Zephaniah 1

1 The word of the Lord that came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.

The Coming Judgment on Judah

2  "I will utterly sweep away everything
from the face of the earth," declares the Lord.
3  "I will sweep away man and beast;
I will sweep away the birds of the heavens
and the fish of the sea,
and the rubblet with the wicked.
I will 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;
and I will cut off from this place the remnant of Baal
and the name of the idolatrous priests along with the priests,
5  those who bow down on the roofs
to the host of the heavens,
those who bow down and swear to the Lord
and yet swear by Milcom,
6  those who have turned back from following the Lord,
who do not seek the Lord or inquire of him."

The Day of the Lord Is Near

7  Be silent before the Lord God!
For the day of the Lord is near;
the Lord has prepared a sacrifice
and consecrated his guests.
8  And on the day of the Lord's sacrifice—
"I will punish the officials and the king's sons
and all who array themselves in foreign attire.
9  On that day I will punish
everyone who leaps over the threshold,
and those who fill their master'st house
with violence and fraud.

10  "On that day," declares the Lord,
"a cry will be heard from the Fish Gate,
a wail from the Second Quarter,
a loud crash from the hills.
11  Wail, O inhabitants of the Mortar!
For all the traderst are no more;
all who weigh out silver are cut off.
12  At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps,
and I will punish the men
who are complacent,t
those who say in their hearts,
'The Lord will not do good,
nor will he do ill.'
13  Their goods shall be plundered,
and their houses laid waste.
Though they build houses,
they shall not inhabit them;
though they plant vineyards,
they shall not drink wine from them."

14  The great day of the Lord is near,
near and hastening fast;
the sound of the day of the Lord is bitter;
the mighty man cries aloud there.
15  A day of wrath is that day,
a day of distress and anguish,
a day of ruin and devastation,
a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and thick darkness,
16  a day of trumpet blast and battle cry
against the fortified cities
and against the lofty battlements.

17  I will bring distress on mankind,
so that they shall walk like the blind,
because they have sinned against the Lord;
their blood shall be poured out like dust,
and their flesh like dung.
18  Neither their silver nor their gold
shall be able to deliver them
on the day of the wrath of the Lord.
In the fire of his jealousy,
all the earth shall be consumed;
for a full and sudden end
he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth.

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