Zephaniah 3

The Wickedness of Jerusalem

1 Woe to her who is rebellious and polluted, Woe to her who is rebellious and polluted, To the oppressing city!2 She has not obeyed His voice, She has not received correction; She has not trusted in the Lord, She has not drawn near to her God.3 Her princes in her midst are roaring lions; Her judges are evening wolves That leave not a bone till morning.4 Her prophets are insolent, treacherous people; Her priests have polluted the sanctuary, They have done violence to the law.5 The Lord is righteous in her midst, He will do no unrighteousness. Every morning He brings His justice to light; He never fails, But the unjust knows no shame.6 I have cut off nations, Their fortresses are devastated; I have made their streets desolate, With none passing by. Their cities are destroyed; There is no one, no inhabitant.7 I said, Surely you will fear Me, You will receive instruction So that her dwelling would not be cut off, Despite everything for which I punished her. But they rose early and corrupted all their deeds.

A Faithful Remnant

8 Therefore wait for Me, says the Lord, Until the day I rise up for plunder; My determination is to gather the nations To My assembly of kingdoms, To pour on them My indignation, All My fierce anger; All the earth shall be devoured With the fire of My jealousy.9 For then I will restore to the peoples a pure language, That they all may call on the name of the Lord, To serve Him with one accord.10 From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia My worshipers, The daughter of My dispersed ones, Shall bring My offering.11 In that day you shall not be shamed for any of your deeds In which you transgress against Me; For then I will take away from your midst Those who rejoice in your pride, And you shall no longer be haughty In My holy mountain.12 I will leave in your midst A meek and humble people, And they shall trust in the name of the Lord.13 The remnant of Israel shall do no unrighteousness And speak no lies, Nor shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth; For they shall feed their flocks and lie down, And no one shall make them afraid.

Joy in Gods Faithfulness

14 Sing, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem!15 The Lord has taken away your judgments, He has cast out your enemy. The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; You shall see disaster no more.16 In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: Do not fear; Zion, let not your hands be weak.17 The Lord your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.18 I will gather those who sorrow over the appointed assembly, Who are among you, To whom its reproach is a burden.19 Behold, at that time I will deal with all who afflict you; I will save the lame, And gather those who were driven out; I will appoint them for praise and fame In every land where they were put to shame.20 At that time I will bring you back, Even at the time I gather you; For I will give you fame and praise Among all the peoples of the earth, When I return your captives before your 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.