¹This is the word that the Lord spoke to Zephaniah, who was the son of Cushi, the grandson of Gedaliah, and the great-grandson of Amariah, son of Hezekiah. The Lord spoke his word in the days of Judah’s King Josiah, son of Amon.

The Lord Will Judge the Earth

²“I will gather everything on the face of the earth

and put an end to it,” declares the Lord.

³“I will put an end to humans and animals.

I will put an end to

the birds in the sky,

the fish in the sea,

and the sins that make people fall, together with the sinners.

I will remove all people from the face of the earth,” declares the Lord.

The Lord Will Judge Judah

⁴“I will use my power against Judah

and against those who live in Jerusalem.

I will remove the faithful few of Baal from this place

and the names of the pagan priests along with my priests.

⁵I will remove those who worship all the stars in the sky on their rooftops

and those who worship by swearing loyalty to the Lord

while also swearing loyalty to the god Milcom.^a

⁶I will remove those who have turned away from following the Lord

and those who no longer seek the Lord or ask him for help.”

⁷Be silent in the presence of the Almighty Lord,

because the day of the Lord is near.

The Lord has prepared a sacrifice.

He has invited his special guests.

⁸“On the day of the Lord’s sacrifice I will punish the officials,

the king’s sons, and all who dress in foreign clothing.^b

⁹On that day I will punish all who jump over the doorway

and all who fill their master’s house with violence and deception.

¹⁰On that day a loud cry will come from Fish Gate,

a howling from the Second Part of the city,

and a loud crashing sound from the hills,” declares the Lord.

¹¹“Howl, inhabitants of the Mortar,^c

because all the merchants will be destroyed

and all who handle money will be killed.

¹²“At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps and punish those

who are satisfied with their hardened lifestyle,

who think that the Lord won’t do anything—good or bad.

¹³Their wealth will be looted.

Their homes will be demolished.

They will build houses, but they won’t live in them.

They will plant vineyards, but they won’t drink their wine.”

The Day of the Lord

¹⁴The frightening day of the Lord is near.

It is near and coming very quickly.

Listen! Warriors will cry out bitterly on the day of the Lord.

¹⁵That day will be a day of overflowing fury,

a day of trouble and distress,

a day of devastation and desolation,

a day of darkness and gloom,

a day of clouds and overcast skies,

¹⁶a day of rams’ horns and battle cries

against the fortified cities

and against the high corner towers.

¹⁷“I will bring such distress on humans that they will walk like they are blind,

because they have sinned against the Lord.”

Their blood will be poured out like dust

and their intestines like manure.

¹⁸Their silver and their gold will not be able to rescue them

on the day of the Lord’s overflowing fury.

The whole earth will be consumed by his fiery anger,

because he will put an end, a frightening end,

to those who live on earth.

2ND CHAPTER

A Call for Judah to Turn Away from Sin

¹Gather yourselves together!

Yes, gather together, you shameless nation,

²before the decree is carried out

⸤and⸥ the day passes like windblown husks,

before the Lord’s burning anger comes to you,

before the day of the Lord’s anger comes to you.

³Search for the Lord, all you humble people in the land

who carry out his justice.

Search for what is right.

Search for humility.

Maybe you will find shelter on the day of the Lord’s anger.

The Lord Will Judge His People’s Enemies

⁴Gaza will be deserted,

and Ashkelon will be destroyed.

Ashdod will be driven out at noon,

and Ekron will be torn out by the roots.

⁵How horrible it will be for those who live on the seacoast,

for the nation from Crete.

The Lord’s word is against you, Canaan, the land of the Philistines:

“I will destroy you so that no one will be living there.”

⁶The seacoast will become pastureland

with meadows for shepherds

and fenced-off places for sheep.

⁷The coast will belong to the faithful few from the nation of Judah.

There they will graze their sheep.

In the evening they will lie down in the houses of Ashkelon.

The Lord their God will take care of them

and will restore their fortunes.

⁸“I have heard the insults from Moab and the mockery from Ammon.

They insulted my people and bragged about their territory.

⁹Therefore, I solemnly swear, as I live,”

declares the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel,

“Moab will become like Sodom, and Ammon will become like Gomorrah:

a place of weeds, salt pits, and ruins forever.

The faithful few of my people will loot them,

and those who are left in my nation will take possession of them.”

¹⁰This is what they will get for their sinful pride,

because they insulted the people who belong to the Lord of Armies

and made themselves greater than them.

¹¹The Lord will terrify them,

because he will make all the gods of the earth waste away.

So every person from every coast and nation will bow to him.

¹²“Even you, the people from Sudan,

you will also die by my sword.”

¹³The Lord will use his power against the north and destroy Assyria.

He will turn Nineveh into a deserted ruin,

a dried up wasteland like the desert.

¹⁴Flocks will lie down in it along with animals of every kind.

Even pelicans and herons will nest on top of its columns.

Listen! A bird will sing in a window.

The doorway will be in ruins,

because the Lord will expose the cedar beams.

¹⁵Is this the arrogant city?

Is this the city that used to live securely,

the city that used to think to itself,

“I’m the only one, and no one else exists but me”?

What a wasteland it is now, a resting place for wild animals!

All who pass by it will hiss and make an obscene gesture.

3RD CHAPTER

Jerusalem Will Be Destroyed

¹How horrible it will be for that rebellious

and corrupt place, the city of violence.

²It obeys no one.

It does not accept correction.

It does not trust the Lord.

It does not draw close to its God.

³Its officials are ⸤like⸥ roaring lions.

Its judges are ⸤like⸥ wolves in the evening.

They leave nothing to gnaw on for the morning.

⁴Its prophets are reckless and unfaithful.

Its priests contaminate what is holy.

They violate the teachings.

⁵The righteous Lord is in that city.

He does no wrong.

He brings his judgment to light every morning.

He does not fail.

But those who are perverted are shameless.

⁶“I will cut off the nations.

Their towers will be destroyed.

I will demolish their streets.

No one will walk through them.

Their cities will be completely destroyed.

Not a single person will be left.

No one will be living there.

⁷I said ⸤to my people⸥,

‘You will fear me.

You will accept correction!’

Then their homeland would not be wiped out

even though I have punished them.

Still, they continued to be corrupt in everything they did.”

⁸The Lord declares, “Just wait!

One day I will stand up as a witness.

I have decided to gather nations,

to bring kingdoms together,

and to pour my rage, my burning anger, on them.

The whole land will be consumed by my fiery fury.

Israel Will Turn Away from Sin

⁹“Then I will give all people pure lips

to worship the Lord

and to serve him with one purpose.

¹⁰From beyond the rivers of Sudan

my worshipers, my scattered people, will bring my offering.

¹¹On that day you will no longer be ashamed

of all your rebellious acts against me.

Then I will remove your arrogance

and never again will you act proud on my holy mountain.

¹²So with you I will leave a faithful few, a humble and poor people.

They will seek refuge in the name of the Lord.

¹³The faithful few in Israel will not do wrong, tell lies,

or use their tongues to deceive others.

They will graze their sheep and lie down,

and there will be no one to terrify them.”

Israel’s Joyful Song

¹⁴Sing happily, people of Zion!

Shout loudly, Israel!

Celebrate and rejoice with all your heart, people of Jerusalem.

¹⁵The Lord has reversed the judgments against you.

He has forced out your enemies.

The king of Israel, the Lord, is with you.

You will never fear disaster again.

¹⁶On that day Jerusalem will be told,

“Do not be afraid, Zion!

Do not lose courage!”

¹⁷The Lord your God is with you.

He is a hero who saves you.

He happily rejoices over you,

renews you with his love,

and celebrates over you with shouts of joy.

Israel Will Return Home

¹⁸“I will gather those among you who are troubled because of the festivals.

They bear a burden of disgrace.

¹⁹At that time

I will deal with all who have overpowered you.

I will rescue those who are lame.

I will gather those who have been scattered.

I will make them praised and famous in all the world,

though they had been ashamed.

²⁰At that time I will bring you ⸤home⸥.

Yes, at that time I will gather you together.

I will make you famous and praised among all the people of the earth

when I restore your fortunes right before your eyes,” says the Lord.

Read in Logos

Footnotes

a 1:5 Or “to their king.”
b 1:8 Wearing foreign clothing was a sign of worshiping foreign gods.
c 1:10–11 The Mortar was in the northern part of Jerusalem, the Second Part of the city, which could be entered through the Fish Gate.