Zephaniah 3

Jerusalem

3Woe to the city of oppressors,^s

rebellious^t and defiled!^u

²She obeys^v no one,

she accepts no correction.^w

She does not trust^x in the Lord,

she does not draw near^y to her God.

³Her officials within her

are roaring lions;^z

her rulers are evening wolves,^a

who leave nothing for the morning.^b

⁴Her prophets are unprincipled;

they are treacherous people.^c

Her priests profane the sanctuary

and do violence to the law.^d

⁵The Lord within her is righteous;^e

he does no wrong.^f

Morning by morning^g he dispenses his justice,

and every new day he does not fail,^h

yet the unrighteous know no shame.ⁱ

Jerusalem Remains Unrepentant

⁶“I have destroyed nations;

their strongholds are demolished.

I have left their streets deserted,

with no one passing through.

Their cities are laid waste;^j

they are deserted and empty.

⁷Of Jerusalem I thought,

‘Surely you will fear me

and accept correction!’^k

Then her place of refuge^a would not be destroyed,

nor all my punishments come upon^b her.

But they were still eager

to act corruptly^l in all they did.

⁸Therefore wait^m for me,”

declares the Lord,

“for the day I will stand up to testify.^c

I have decided to assembleⁿ the nations,^o

to gather the kingdoms

and to pour out my wrath^p on them—

all my fierce anger.^q

The whole world will be consumed^r

by the fire of my jealous anger.

Restoration of Israel’s Remnant

⁹“Then I will purify the lips of the peoples,

that all of them may call^s on the name of the Lord^t

and serve^u him shoulder to shoulder.

¹⁰From beyond the rivers of Cush^dv

my worshipers, my scattered people,

will bring me offerings.^w

¹¹On that day you, Jerusalem, will not be put to shame^x

for all the wrongs you have done to me,^y

because I will remove from you

your arrogant boasters.^z

Never again will you be haughty

on my holy hill.^a

¹²But I will leave within you

the meek^b and humble.

The remnant of Israel

will trust^c in the name of the Lord.

¹³They^d will do no wrong;^e

they will tell no lies.^f

A deceitful tongue

will not be found in their mouths.^g

They will eat and lie down^h

and no one will make them afraid.ⁱ”

¹⁴Sing, Daughter Zion;^j

shout aloud,^k Israel!

Be glad and rejoice^l with all your heart,

Daughter Jerusalem!

¹⁵The Lord has taken away your punishment,

he has turned back your enemy.

The Lord, the King of Israel, is with you;^m

never again will you fearⁿ any harm.^o

¹⁶On that day

they will say to Jerusalem,

“Do not fear, Zion;

do not let your hands hang limp.^p

¹⁷The Lord your God is with you,

the Mighty Warrior who saves.^q

He will take great delight^r in you;

in his love he will no longer rebuke you,^s

but will rejoice over you with singing.”^t

¹⁸“I will remove from you

all who mourn over the loss of your appointed festivals,

which is a burden and reproach for you.

¹⁹At that time I will deal

with all who oppressed^u you.

I will rescue the lame;

I will gather the exiles.^v

I will give them praise^w and honor

in every land where they have suffered shame.

²⁰At that time I will gather you;

at that time I will bring^x you home.

I will give you honor^y and praise^z

among all the peoples of the earth

when I restore your fortunes^ea

before your very eyes,”

says the Lord.