Zephaniah 1:1–3:20

The 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.

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.