גְּבוּלָם׃ - I have heard the reproach of Moav and the taunts of the children of Ammon, wherewith they reproached My people and magnified themselves against their border.
Moav and Ammon were our neighbors and displayed profound ingratitude toward us, which is why "an Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter the congregation of Hashem forever." Even later: when the people of Israel were exiled from their land, they passed through Ammon and Moav in Transjordan, as the route toward the Chaldeans and Babylonia ran through there. When they marched through and the Ammonites and Moabites saw Israel weeping, groaning, and crying out, they taunted them - an act of verbal torment (ona'at devarim), as in "you shall not wrong one another" - saying: Why are you so broken? Why are you grieving so bitterly? Why do you weep? Are you not simply returning to your ancestral home? "Your fathers dwelt beyond the river in ancient times." It was cynical mockery: Avraham came from Charan, from the region of Babylonia, so you are merely going back home; why weep? Regarding this mockery, the Holy One, Blessed be He, declares: I have heard the reproach of Moav and the taunts of the children of Ammon, and I will punish them for these deeds.
The Malbim explains here a distinction he sets forth in several places: cherpah (reproach) is an insult directed toward a human being, whereas giduf (blasphemy) always appears in the context of desecrating the sacred, speaking against holy things, as in "he blasphemes Hashem." Therefore, Moab "taunted My people," while the children of Ammon went even further - they blasphemed.
"And magnified themselves against their border" - the Radak explains that they opened their mouths wide with arrogance because we crossed their border. But the Malbim explains: they enlarged their own territory at the expense of Israel's border, intruding into Israel's portion instead of respecting the shared boundary and seizing it for themselves. This, too, is a form of blasphemy, for through this act they desecrated the sanctity of the Land and the sanctity of the Jewish people who received it. Therefore, the term giduf, denoting the desecration of the holy, is fitting here.
"For Moab Shall Be Like Sodom" - Measure for Measure Against Mockery
לָכֵן חַי־אָנִי נְאֻם יְהֹוָה צְבָאוֹת אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל כִּי־מוֹאָב כִּסְדֹם תִּהְיֶה וּבְנֵי עַמּוֹן כַּעֲמֹרָה מִמְשַׁק חָרוּל וּמִכְרֵה־מֶלַח וּשְׁמָמָה עַד־עוֹלָם שְׁאֵרִית עַמִּי יְבָזּוּם וְיֶתֶר גּוֹיִ יִנְחָלוּם׃ - Therefore, as I live, declares Hashem of Hosts, the God of Israel, surely Moab shall be like Sodom, and the children of Ammon like Gomorrah: a domain of nettles, a salt pit, and an eternal desolation; the remnant of My people shall plunder them, and the rest of My nation shall inherit them.
"Therefore, as I live" - an expression of an oath. There is a biting rejoinder here to their cynical mockery. They said to Israel: You are going back home, to Babylon, to Charan, where you came from! The Holy One, blessed be He, says to them: I too will return you to where you were. Where did you come from? From Lot. And where did Lot sit? In the gate of Sodom. And what was the fate of Sodom? "Overthrown in an instant," "brimstone and salt, all its land burned." You wish for Israel to return to the place from which they originated - I too return you to yours: "Moab shall be like Sodom."
"And the children of Ammon like Gomorrah" - the Malbim explains that the destruction of Gomorrah was more severe than that of Sodom, since in Sodom there were at least survivors, Lot and his two daughters, whereas in Gomorrah not a single person survived.
"A domain of nettles (mimshek charul)" - charulim are thorns, as in the verse, "nettles covered its face, thistles grew all over it." And the Malbim explains mimshek as related to neshek (weaponry), meaning armed with thorns, bristling with thistles. Alternatively, it derives from neshikah (contact or kissing), where two things touch each other - meaning that the thorns there will be densely packed and clinging to one another. "And a salt pit" - where they will mine salt, since the place will be like "brimstone and salt, all its land burned." "The remnant of My people shall plunder them" - the survivors of the Jewish people will despoil them, and all that remains of them will be given over to Israel.
The Radak presents two possibilities: that this prophecy was fulfilled in the days of the Second Temple, or that it is destined to be fulfilled in the days of Mashiach. He leans toward the second explanation, for it says later in the passage, "for He will starve all the gods of the earth," which undoubtedly speaks of the Messianic era, and if so, the same applies here.
Am and Goy, Remnant and Remainder
It says here, "the remnant of My people (ami) shall plunder them, and the remainder of My nation (goyi) shall inherit them," and both terms - "My people" and "My nation" - refer to Israel. The Malbim directs us to his commentary on Yeshayahu 1:4. There he explains that an am is always on a higher plane than a goy. A goy denotes a body of people grouped together, which can arise from one of four reasons: because they inhabit the same land, as in America, where Hispanics, African Americans, and Anglo-Saxons are unified by sharing a common country; because of a shared language; because of a shared ancestry; or because they chose to join together and enact laws for themselves. All of this is hinted at in the verse: "From these, the coastlands of the nations were separated, in their lands, each according to its language, by their families, in their nations" - land, language, family, and collective agreement.
However, an am exists only when there is a king and sovereign over them who has forged them into one entity. An am is a body of people led by a government, by a ruler who is like the spirit breathing life into the physical body (geviyah), which is why an am is always on a higher level than a goy. Therefore, Israel is referred to as "My people" (ami), "His people" (amo), "Your people" (amecha), and "the people of Hashem" (am Hashem) - for their unity stems from divine sovereignty, from the Ruler, rather than from merely residing in one place. By way of analogy: Great Britain is far more deserving of the title am than goy, for it has an ancient monarchy that unites everyone into a "United Kingdom," as its very name attests. In contrast, a place like Yemen deserves to be called a goy rather than an am: they speak the same language and dwell in the same territory, yet they possess no unifying governance, remaining divided and locked in endless self-destruction.
The Malbim further clarifies the difference between she'erit (remnant) and yeter (remainder), as he explains in several places: she'ar is that which is left behind deliberately, as in "one more remained among the flock" - where it was intentionally spared; whereas notar (from the root yeter) is what was left over passively on its own after taking what one wanted, with no specific intent to preserve it. Similarly, "And it shall come to pass that he who is left (hanish'ar) in Zion and he who remains (hanotar) in Jerusalem": the distinguished individuals in Zion were preserved by deliberate design, whereas for the general multitude in Jerusalem it made no difference where they were, and so the text refers to them merely as notar.
According to this: "the remnant of My people" (she'erit ami) refers to those who were deliberately spared, and therefore they are fittingly designated "My people"; they "shall plunder them" (yevozum), taking only their spoils. Meanwhile, "the residue of My nation" (yeter goyi) refers to those who merely survived, the lower tier of Am Yisrael, and they "shall inherit them" (yinchalum), meriting to inherit their land. The distinguished people will not go and settle in Ammon and Moab, but will only plunder their wealth, whereas the general populace will go and settle in those places.
"This shall they have for their pride"
זֹאת לָהֶם תַּחַת גְּאוֹנָם כִּי חֵרְפוּ וַיַּגְדִּלוּ עַל־עַם יְהֹוָה צְבָאוֹת׃ - "This shall they have for their pride, because they taunted and magnified themselves against the people of the Lord of Hosts."
Even though they are guilty of three grave sins - idolatry, illicit relations, and bloodshed - this punishment strikes them specifically because they taunted the people of Israel, as the prophet said: "For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not reverse it." The primary grievance held against them is "because they taunted and magnified themselves" - they spoke boastfully and arrogantly against the people of the Lord of Hosts.
"The Lord will be awesome against them"
נוֹרָא יְהֹוָה עֲלֵיהֶם כִּי רָזָה אֵת כָּל־אֱלֹהֵי הָאָרֶץ וְיִשְׁתַּחֲווּ־לוֹ אִישׁ מִמְּקוֹמוֹ כֹּל אִיֵּי הַגּוֹיִם׃ - "The Lord will be fearsome against them, for He will starve all the gods of the earth; and men shall bow down to Him, every one from his place, all the isles of the nations."
Then they will fear the Lord, "for He will starve (raza) all the gods of the earth" - from the word for leanness (razon), as if He put all the deities of the earth on a diet, so to speak: eradicating them, stripping them of their power, and diminishing them. Through this, the nations will fear the Lord and bow down to Him, each from his own place, wherever he may be.
"You too, Cushites"
גַּם־אַתֶּם כּוּשִׁים חַלְלֵי חַרְבִּי הֵמָּה׃ - "You too, Cushites, they are the slain of My sword."
Rashi explains that Israel was exiled also beyond the rivers of Cush, and the Cushites did not sit idly by either, but taunted and reviled Israel. Therefore, when My sword comes, you too will fall as the slain of My sword.
Radak notes a grammatical difficulty in the verse: it should have said, "You too, Cushites, are the slain of My sword" (atem, second person), or "They too" (hemah, third person throughout). Why does it open in the second person ("You too") and conclude in the third person ("they are")? He replies: Do not wonder at this, for such is the manner of Scripture in several places. He brings prooftexts, such as, "they shall be ashamed of the terebinths which you have desired" - where "they shall be ashamed" is in the third person, while "you have desired" shifts to the second person. Yet there is another explanation that resolves the grammar even further: it is as if the prefix kaf of comparison is omitted here, meaning "like them" (ka-hemah). In other words: You Cushites shall be the slain of My sword like them, just like Ammon and Moab mentioned earlier. According to this, it is clear why it says "they" (hemah), for it refers not to the Cushites, but to Ammon and Moab.
Assyria and Nineveh
וְיֵט יָדוֹ עַל־צָפוֹן וִיאַבֵּד אֶת־אַשּׁוּר וְיָשֵׂם אֶת־נִינְוֵה לִשְׁמָמָה צִיָּה כַּמִּדְבָּר׃ - And He will stretch out His hand against the north and destroy Assyria, and make Nineveh a desolation, dry like the wilderness.
"And He will stretch out His hand against the north" in order to destroy Assyria, who harmed the Jewish people. Incidentally, one should be precise when pronouncing the name Nīnewēh (Nineveh): the first nun is vocalized with a full chirik followed by a yud, which is a long vowel, and consequently the sheva following it is a vocal sheva (sheva na). Just as we do not read "Pinchas" as a closed syllable but as Pīnechas, since it is written with a yud, and a chirik with a yud is a long vowel that renders the subsequent sheva a vocal sheva. Had it been written without a yud, we would read it differently. And the desolation of Nineveh occurred in the first year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, when he destroyed Nineveh, as we have seen prophecies concerning this.
וְרָבְצוּ בְתוֹכָהּ עֲדָרִים כָּל־חַיְתוֹ־גוֹי גַּם־קָאַת גַּם־קִפֹּד בְּכַפְתֹּרֶיהָ יָלִינוּ קוֹל יְשׁוֹרֵר בַּחַלּוֹן חֹרֶב בַּסַּף כִּי אַרְזָהֿ עֵרָה׃ - And flocks shall lie down in her midst, all the beasts of nations; both the pelican and the hedgehog shall lodge in her capitals; a voice shall sing in the window, desolation shall be on the threshold, for her cedar work is stripped bare.
Nineveh was a great and populous city, and the prophet says: know that when I bring it to desolation, flocks will lie down within it, "all the beasts of nations" - all the animals of the nations. And even the pelican and the hedgehog, species of birds, will lodge there "in her capitals."
And what is a kaftor? The Malbim explains that it is the lintel above the threshold. It is called a kaftor because it was their practice to carve and decorate the lintels; not like our narrow lintels today, but a wide lintel adorned with ornamental engravings, designs, and spherical knobs, in the sense of "their knobs and their branches shall be of the same" stated regarding the Menorah, ornamental carvings on the stem of the Menorah. There it was hammered from a single solid piece of gold, but they would do something similar on door lintels as well.
"Desolation on the threshold" - after speaking of the kaftor, which is the upper lintel, he speaks of the threshold (saf), which is the lower part, as in "Smite the capital, that the posts may shake." Incidentally, there is a difference between a lintel (mashkof) and a doorpost (mezuzah): the doorposts are the sides, on the right and on the left, while the lintel is the top beam, projecting above and against which the door closes. And "desolation" (chorev) refers to the famine and parched dryness that will rest upon the threshold.
"For her cedar work is stripped bare" (ki arzah erah) - arzah refers to the cedars in the building, as is the manner of Scripture to use a singular collective form for the plural, like "the fish (dagah) that was in the river" and "they cut down her trees (etzah)." And erah is related to "Raze it, raze it (aru aru), down to its foundation," meaning to undermine its foundations - that is, the cedars within it were shaken and undermined. Alternatively, it is from the root of uncovering, as in "naked and bare" (erom ve'eryah), meaning that her cedar beams were exposed. Under both interpretations the central idea is the same: the building was uprooted and ruined.
"This Is the Joyous City"
זֹאת הָעִיר הָעַלִּיזָה הַיּוֹשֶׁבֶת לָבֶטַח הָאֹמְרָה בִּלְבָבָהּ אֲנִי וְאַפְסִי עוֹד אֵיךְ הָיְתָה לְשַׁמָּה מַרְבֵּץ לַחַיָּה כֹּל עוֹבֵר עָלֶיהָ יִשְׁרֹק יָנִיעַ יָדוֹ׃ - This is the joyous city that dwelt securely, that said in her heart, "I am, and there is none beside me." How has she become a desolation, a resting place for beasts! Everyone who passes by her shall hiss and shake his hand.
Nineveh was a joyous city, a merry city, dwelling securely and confident in itself, saying in its heart, "I am, and there is none beside me" - only I exist, and there is nothing besides me; as the Targum renders it: "There is none else besides me." And regarding her it is said, "How has she become a desolation" - how did this city turn into a wasteland, so that all will wonder at it, "a resting place for beasts," a place where wild animals lie down.
"Everyone who passes by her shall hiss and shake his hand" - this is a common expression of astonishment, like "he shall be appalled and hiss." In ancient times, it was customary for someone struck with wonder or dismay to whistle and utter an exclamation of amazement. That is to say, everyone who passes by will whistle, wave his hand, point, and say: Is this the joyous city that was certain it would endure forever? How has it become a desolation? Thus, this prophecy will astound all onlookers, for anyone who sees it will not believe that such a bustling place has turned into a desolate ruin and a resting place for flocks.
In summary:
Chapter 2 opens with a call to Israel to gather together and assemble from their dispersion, to adorn and rectify their deeds before the decree is born; and it turns to the humble of the land to seek Hashem in righteousness and humility so that they may be spared on the day of Hashem's anger. From there, the prophet turns to the nations: the Philistines - Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, and Ekron - who will be cut down, their land becoming the inheritance of the remnant of the House of Judah; Moab and Ammon, who taunted and blasphemed, and will become like Sodom and Gomorrah; the Cushites, who will likewise fall; and Assyria and Nineveh, which will be laid desolate. Underlying all of these prophecies is the revelation revealed at the end: "Hashem will be fearsome over them, for He will cause all the gods of the earth to waste away" - when arrogance and the forces of impurity are eradicated, all the coastlands of the nations will bow down to Him, each from its place, and the city that proclaimed, "I am, and there is none else beside me," will become a startling astonishment to every passerby.