Zephaniah 1–2

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

The Coming Judgment on Judah

^2c“I will utterly sweep away everything

from the face of the earth,” declares the Lord.

³“I will sweep away ^dman and beast;

I will sweep away the birds of the heavens

and ^dthe fish of the sea,

and ^ethe rubble¹ with the wicked.

I will ^fcut 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;

^gand I will cut off from this place the remnant of Baal

and the name of the idolatrous priests along with the priests,

^5hthose who bow down on the roofs

to the host of the heavens,

ⁱthose who bow down and swear to the Lord

and yet swear by ^jMilcom,²

^6kthose who have turned back from following the Lord,

^lwho do not seek the Lord or inquire of him.”

The Day of the Lord Is Near

^7mBe silent before the Lord God!

For ⁿthe day of the Lord is near;

^othe Lord has prepared a sacrifice

and ^pconsecrated his guests.

⁸And on the day of the Lord’s sacrifice—

^q“I will punish the officials and the king’s sons

and ^rall who array themselves in foreign attire.

⁹On that day I will punish

everyone ^swho leaps over the threshold,

and those who fill their master’s³ house

with violence and fraud.

¹⁰“On that day,” declares the Lord,

“a cry will be heard from ^tthe Fish Gate,

^ua wail from ^vthe Second Quarter,

a loud crash from the hills.

^11wWail, O inhabitants of the Mortar!

For all the traders⁴ are no more;

all who weigh out silver are cut off.

¹²At that time ^xI will search Jerusalem with lamps,

and I will punish the men

^ywho are complacent,⁵

^zthose who say in their hearts,

‘The Lord will not do good,

nor will he do ill.’

¹³Their goods shall be ^aplundered,

and their houses laid waste.

^bThough they build houses,

they shall not inhabit them;

^cthough they plant vineyards,

they shall not drink wine from them.”

^14dThe great day of the Lord is near,

near and hastening fast;

the sound of the day of the Lord is bitter;

^ethe mighty man cries aloud there.

^15fA day of wrath is that day,

a day of distress and anguish,

a day of ^gruin and devastation,

^ha day of darkness and gloom,

^ha day of clouds and thick darkness,

¹⁶ⁱa day of trumpet blast and battle cry

^jagainst the fortified cities

and against the lofty battlements.

^17kI will bring distress on mankind,

so that they shall walk ^llike the blind,

because they have sinned against the Lord;

^mtheir blood shall be poured out like dust,

and their flesh ⁿlike dung.

^18oNeither their silver nor their gold

shall be able to deliver them

on the day of the wrath of the Lord.

^pIn the fire of his jealousy,

^qall the earth shall be consumed;

^rfor a full and sudden end

he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth.

Judgment on Judah’s Enemies

2Gather together, yes, gather,

O ^sshameless nation,

^2tbefore the decree takes effect¹

—before the day passes away ^ulike chaff—

^vbefore there comes upon you

the burning anger of the Lord,

before there comes upon you

the day of the anger of the Lord.

^3wSeek the Lord, ^xall you humble of the land,

who do his just commands;²

^yseek righteousness; seek humility;

^yperhaps ^zyou may be hidden

on the day of the anger of the Lord.

^4aFor Gaza shall be deserted,

and Ashkelon shall become a desolation;

Ashdod’s people shall be driven out at noon,

and Ekron shall be uprooted.

⁵Woe to ^byou inhabitants of the seacoast,

you nation of ^cthe Cherethites!

^dThe word of the Lord is against you,

^eO Canaan, land of the Philistines;

and I will destroy you ^funtil no inhabitant is left.

^6gAnd you, O seacoast, ^hshall be pastures,

with meadows³ for shepherds

and folds for flocks.

⁷ⁱThe seacoast shall become the possession

of ^jthe remnant of the house of Judah,

^hon which they shall graze,

and in the houses of Ashkelon

they shall lie down at evening.

For the Lord their God ^kwill be mindful of them

and ^lrestore their fortunes.

⁸“I have heard ^mthe taunts of Moab

and ⁿthe revilings of the Ammonites,

how they have taunted my people

and made boasts ^oagainst their territory.

⁹Therefore, ^pas I live,” declares the Lord of hosts,

the God of Israel,

“Moab shall become ^qlike Sodom,

and the Ammonites ^qlike Gomorrah,

a land possessed by nettles and salt pits,

and a waste forever.

The remnant of my people shall plunder them,

and the survivors of my nation shall possess them.”

¹⁰This shall be their lot in return ^rfor their pride,

because they taunted and boasted

against the people of the Lord of hosts.

¹¹The Lord will be awesome against them;

^sfor he will famish all the gods of the earth,

and ^tto him shall bow down,

each in its place,

all ^uthe lands of the nations.

^12vYou also, O Cushites,

shall be slain by my sword.

¹³And he will stretch out his hand against the north

^wand destroy Assyria,

and he ^xwill make Nineveh a desolation,

a dry waste like the desert.

^14yHerds shall lie down in her midst,

all kinds of beasts;⁴

^zeven the owl and the hedgehog⁵

shall lodge in her capitals;

a voice shall hoot in the window;

devastation will be on the threshold;

for ^aher cedar work will be laid bare.

¹⁵This is the exultant city

^bthat lived securely,

that said in her heart,

“I am, and there is no one else.”

What a desolation she has become,

^ca lair for wild beasts!

^dEveryone who passes by her

hisses and ^eshakes his fist.