Zephaniah 3

CHAPTER 3

The Unjust Knows No Shame

¹Woe to her who is ^arebellious and ^bdefiled,

The oppressive ^ccity!

²She ^adid not listen to any voice;

She ^bdid not receive discipline.

She did not ^ctrust in Yahweh;

She did not ^ddraw near to her God.

³Her ^aprinces in her midst are roaring lions;

Her judges are ^bwolves at evening;

They leave nothing to gnaw for the morning.

⁴Her prophets are ^areckless, treacherous men;

Her ^bpriests have profaned the sanctuary.

They have done violence to the law.

⁵Yahweh is ^arighteous ^bin her midst;

He will ^cdo no injustice.

^dEvery morning He brings His justice to light;

¹He does not fail.

But the unjust ^eknows no shame.

⁶“I have cut off nations;

Their corner towers are desolate.

I have made their streets ^aa waste,

With no one passing by;

Their ^bcities are laid waste,

Without a man, ^cwithout an inhabitant.

⁷“I said, ‘Surely you will fear Me,

^aReceive discipline.’

So her abode will ^bnot be cut off

According to all that I have appointed concerning her.

But they were eager to ^ccorrupt all their deeds.

Yahweh Will Pour Out His Anger

⁸“Therefore ^await for Me,” declares Yahweh,

“For the day when I rise up as a witness.

Indeed, My judgment is to ^bassemble nations,

To gather kingdoms,

To pour out on them My indignation,

All My burning anger;

For ^call the earth will be devoured

By the fire of My zeal.

⁹“For then I will change them to peoples with ^apurified lips,

That all of them may ^bcall on the name of Yahweh,

To serve Him ¹shoulder to shoulder.

¹⁰“From beyond the rivers of ^1aEthiopia

My ²worshipers, ³My scattered ones,

Will ^bbring My offerings.

¹¹“In that day you will ^afeel no shame

Because of all your deeds

By which you have transgressed against Me;

For then I will remove from your midst

Your ^bproud, exulting ones,

And you will never again be haughty

On My ^choly mountain.

¹²“But I will cause to remain in your midst

A ^1alowly and poor people,

And they will ^btake refuge in the name of Yahweh.

¹³“The ^aremnant of Israel will ^bdo no injustice

And ^cnot speak falsehood,

Nor will a deceitful tongue

Be found in their mouths;

For they will ^dfeed and lie down

With no one to make them tremble.”

Yahweh’s Joy in Restoring Israel

¹⁴Sing for joy, O daughter of Zion!

^aMake a loud shout, O Israel!

Be glad and exult with all your heart,

O daughter of Jerusalem!

¹⁵Yahweh has taken away ^aHis judgments against you;

He has cleared away your enemies.

The King of Israel, Yahweh, is ^bin your midst;

You will ^cfear evil no more.

^16aIn that day it will be said to Jerusalem:

“^bDo not fear, O Zion;

^cDo not let your hands fall limp.

¹⁷“Yahweh your God is ^ain your midst,

A ^bmighty one who will save.

He will ^cbe joyful over you with gladness;

He will ¹be quiet in His love;

He will rejoice over you with joyful singing.

¹⁸“I will assemble those who ^agrieve about the appointed feasts—

They were from you, O Zion;

The reproach of exile is a burden on ¹them.

¹⁹“Behold, I am going to deal at that time

With all those who ^aafflict you,

And I will save the ^blame

And gather the banished,

And I will turn them—in their ^cshame—into ^dpraise and a name

In all the earth.

²⁰“At that time I will ^abring you in,

Even at the time when I gather you together;

Indeed, I will give you to be a ^bname and praise

Among all the peoples of the earth,

When I ^crestore your fortunes before your eyes,”

Says Yahweh.