ZEPHANIAH 1 [†]The word of the LORD that came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, a in the days of b Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.
The Coming Judgment on Judah
2[^][†] c “I will utterly sweep away everything
from the face of the earth,” declares the LORD.
3[†] “I will sweep away d man and beast;
I will sweep away the birds of the heavens
and d the fish of the sea,
and e the rubble [1] with the wicked.
I will f cut off mankind
from the face of the earth,” declares the LORD.
4[†] “I will stretch out my hand against Judah
and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem;
g and I will cut off from this place the remnant of Baal
and the name of the idolatrous priests along with the priests,
5[†] h those who bow down on the roofs
to the host of the heavens,
i those who bow down and swear to the LORD
and yet swear by j Milcom,
6[†] k those who have turned back from following the LORD,
l who do not seek the LORD or inquire of him.”
The Day of the LORD Is Near
7[^][†] m Be silent before the Lord GOD!
For n the day of the LORD is near;
o the LORD has prepared a sacrifice
and p consecrated his guests.
8[†] And on the day of the LORD’s sacrifice—
q “I will punish the officials and the king’s sons
and r all who array themselves in foreign attire.
9[†] On that day I will punish
everyone s who leaps over the threshold,
and those who fill their master’s [2] house
with violence and fraud.
10[†] “On that day,” declares the LORD,
“a cry will be heard from t the Fish Gate,
u a wail from v the Second Quarter,
a loud crash from the hills.
11[†] w Wail, O inhabitants of the Mortar!
For all the traders [3] are no more;
all who weigh out silver are cut off.
12[†] At that time x I will search Jerusalem with lamps,
and I will punish the men
z those who say in their hearts,
‘The LORD will not do good,
nor will he do ill.’
13[†] Their goods shall be a plundered,
and their houses laid waste.
b Though they build houses,
they shall not inhabit them;
c though they plant vineyards,
they shall not drink wine from them.”
14[†] d The great day of the LORD is near,
near and hastening fast;
the sound of the day of the LORD is bitter;
e the mighty man cries aloud there.
15[†] f A day of wrath is that day,
a day of distress and anguish,
a day of g ruin and devastation,
h a day of darkness and gloom,
h a day of clouds and thick darkness,
16[†] i a day of trumpet blast and battle cry
j against the fortified cities
and against the lofty battlements.
17[†] k I will bring distress on mankind,
so that they shall walk l like the blind,
because they have sinned against the LORD;
m their blood shall be poured out like dust,
and their flesh n like dung.
18[†] o Neither their silver nor their gold
shall be able to deliver them
on the day of the wrath of the LORD.
p In the fire of his jealousy,
q all the earth shall be consumed;
r for a full and sudden end
he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth.
Judgment on Judah’s Enemies
ZEPHANIAH 2 [†] Gather together, yes, gather,
O s shameless nation,
2[†] t before the decree takes effect [1]
—before the day passes away u like chaff—
v before there comes upon you
the burning anger of the LORD,
before there comes upon you
the day of the anger of the LORD.
3[^][†] w Seek the LORD, x all you humble of the land,
who do his just commands; [2]
y seek righteousness; seek humility;
on the day of the anger of the LORD.
4[†] a For Gaza shall be deserted,
and Ashkelon shall become a desolation;
Ashdod’s people shall be driven out at noon,
and Ekron shall be uprooted.
5[†] Woe to b you inhabitants of the seacoast,
you nation of c the Cherethites!
d The word of the LORD is against you,
e O Canaan, land of the Philistines;
and I will destroy you f until no inhabitant is left.
6[†] g And you, O seacoast, h shall be pastures,
with meadows [3] for shepherds
and folds for flocks.
7 i The seacoast shall become the possession
of j the remnant of the house of Judah,
h on which they shall graze,
and in the houses of Ashkelon
they shall lie down at evening.
For the LORD their God k will be mindful of them
and l restore their fortunes.
8[†] “I have heard m the taunts of Moab
and n the revilings of the Ammonites,
how they have taunted my people
and made boasts o against their territory.
9[^][†] Therefore, p as I live,” declares the LORD of hosts,
the God of Israel,
“Moab shall become q like Sodom,
and the Ammonites q like Gomorrah,
a land possessed by nettles and salt pits,
and a waste forever.
The remnant of my people shall plunder them,
and the survivors of my nation shall possess them.”
10[^][†] This shall be their lot in return r for their pride,
because they taunted and boasted
against the people of the LORD of hosts.
11[†] The LORD will be awesome against them;
s for he will famish all the gods of the earth,
and t to him shall bow down,
each in its place,
all u the lands of the nations.
shall be slain by my sword.
13[†] And he will stretch out his hand against the north
w and destroy Assyria,
and he x will make Nineveh a desolation,
a dry waste like the desert.
14[†] y Herds shall lie down in her midst,
all kinds of beasts; [4]
z even the owl and the hedgehog [5]
shall lodge in her capitals;
a voice shall hoot in the window;
devastation will be on the threshold;
for a her cedar work will be laid bare.
15[†] This is the exultant city
b that lived securely,
that said in her heart,
“I am, and there is no one else.”
What a desolation she has become,
c a lair for wild beasts!
d Everyone who passes by her
hisses and e shakes his fist.
Judgment on Jerusalem and the Nations
ZEPHANIAH 3 [†] Woe to her who is rebellious and defiled,
f the oppressing city!
2 She listens to no voice;
g she accepts no correction.
h She does not trust in the LORD;
she does not draw near to her God.
3[†] i Her officials within her
are roaring lions;
her judges are j evening wolves
that leave nothing till the morning.
4[†] k Her prophets are fickle, treacherous men;
k her priests l profane what is holy;
they do violence to the law.
5[†] The LORD within her m is righteous;
he does no injustice;
every morning he shows forth his justice;
each dawn he does not fail;
but n the unjust knows no shame.
6 o “I have cut off nations;
their battlements are in ruins;
I have laid waste their streets
p so that no one walks in them;
their cities have been made desolate,
without a man, without an inhabitant.
7[†] q I said, ‘Surely you will fear me;
r you will accept correction.
Then your [1] dwelling would not be cut off
according to all that I have appointed against you.’ [2]
But s all the more they were eager
to make all their deeds corrupt.
8[†] “Therefore t wait for me,” declares the LORD,
“for the day when I rise up to seize the prey.
For my decision is u to gather nations,
to assemble kingdoms,
to pour out upon them my indignation,
all my burning anger;
for in the fire of my jealousy
v all the earth shall be consumed.
The Conversion of the Nations
9[†] “For at that time I will change the speech of the peoples
to w a pure speech,
that all of them may call upon the name of the LORD
and serve him with one accord.
10[†] x From beyond the rivers y of Cush
my worshipers, the daughter of my dispersed ones,
shall bring my offering.
11[†] z “On that day a you shall not be put to shame
because of the deeds by which you have rebelled against me;
for then b I will remove from your midst
your proudly exultant ones,
and c you shall no longer be haughty
in my holy mountain.
12[†] But I will leave in your midst
a people d humble and lowly.
e They shall seek refuge in the name of the LORD,
13[†] f those who are left in Israel;
they g shall do no injustice
and speak no lies,
h nor shall there be found in their mouth
a deceitful tongue.
i For they shall graze and lie down,
and none shall make them afraid.”
Israel’s Joy and Restoration
14[†] j Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion;
shout, O Israel!
Rejoice and exult with all your heart,
O daughter of Jerusalem!
15[^][†] The LORD has taken away the judgments against you;
he has cleared away your enemies.
k The King of Israel, l the LORD, is in your midst;
you shall never again fear evil.
16[†] z On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:
“Fear not, O Zion;
m let not your hands grow weak.
17[†] l The LORD your God is in your midst,
n a mighty one who will save;
o he will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will quiet you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing.
18[†] I will gather those of you who mourn p for the festival,
so that you will no longer suffer reproach. [3]
19[†] Behold, at that time q I will deal
with all your oppressors.
And r I will save the lame
and gather the outcast,
and I will change s their shame into t praise
and renown in all the earth.
20[†] u At that time I will bring you in,
at the time when I gather you together;
for I will make you renowned and praised
among all the peoples of the earth,
v when I restore your fortunes
before your eyes,” says the LORD.