1A message came to Zephaniah from the Lord. He was the son of Cushi. Cushi was the son of Gedaliah. Gedaliah was the son of Amariah. Amariah was the son of King Hezekiah. The Lord spoke to Zephaniah during the rule of Josiah. He was king of Judah and the son of Amon.

The Lord Will Judge the World

²“I will sweep away everything

from the face of the earth,”

announces the Lord.

³“I will destroy people and animals alike.

I will wipe out the birds of the air

and the fish in the waters.

I will destroy sinful people along with their gods.

I will wipe man off the face of the earth,”

announces the Lord.

The Lord Warns Judah

⁴“I will reach out my powerful hand against Judah.

I will punish all those who live in Jerusalem.

I will cut off from that place

what is left of Baal worship.

The officials and priests who serve other gods

will be removed.

⁵I will wipe out those who bow down on their roofs

to worship all of the stars.

I will destroy those who take oaths

not only in my name but also in the name of Molech.

⁶I will cut off those who stop following me.

They no longer look to me or ask me for advice.

⁷Be silent in front of me.

I am the Lord and King.

The day of the Lord is near.

I have prepared a sacrifice.

I have set apart for myself

the people I invited.

⁸When my sacrifice is ready to be offered,

I will punish the princes and the king’s sons.

I will also judge all those who follow

the practices of other nations.

⁹At that time I will punish

all those who worship other gods.

They fill the temples of their gods

with lies and other harmful things.

¹⁰“At that time people at the Fish Gate in Jerusalem

will cry out,” announces the Lord.

“So will those at the New Quarter.

The buildings on the hills will come crashing down

with a loud noise.

¹¹Cry out, you who live in the market places.

All of your merchants will be wiped out.

Those who trade in silver will be destroyed.

¹²At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps.

I will punish those who are so contented.

They are like wine that has not been shaken up.

They think, ‘The Lord won’t do anything.

It doesn’t matter whether it’s good or bad.’

¹³Their wealth will be stolen.

Their houses will be destroyed.

They will build houses.

But they will not live in them.

They will plant vineyards.

But they will not drink the wine they produce.

The Day of the Lord Is Coming

¹⁴“The great day of the Lord is near.

In fact, it is coming quickly.

Listen! The cries on that day will be bitter.

Even soldiers will cry out in fear.

¹⁵At that time I will pour out my anger.

There will be great suffering and pain.

It will be a day of horrible trouble.

It will be a time of darkness and gloom.

It will be filled with the blackest clouds.

¹⁶Trumpet blasts and battle cries will be heard.

Soldiers will attack cities

that have forts and corner towers.

¹⁷I will bring trouble on the people.

They will trip and fall as if they were blind.

They have sinned against me.

Their blood will be poured out like dust.

Their bodies will lie rotting on the ground.

¹⁸Their silver and gold

will not be able to save them

on the day I pour out my anger.

The whole world will be burned up

when my jealous anger blazes out.

Everyone who lives on earth

will come to a sudden end.”

2Gather your people together,

you shameful nation of Judah!

Gather them together!

²Come together before the appointed time arrives.

The day of the Lord will sweep in

like straw blown by the wind.

Soon the Lord’s anger will burn against you.

The day of his anger will come on you.

³So look to him, all of you people in the land

who worship him faithfully.

You always do what he commands you to do.

Continue to do what is right.

Don’t be proud.

Then perhaps the Lord will keep you safe

on the day he pours out his anger on the world.

A Message About Philistia

⁴Gaza will be deserted.

Ashkelon will be destroyed.

Ashdod will be emptied out at noon.

Ekron will be pulled up by its roots.

⁵How terrible it will be for you Kerethites

who live by the Mediterranean Sea!

Philistia, the Lord has spoken against you.

What happened to Canaan will happen to you.

The Lord says, “I will destroy you.

No one will be left.”

⁶The Kerethites live in the land by the sea.

It will become a place for shepherds and sheep pens.

⁷It will belong to those who are still left alive

among the people of Judah.

They will find grasslands there.

They will take over

the houses in Ashkelon and live in them.

The Lord their God will take care of them.

He will bless them with great success again.

A Message About Moab and Ammon

⁸The Lord says,

“I have heard Moab make fun of my people.

The Ammonites also laughed at them.

They told them that bad things

would happen to their land.

⁹So Moab will become like Sodom,”

announces the Lord who rules over all.

“Ammon will be like Gomorrah.

Weeds and salt pits will cover those countries.

They will be dry and empty deserts forever.

Those who are still left alive among my people

will take all of their valuable things.

So they will receive those lands as their own.

And that is just as sure as I am alive.”

The Lord is the God of Israel.

¹⁰Moab and Ammon will be judged

because they are so proud.

They made fun of the Lord’s people.

They laughed at them.

¹¹The Lord who rules over all will terrify Moab and Ammon.

He will destroy all of the gods on earth.

Then the nations on every shore will worship him.

All of them will serve him in their own lands.

A Message About Cush

¹²The Lord says, “People of Cush,

you too will be killed with my sword.”

A Message About Assyria

¹³The Lord will reach out his powerful hand against the north.

He will destroy Assyria.

He’ll leave Nineveh totally empty.

It will be as dry as a desert.

¹⁴Flocks and herds will lie down there.

So will creatures of every kind.

Desert owls and screech owls

will rest on its pillars.

Their cries will echo through the windows.

The doorways will be full of trash.

The cedar beams will be showing.

¹⁵Nineveh is a carefree city.

It lived in safety.

It said to itself,

“I am like a god.

No one is greater than I am.”

But it has been destroyed.

Wild animals make their home there.

All those who pass by laugh

and shake their fists at it.

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