Zephaniah 2:14

“And flocks shall lie down in the midst of her, etc.] In the midst of the city of Nineveh; in the streets of it, where houses stood, and people in great numbers walked; but now only should be seen the cottages of shepherds, and flocks of sheep feeding or lying down, as is before observed of the sea coast of the Philistines, (<360206>Zephaniah 2:6): all the beasts of the nations; that is, all sorts of beasts, especially wild beasts, in the several parts of the world, should come and dwell here; instead of kings and princes, nobles, merchants, and the great men thereof, who once here inhabited, now there should be beasts of prey, terrible to come nigh unto; for these are to be understood…”

“flocks--of sheep; answering to "beasts" in the parallel clause. Wide pastures for sheep and haunts for wild beasts shall be where once there was a teeming population (compare Zep 2:6). MAURER, needlessly for the parallelism, makes it "flocks of savage animals." beasts of the nations--that is, beasts of the earth (Gen 1:24). Not as ROSENMULLER, "all kinds of beasts that form a nation," that is, gregarious beasts (Pro 30:25-26). cormorant--rather, the "pelican" (so Psa 102:6; Isa 34:11, Margin). bittern-- (Isa 14:23). MAURER translates, "the hedgehog"; HENDERSON, "the porcupine." upper lintels--rather, "the capitals of her columns," namely, in her temples and palaces [MAURER]. Or, "on the…”

“And flocks shall lie down in the midst of her - No desolation is like that of decayed luxury. It preaches the nothingness of man, the fruitlessness of his toils, the fleetingness of his hopes and enjoyments, and their baffling when at their height. Grass in a court or on a once beaten road, much more, in a town, speaks of the passing away of what has been, that man was accustomed to be there, and is not, or is there less than he was. It leaves the feeling of void and forsakenness. But in Nineveh not a few tufts of grass here and there shall betoken desolation, it shall be one wild rank pasture, where “flocks” shall not feed only, but “lie down” as in their fold and continual resting place,…”

“All the beasts - All sorts of beasts which are found in those countries. The bittern - A bird that delights in desolate places. Zephaniah 2:15”

“2:14 To drive home his point about Nineveh’s fate, Zephaniah invokes powerful imagery: Rubble would fill the doorways through which the wealthy and powerful of Nineveh had once walked. The eerie sounds of owls hooting in empty windows would punctuate the city’s desolation.”

“flocks: Zep 2:6; Isa 13:19-22, Isa 34:11-17; Rev 18:2 cormorant: or, pelican upper lintels: or, knops, or chapiters, Amo 9:1 for he shall uncover: or, when he hath uncovered the cedar: Jer 22:14 Zephaniah 2:15”