Zephaniah 3

Chapter 3

Woe to Jerusalem and the Nations

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

The ^ctyrannical city!

²She ^aheeded no voice,

She ^baccepted no instruction.

She did not ^ctrust in the Lord,

She did not ^ddraw near to her God.

³Her ^aprinces within her are roaring lions,

Her judges are ^bwolves at evening;

They leave nothing for the morning.

⁴Her prophets are ^areckless, treacherous men;

Her ^bpriests have profaned the sanctuary.

They have done violence to the law.

⁵The Lord is ^arighteous ^bwithin her;

He will ^cdo no injustice.

^dEvery morning He brings His justice to light;

He does not fail.

But the unjust ^eknows no shame.

⁶“I have cut off nations;

Their corner towers are in ruins.

I have made their streets ^adesolate,

With no one passing by;

Their ^bcities are laid waste,

Without a man, ^cwithout an inhabitant.

⁷“I said, ‘Surely you will revere Me,

^aAccept instruction.’

So her dwelling will ^bnot be cut off

According to all that I have appointed concerning her.

But they were eager to ^ccorrupt all their deeds.

⁸“Therefore ^await for Me,” declares the Lord,

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

Indeed, My decision is to ^bgather nations,

To assemble 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 ¹give to the peoples ^apurified lips,

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

To serve Him ²shoulder to shoulder.

¹⁰“From beyond the rivers of ^aEthiopia

My ¹worshipers, ²My dispersed ones,

Will ^bbring My offerings.

¹¹“In that day you will ^afeel no shame

Because of all your deeds

By which you have rebelled 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.

A Remnant of Israel

¹²“But I will leave among you

A ^ahumble and lowly people,

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

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

And ^ctell no lies,

Nor will a deceitful tongue

Be found in their mouths;

For they will ^dfeed and lie down

With no one to make them tremble.”

¹⁴Shout for joy, O daughter of Zion!

^aShout in triumph, O Israel!

Rejoice and exult with all your heart,

O daughter of Jerusalem!

¹⁵The Lord has taken away ^aHis judgments against you,

He has cleared away your enemies.

The King of Israel, the Lord, is ^bin your midst;

You will ^cfear disaster no more.

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

“^bDo not be afraid, O Zion;

^cDo not let your hands fall limp.

¹⁷“The Lord your God is ^ain your midst,

A ^1bvictorious warrior.

He will ^cexult over you with joy,

He will ²be quiet in His love,

He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.

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

They ¹came from you, O Zion;

The reproach of exile is a burden on ²them.

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

With all your ^aoppressors,

I will save the ^blame

And gather the outcast,

And I will turn their ^cshame into ^dpraise and renown

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 ^brenown and praise

Among all the peoples of the earth,

When I ^crestore your fortunes before your eyes,”

Says the Lord.