Zephaniah 1

1 The word of Jehovah which came unto Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.2 I will utterly consume all things from off the face of the ground, saith Jehovah.3 I will consume man and beast; I will consume the birds of the heavens, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumblingblocks with the wicked; and I will cut off man from off the face of the ground, saith Jehovah.4 And I will stretch out my hand upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, and the name of the Chemarim with the priests;5 and them that worship the host of heaven upon the housetops; and them that worship, that swear to Jehovah and swear by Malcam;6 and them that are turned back from following Jehovah; and those that have not sought Jehovah, nor inquired after him.7 Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord Jehovah; for the day of Jehovah is at hand: for Jehovah hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath consecrated his guests.8 And it shall come to pass in the day of Jehovah’s sacrifice, that I will punish the princes, and the king’s sons, and all such as are clothed with foreign apparel.9 And in that day I will punish all those that leap over the threshold, that fill their master’s house with violence and deceit.10 And in that day, saith Jehovah, there shall be the noise of a cry from the fish gate, and a wailing from the second quarter, and a great crashing from the hills.11 Wail, ye inhabitants of Maktesh; for all the people of Canaan are undone; all they that were laden with silver are cut off.12 And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with lamps; and I will punish the men that are settled on their lees, that say in their heart, Jehovah will not do good, neither will he do evil.13 And their wealth shall become a spoil, and their houses a desolation: yea, they shall build houses, but shall not inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, but shall not drink the wine thereof.14 The great day of Jehovah is near, it is near and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of Jehovah; the mighty man crieth there bitterly.15 That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness,16 a day of the trumpet and alarm, against the fortified cities, and against the high battlements.17 And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against Jehovah; and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as dung.18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of Jehovah’s wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he will make an end, yea, a terrible end, of all them that dwell in the land.

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