Zephaniah 3

Jerusalem

1 Woe to the city of oppressors,
rebellious and defiled!

2 She obeys no one,
she accepts no correction.
She does not trust in the Lord,
she does not draw near to her God.

3 Her officials within her
are roaring lions;
her rulers are evening wolves,
who leave nothing for the morning.

4 Her prophets are unprincipled;
they are treacherous people.
Her priests profane the sanctuary
and do violence to the law.

5 The Lord within her is righteous;
he does no wrong.
Morning by morning he dispenses his justice,
and every new day he does not fail,
yet the unrighteous know no shame.

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;
they are deserted and empty.

7 Of Jerusalem I thought,
'Surely you will fear me
and accept correction!'
Then her place of refuget would not be destroyed,
nor all my punishments come upont her.
But they were still eager
to act corruptly in all they did.

8 Therefore wait for me,"
declares the Lord,
"for the day I will stand up to testify.t
I have decided to assemble the nations,
to gather the kingdoms
and to pour out my wrath on them—
all my fierce anger.
The whole world will be consumed
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 call on the name of the Lord
and serve him shoulder to shoulder.

10 From beyond the rivers of Cusht
my worshipers, my scattered people,
will bring me offerings.

11 On that day you, Jerusalem, will not be put to shame
for all the wrongs you have done to me,
because I will remove from you
your arrogant boasters.
Never again will you be haughty
on my holy hill.

12 But I will leave within you
the meek and humble.
The remnant of Israel
will trust in the name of the Lord.

13 They will do no wrong;
they will tell no lies.
A deceitful tongue
will not be found in their mouths.
They will eat and lie down
and no one will make them afraid."

14 Sing, Daughter Zion;
shout aloud, Israel!
Be glad and rejoice with all your heart,
Daughter Jerusalem!

15 The Lord has taken away your punishment,
he has turned back your enemy.
The Lord, the King of Israel, is with you;
never again will you fear any harm.

16 On that day
they will say to Jerusalem,
"Do not fear, Zion;
do not let your hands hang limp.

17 The Lord your God is with you,
the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you;
in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
but will rejoice over you with singing."

18 "I will remove from you
all who mourn over the loss of your appointed festivals,
which is a burden and reproach for you.

19 At that time I will deal
with all who oppressed you.
I will rescue the lame;
I will gather the exiles.
I will give them praise and honor
in every land where they have suffered shame.

20 At that time I will gather you;
at that time I will bring you home.
I will give you honor and praise
among all the peoples of the earth
when I restore your fortunest
before your very eyes,"
says the Lord.

Zephaniah 3

Jerusalem is Corrupt

1 The filthy,t stained city is as good as dead;
the city filled with oppressors is finished!ts

2 She is disobedient;t
she refuses correction.t
She does not trust the Lord;
she does not seek the advice oft her God.

3 Her princest are as fierce as roaring lions;t
her rulerst are as hungry as wolves in the desert,t
who completely devour their prey by morning.t

4 Her prophets are proud;s
they are deceitful men.
Her priests defile what is holy;ts
they break God’s laws.t

5 The just Lord residest within her;
he commits no unjust acts.t
Every morning he revealst his justice.
At dawn he appears without fail.t
Yet the unjust know no shame.

The Lord’s Judgment will Purify

6 “I destroyedt nations;
their walled citiest are in ruins.
I turned their streets into ruins;
no one passes through them.
Their cities are desolate;t
no one lives there.t

7 I thought,t ‘Certainly you will respectts me!
Now you will accept correction!’
If she had done so, her homet would not be destroyedt
by all the punishments I have threatened.t
But they eagerly sinned
in everything they did.t

8 Therefore you must wait patientlyt for me,” says the Lord,
“for the day when I attack and take plunder.t
I have decidedt to gather nations together
and assemble kingdoms,
so I can pour out my fury on them –
all my raging anger.
Fort the whole earth will be consumed
by my fiery anger.

9 Know for sure that I will then enable
the nations to give me acceptable praise.ts
All of them will invoke the Lord’s name when they pray,t
and will worship him in unison.t

10 From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia,t
those who pray to mets will bring me tribute.

11 In that day yous will not be ashamed of all your rebelliousness against me,t
for then I will remove from your midst those who proudly boast,t
and you will never again be arrogant on my holy hill.

12 I will leave in your midst a humble and meek group of people,t
and they will find safety in the Lord’s presence.ts

13 The Israelites who remaint will not act deceitfully.
They will not lie,
and a deceitful tongue will not be found in their mouth.
Indeed, they will graze peacefully like sheept and lie down;
no one will terrify them.”

14 Shout for joy, Daughter Zion!s
Shout out, Israel!
Be happy and boast with all your heart, Daughter Jerusalem!

15 The Lord has removed the judgment against you;t
he has turned back your enemy.
Israel’s king, the Lord, is in your midst!
You no longer need to fear disaster.

16 On that day they will sayt to Jerusalem,
“Don’t be afraid, Zion!
Your hands must not be paralyzed from panic!t

17 The Lord your God is in your midst;
he is a warrior who can deliver.
He takes great delight in you;t
he renews you by his love;s
he shouts for joy over you.”t

18 “As for those who grieve because they cannot attend the festivals –
I took them away from you;
they became tribute and were a source of shame to you.t

19 Look, at that time I will deal with those who mistreated you.
I will rescue the lame sheept
and gather together the scattered sheep.
I will take away their humiliation
and make the whole earth admire and respect them.t

20 At that time I will lead you –
at the time I gather you together.t
Be sure of this!t I will make all the nations of the earth respect and admire yout
when you see me restore you,”t says the Lord.