Zephaniah 1:4–13

The Future of Judah

⁴“I will punish Judah

and all the people living in Jerusalem.

I will remove from this place

all signs of Baal, the false priests, and the other priests.

⁵I will destroy those who worship

the stars from the roofs, ⁿ

and those who worship and make promises

by both the Lord and the god Molech,

⁶and those who turned away from the Lord,

and those who quit following the Lord and praying to him for direction.

⁷Be silent before the Lord God,

because the Lord’s day for judging people is coming soon.

The Lord has prepared a sacrifice;

he has made holy his invited guests.

⁸On the day of the Lord’s sacrifice,

I, the Lord, will punish the princes and the king’s sons

and all those who wear foreign clothes.

⁹On that day I will punish those who worship Dagon,

those who hurt others and tell lies in the temples of their gods.

¹⁰“On that day,” says the Lord,

“a cry will be heard at the Fish Gate.

A wail will come from the new area of the city,

and a loud crash will echo from the hills.

¹¹Cry, you people living in the market area,

because all the merchants will be dead;

all the silver traders will be gone.

¹²At that time I, the Lord, will search Jerusalem with lamps.

I will punish those who are satisfied with themselves,

who think, ‘The Lord won’t help us or punish us.’

¹³Their wealth will be stolen

and their houses destroyed.

They may build houses,

but they will not live in them.

They may plant vineyards,

but they will not drink any wine from them.