Zephaniah 3

Judgment on Jerusalem and the Nations

3Woe to her who is rebellious and defiled,

^fthe oppressing city!

²She listens to no voice;

^gshe accepts no correction.

^hShe does not trust in the Lord;

she does not draw near to her God.

³ⁱHer officials within her

are roaring lions;

her judges are ^jevening wolves

that leave nothing till the morning.

^4kHer prophets are fickle, treacherous men;

^kher priests ^lprofane what is holy;

they do violence to the law.

⁵The Lord within her ^mis righteous;

he does no injustice;

every morning he shows forth his justice;

each dawn he does not fail;

but ⁿthe unjust knows no shame.

^6o“I have cut off nations;

their battlements are in ruins;

I have laid waste their streets

^pso that no one walks in them;

their cities have been made desolate,

without a man, without an inhabitant.

^7qI said, ‘Surely you will fear me;

^ryou will accept correction.

Then your¹ dwelling would not be cut off

according to all that I have appointed against you.’²

But ^sall the more they were eager

to make all their deeds corrupt.

⁸“Therefore ^twait for me,” declares the Lord,

“for the day when I rise up to seize the prey.

For my decision is ^uto gather nations,

to assemble kingdoms,

to pour out upon them my indignation,

all my burning anger;

for in the fire of my jealousy

^vall the earth shall be consumed.

The Conversion of the Nations

⁹“For at that time I will change the speech of the peoples

to ^wa pure speech,

that all of them may call upon the name of the Lord

and serve him with one accord.

^10xFrom beyond the rivers ^yof Cush

my worshipers, the daughter of my dispersed ones,

shall bring my offering.

^11z“On that day ^ayou shall not be put to shame

because of the deeds by which you have rebelled against me;

for then ^bI will remove from your midst

your proudly exultant ones,

and ^cyou shall no longer be haughty

in my holy mountain.

¹²But I will leave in your midst

a people ^dhumble and lowly.

^eThey shall seek refuge in the name of the Lord,

^13fthose who are left in Israel;

they ^gshall do no injustice

and speak no lies,

^hnor shall there be found in their mouth

a deceitful tongue.

ⁱFor they shall graze and lie down,

and none shall make them afraid.”

Israel’s Joy and Restoration

^14jSing aloud, O daughter of Zion;

shout, O Israel!

Rejoice and exult with all your heart,

O daughter of Jerusalem!

¹⁵The Lord has taken away the judgments against you;

he has cleared away your enemies.

^kThe King of Israel, ^lthe Lord, is in your midst;

you shall never again fear evil.

^16zOn that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:

“Fear not, O Zion;

^mlet not your hands grow weak.

^17lThe Lord your God is in your midst,

ⁿa mighty one who will save;

^ohe will rejoice over you with gladness;

he will quiet you by his love;

he will exult over you with loud singing.

¹⁸I will gather those of you who mourn ^pfor the festival,

so that you will no longer suffer reproach.³

¹⁹Behold, at that time ^qI will deal

with all your oppressors.

And ^rI will save the lame

and gather the outcast,

and I will change ^stheir shame into ^tpraise

and renown in all the earth.

^20uAt that time I will bring you in,

at the time when I gather you together;

for I will make you renowned and praised

among all the peoples of the earth,

^vwhen I restore your fortunes

before your eyes,” says the Lord.