1The word of the LORD that came to Zephaniah son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, during the reign of Josiaha son of Amonb king of Judah:
Judgment on the Whole Earth in the Day of the LORD
2“I will sweep away everything
from the face of the earth,”c
declares the LORD.
3“I will sweep away both man and beast;d
I will sweep away the birds in the skye
and the fish in the sea—
and the idols that cause the wicked to stumble.”1
“When I destroy all mankind
on the face of the earth,”f
declares the LORD,g
4“I will stretch out my handh against Judah
and against all who live in Jerusalem.
I will destroy every remnant of Baal worship in this place,i
the very names of the idolatrous priestsj—
5those who bow down on the roofs
to worship the starry host,k
those who bow down and swear by the LORD
and who also swear by Molek,2l
6those who turn back from followingm the LORD
and neither seekn the LORD nor inquireo of him.”
7Be silentp before the Sovereign LORD,
for the day of the LORDq is near.
The LORD has prepared a sacrifice;r
he has consecrated those he has invited.
8“On the day of the LORD’s sacrifice
I will punishs the officials
and the king’s sonst
and all those clad
in foreign clothes.
9On that day I will punish
all who avoid stepping on the threshold,3u
who fill the temple of their gods
with violence and deceit.v
declares the LORD,
“a cry will go up from the Fish Gate,x
wailingy from the New Quarter,
and a loud crash from the hills.
11Wail,z you who live in the market district4;
all your merchants will be wiped out,
all who trade with5 silver will be destroyed.a
12At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps
and punish those who are complacent,b
who are like wine left on its dregs,c
who think, ‘The LORD will do nothing,d
either good or bad.’e
13Their wealth will be plundered,f
their houses demolished.
Though they build houses,
they will not live in them;
though they plant vineyards,
they will not drink the wine.”g
14The great day of the LORDh is neari—
near and coming quickly.
The cry on the day of the LORD is bitter;
the Mighty Warrior shouts his battle cry.
15That day will be a day of wrath—
a day of distress and anguish,
a day of trouble and ruin,
a day of darknessj and gloom,
a day of clouds and blacknessk—
16a day of trumpet and battle cryl
against the fortified cities
and against the corner towers.m
17“I will bring such distressn on all people
that they will grope about like those who are blind,o
because they have sinned against the LORD.
Their blood will be poured outp like dust
and their entrails like dung.q
18Neither their silver nor their gold
will be able to save them
on the day of the LORD’s wrath.”r
In the fire of his jealousys
the whole earth will be consumed,t
for he will make a sudden end
of all who live on the earth.u
Judah and Jerusalem Judged Along With the Nations
Judah Summoned to Repent
1Gather together,a gather yourselves together,
you shamefulb nation,
2before the decree takes effect
and that day passes like windblown chaff,c
before the LORD’s fierce angerd
comes upon you,
before the day of the LORD’s wrathe
comes upon you.
3Seekf the LORD, all you humble of the land,
you who do what he commands.
Seek righteousness,g seek humility;h
perhaps you will be shelteredi
on the day of the LORD’s anger.
Philistia
and Ashkelonk left in ruins.
At midday Ashdod will be emptied
and Ekron uprooted.
5Woe to you who live by the sea,
you Kerethitel people;
the word of the LORD is against you,m
Canaan, land of the Philistines.
He says, “I will destroy you,
and none will be left.”n
6The land by the sea will become pastures
having wells for shepherds
and pens for flocks.o
7That land will belong
to the remnantp of the people of Judah;
there they will find pasture.
In the evening they will lie down
in the houses of Ashkelon.
The LORD their God will care for them;
Moab and Ammon
8“I have heard the insultsr of Moabs
and the taunts of the Ammonites,t
who insultedu my people
and made threats against their land.v
9Therefore, as surely as I live,”
declares the LORD Almighty,
the God of Israel,
“surely Moabw will become like Sodom,x
the Ammonitesy like Gomorrah—
a place of weeds and salt pits,
a wasteland forever.
The remnant of my people will plunderz them;
the survivorsa of my nation will inherit their land.b”
10This is what they will get in return for their pride,c
for insultingd and mocking
the people of the LORD Almighty.e
11The LORD will be awesomef to them
when he destroys all the godsg of the earth.h
Distant nations will bow down to him,i
all of them in their own lands.
Cush
Assyria
13He will stretch out his hand against the north
and destroy Assyria,l
leaving Ninevehm utterly desolate
and dry as the desert.n
14Flocks and herdso will lie down there,
creatures of every kind.
The desert owlp and the screech owlq
will roost on her columns.
Their hooting will echo through the windows,
rubble will fill the doorways,
the beams of cedar will be exposed.
15This is the city of revelryr
that lived in safety.s
She said to herself,
“I am the one! And there is none besides me.”t
What a ruin she has become,
a lair for wild beasts!u
All who pass by her scoffv
and shake their fists.w
Jerusalem
1Woe to the city of oppressors,a
she accepts no correction.e
She does not trustf in the LORD,
she does not draw nearg to her God.
3Her officials within her
are roaring lions;h
her rulers are evening wolves,i
who leave nothing for the morning.j
4Her prophets are unprincipled;
they are treacherous people.k
Her priests profane the sanctuary
and do violence to the law.l
5The LORD within her is righteous;m
he does no wrong.n
Morning by morningo he dispenses his justice,
and every new day he does not fail,p
yet the unrighteous know no shame.q
Jerusalem Remains Unrepentant
6“I have destroyed nations;
their strongholds are demolished.
I have left their streets deserted,
with no one passing through.
Their cities are laid waste;r
they are deserted and empty.
7Of Jerusalem I thought,
‘Surely you will fear me
and accept correction!’s
Then her place of refuge1 would not be destroyed,
nor all my punishments come upon2 her.
But they were still eager
to act corruptlyt in all they did.
declares the LORD,
“for the day I will stand up to testify.3
I have decided to assemblev the nations,w
to gather the kingdoms
and to pour out my wrathx on them—
all my fierce anger.y
The whole world will be consumedz
by the fire of my jealous anger.
Restoration of Israel’s Remnant
9“Then I will purify the lips of the peoples,
that all of them may calla on the name of the LORDb
and servec him shoulder to shoulder.
10From beyond the rivers of Cush4d
my worshipers, my scattered people,
will bring me offerings.e
11On that day you, Jerusalem, will not be put to shamef
for all the wrongs you have done to me,g
because I will remove from you
your arrogant boasters.h
Never again will you be haughty
on my holy hill.i
12But I will leave within you
the meekj and humble.
The remnant of Israel
will trustk in the name of the LORD.
they will tell no lies.n
A deceitful tongue
will not be found in their mouths.o
They will eat and lie downp
and no one will make them afraid.q”
shout aloud,s Israel!
Be glad and rejoicet with all your heart,
Daughter Jerusalem!
15The LORD has taken away your punishment,
he has turned back your enemy.
The LORD, the King of Israel, is with you;u
never again will you fearv any harm.w
16On that day
they will say to Jerusalem,
“Do not fear, Zion;
do not let your hands hang limp.x
17The LORD your God is with you,
the Mighty Warrior who saves.y
He will take great delightz in you;
in his love he will no longer rebuke you,a
but will rejoice over you with singing.”b
18“I will remove from you
all who mourn over the loss of your appointed festivals,
which is a burden and reproach for you.
19At that time I will deal
with all who oppressedc you.
I will rescue the lame;
I will gather the exiles.d
I will give them praisee and honor
in every land where they have suffered shame.
20At that time I will gather you;
at that time I will bringf you home.
I will give you honorg and praiseh
among all the peoples of the earth
when I restore your fortunes5i
before your very eyes,”
says the LORD.