Zephaniah 1

Introduction

1 This is the prophetic message that the Lord gave tot Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah. Zephaniah delivered this message during the reign oft King Josiah son of Amon of Judah:

The Lord’s Day of Judgment is Approaching

2 “I will destroyt everything from the face of the earth,” says the Lord.

3 “I will destroy people and animals;
I will destroy the birds in the sky
and the fish in the sea.
(The idolatrous images of these creatures will be destroyed along with evil people.)t
I will removet humanity from the face of the earth,” says the Lord.

4 “I will attackt Judah
and all who live in Jerusalem.s
I will removet from this place every trace of Baal worship,t
as well as the very memoryt of the pagan priests.s

5 I will removet those who worship the stars in the sky from their rooftops,t
those who swear allegiance to the Lords while taking oaths in the name oft their ‘king,’t

6 and those who turn their backs ont the Lord
and do not want the Lord’s help or guidance.”t

7 Be silent before the Lord God,t
for the Lord’s day of judgmentts is almost here.t
The Lord has prepared a sacrificial meal;ts
he has ritually purifiedt his guests.

8 “On the day of the Lord’s sacrificial meal,
I will punish the princest and the king’s sons,
and all who wear foreign styles of clothing.s

9 On that day I will punish all who leap over the threshold,s
who fill the house of their mastert with wealth taken by violence and deceit.t

10 On that day,” says the Lord,
“a loud cry will go upt from the Fish Gate,s
wailing from the city’s newer district,t
and a loud crasht from the hills.

11 Wail, you who live in the market district,t
for all the merchantst will disappeart
and those who count moneyt will be removed.t

12 At that time I will search through Jerusalem with lamps.
I will punish the people who are entrenched in their sin,t
those who think to themselves,t
‘The Lord neither rewards nor punishes.’t

13 Their wealth will be stolen
and their houses ruined!
They will not live in the houses they have built,
nor will they drink the wine from the vineyards they have planted.

14 The Lord’s great day of judgmentt is almost here;
it is approaching very rapidly!
There will be a bitter sound on the Lord’s day of judgment;
at that time warriors will cry out in battle.t

15 That day will be a day of God’s anger,t
a day of distress and hardship,
a day of devastation and ruin,
a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and dark skies,

16 a day of trumpet blastst and battle cries.s
Judgment will fall ont the fortified cities and the high corner towers.

17 I will bring distress on the peoplet
and they will stumblet like blind men,
for they have sinned against the Lord.
Their blood will be poured out like dirt;
their flesht will be scatteredt like manure.

18 Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them
in the day of the Lord’s angry judgment.
The whole eartht will be consumed by his fiery wrath.t
Indeed,t he will bring terrifying destructiont on all who live on the earth.”t

ZEPHANIAH 1

1  t I am Zephaniah, the son of Cushi, the grandson of Gedaliah, the great-grandson of Amariah, and the great-great-grandson of Hezekiah.t
When Josiah son of Amon was king of Judah, t the [Lord] gave me this message.

Judgment on Judah

2 I, the [Lord], now promise
to destroy everything
on this earth—

3 people and animals,
birds and fish.
Everyone who is evil
will crash to the ground, t
and I will wipe out
the entire human race.

4 I will reach out to punish
Judah and Jerusalem—
nothing will remain
of the god Baal;t
nothing will be remembered
of his pagan priests.

5 Not a trace will be found
of those who worship stars
from their rooftops,
or bow down to the god Milcom, t
while claiming loyalty
to me, the [Lord].

6 Nothing will remain of anyone
who has turned away
and rejected me.

7 Be silent! I am the [Lord] God,
and the time is near.
I am preparing
to sacrifice my people
and to invite my guests.

8 On that day I will punish
national leaders
and sons of the king,
along with all who follow
foreign customs.t

9 I will punish worshipers
of pagan godst
and cruel palace officials
who abuse their power.

10 I, the [Lord], promise
that on that day
noisy crying will be heard
from Fish Gate, New Town,
and Upper Hills.

11 Everyone in Lower Hollowt
will mourn loudly,
because merchants
and money changers
will be wiped out.

12 I'll search Jerusalem with lamps
and punish those people
who sit there unworried
while thinking,
“The [Lord] won't do anything,
good or bad.”

13 Their possessions will be taken,
their homes left in ruins.
They won't get to live
in the houses they build,
or drink wine from the grapes
in their own vineyards.

A Terrible Day

14 The great day of the [Lord]
is coming soon, very soon.
On that terrible day,
fearsome shouts of warriors
will be heard everywhere.

15 It will be a time of anger—
of trouble and torment,
of disaster and destruction,
of darkness and despair,
of storm clouds and shadows,

16 of trumpet calls
and battle cries
against fortified cities
and mighty fortresses.

17 The [Lord] warns everyone
who has sinned against him,
“I'll strike you blind!
Then your blood and your insides
will gush out like vomit.

18 Not even your silver or gold
can save you on that day
when I, the [Lord], am angry.
My anger will flare up
like a furious fire
scorching the earth
and everyone on it.”