Zephaniah 1:7–18

^71aBe silent before the Lord ²God!

For the ^bday of the Lord is near,

For the Lord has prepared a ^csacrifice,

He has ^dconsecrated His guests.

⁸“Then it will come about on the day of the Lord’s sacrifice

That I will ^apunish the princes, the king’s sons

And all who clothe themselves with ^bforeign garments.

⁹“And I will punish on that day all who leap on the temple threshold,

Who fill the house of their ¹lord with ^aviolence and deceit.

¹⁰“On that day,” declares the Lord,

“There will be the sound of a cry from the ^aFish Gate,

A wail from the ^1bSecond Quarter,

And a loud crash from the ^chills.

¹¹“Wail, O inhabitants of the ¹Mortar,

For all the ²people of ^aCanaan will be silenced;

All who weigh out ^bsilver will be cut off.

¹²“It will come about at that time

That I will ^asearch Jerusalem with lamps,

And I will punish the men

Who are ^1bstagnant in spirit,

Who say in their hearts,

‘The Lord will ^cnot do good or evil!’

¹³“Moreover, their wealth will become ^aplunder

And their houses desolate;

Yes, ^bthey will build houses but not inhabit them,

And plant vineyards but not drink their wine.”

¹⁴Near is the ^agreat ^bday of the Lord,

Near and coming very quickly;

Listen, the day of the Lord!

¹In it the warrior ^ccries out bitterly.

¹⁵A day of wrath is that day,

A day of ^atrouble and distress,

A day of destruction and desolation,

A day of ^bdarkness and gloom,

A day of clouds and thick darkness,

¹⁶A day of ^atrumpet and battle cry

Against the ^bfortified cities

And the high corner towers.

¹⁷I will bring ^adistress on men

So that they will walk ^blike the blind,

Because they have sinned against the Lord;

And their ^cblood will be poured out like dust

And their ^dflesh like dung.

¹⁸Neither their ^asilver nor their gold

Will be able to deliver them

On the day of the Lord’s wrath;

And ^ball the earth will be devoured

In the fire of His jealousy,

For He will ^cmake a complete end,

Indeed a terrifying one,

Of all the inhabitants of the earth.