Zephaniah 1–2

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

THE GREAT DAY OF THE LORD

²I will completely sweep away everything

from the face of the earth^d—

this is the Lord’s declaration.

³I will sweep away people and animals;^e

I will sweep away the birds of the sky

and the fish of the sea,

and the ruins^A along with the wicked.^f

I will cut off mankind

from the face of the earth.

This is the Lord’s declaration.

⁴I will stretch out my hand^g against Judah

and against all the residents of Jerusalem.

I will cut off every vestige of Baal^h

from this place,

the names of the pagan priestsⁱ

along with the priests;

⁵those who bow in worship on the rooftops^j

to the stars in the sky;

those who bow and pledge loyalty to the Lord^k

but also pledge loyalty to Milcom;^Bl

⁶and those who turn back from following the Lord,

who do not seek the Lord or inquire of him.

⁷Be silent in the presence of the Lord God,^m

for the day of the Lord is near.ⁿ

Indeed, the Lord has prepared a sacrifice;^o

he has consecrated his guests.^p

⁸On the day of the Lord’s sacrifice

I will punish the officials, the king’s sons,

and all who are dressed in foreign clothing.

⁹On that day^q I will punish

all who skip over the threshold,^Cr

who fill their master’s house

with violence and deceit.

¹⁰On that day—

this is the Lord’s declaration—

there will be an outcry from the Fish Gate,^s

a wailing from the Second District,^t

and a loud crashing from the hills.

¹¹Wail, you residents of the Hollow,^D

for all the merchants^E will be silenced;

all those loaded with silver will be cut off.

¹²And at that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps

and punish those who settle down comfortably,^Au

who say to themselves:

The Lord will do nothing—good or bad.^v

¹³Their wealth will become plunder

and their houses a ruin.

They will build houses but never live in them,

plant vineyards but never drink their wine.^w

¹⁴The great day of the Lord is near,^x

near and rapidly approaching.

Listen, the day of the Lord—

then the warrior’s cry is bitter.

¹⁵That day is a day of wrath,

a day of trouble and distress,

a day of destruction and desolation,

a day of darkness^y and gloom,

a day of clouds and total darkness,^z

¹⁶a day of trumpet and battle cry

against the fortified cities,

and against the high corner towers.

¹⁷I will bring distress on mankind,

and they will walk like the blind^aa

because they have sinned against the Lord.

Their blood will be poured out like dust

and their flesh like dung.

¹⁸Their silver and their gold

will be unable to rescue them

on the day of the Lord’s wrath.^a

The whole earth will be consumed

by the fire of his jealousy,^b

for he will make a complete,

yes, a horrifying end

of all the inhabitants of the earth.

A CALL TO REPENTANCE

2Gather yourselves together;

gather together, undesirable^B nation,

²before the decree^c takes effect

and the day passes like chaff,

before the burning of the Lord’s anger^d overtakes you,

before the day of the Lord’s anger overtakes you.^e

³Seek the Lord,^f all you humble^g of the earth,

who carry out what he commands.

Seek righteousness, seek humility;

perhaps you will be concealed^h

on the day of the Lord’s anger.

JUDGMENT AGAINST THE NATIONS

⁴For Gaza will be abandoned,

and Ashkelon will become a ruin.

Ashdod will be driven out at noon,

and Ekron will be uprooted.ⁱ

⁵Woe, inhabitants of the seacoast,

nation of the Cherethites!^Aj

The word of the Lord is against you,^k

Canaan, land of the Philistines:

I will destroy you until there is no one left.^l

⁶The seacoast will become pasturelands

with caves for shepherds and pens for sheep.

⁷The coastland will belong

to the remnant of the house of Judah;

they will find pasture there.

They will lie down in the evening

among the houses of Ashkelon,

for the Lord their God will return to them

and restore their fortunes.^m

⁸I have heard the tauntingⁿ of Moab

and the insults of the Ammonites,^o

who have taunted my people

and threatened their territory.

⁹Therefore, as I live—this is the declaration of the Lord of Armies,

the God of Israel—

Moab will be like Sodom^p

and the Ammonites like Gomorrah:^q

a place overgrown with weeds,

a salt pit, and a perpetual wasteland.

The remnant of my people will plunder them;

the remainder of my nation will dispossess them.

¹⁰This is what they get for their pride,

because they have taunted and acted arrogantly^r

against the people of the Lord of Armies.

¹¹The Lord will be terrifying to them

when he starves all the gods of the earth.

Then all the distant coasts and islands of the nations

will bow in worship to him,

each in its own place.

¹²You Cushites will also be slain by my sword.^s

¹³He will also stretch out his hand against the north

and destroy Assyria;

he will make Nineveh a desolate ruin,^t

dry as the desert.

¹⁴Herds will lie down in the middle of it,

every kind of wild animal.^B

Both eagle owls^C and herons^D

will roost in the capitals of its pillars.

Their calls will sound^E from the window,

but devastation^F will be on the threshold,

for he will expose the cedar work.^G

¹⁵This is the jubilant^u city

that lives in security,

that says to herself:

I exist, and there is no one else.

What a desolation she has become,

a place for wild animals to lie down!

Everyone who passes by her

scoffs^A and shakes his fist.