Zephaniah 3

The Wickedness of Jerusalem

3Woe to her who is rebellious and polluted,

To the oppressing city!

²She has not obeyed His voice,

She has not received correction;

She has not trusted in the Lord,

She has not drawn near to her God.

^3aHer princes in her midst are roaring lions;

Her judges are ^bevening wolves

That leave not a bone till morning.

⁴Her ^cprophets are insolent, treacherous people;

Her priests have ¹polluted the sanctuary,

They have done ^dviolence to the law.

⁵The Lord is righteous in her midst,

He will do no unrighteousness.

²Every morning He brings His justice to light;

He never fails,

But ^ethe unjust knows no shame.

⁶“I have cut off nations,

Their fortresses are devastated;

I have made their streets desolate,

With none passing by.

Their cities are destroyed;

There is no one, no inhabitant.

^7fI said, ‘Surely you will fear Me,

You will receive instruction’—

So that her dwelling would not be cut off,

Despite everything for which I punished her.

But ³they rose early and ^gcorrupted all their deeds.

A Faithful Remnant

⁸“Therefore ^hwait for Me,” says the Lord,

“Until the day I rise up ⁴for plunder;

My determination is to ⁱgather the nations

To My assembly of kingdoms,

To pour on them My indignation,

All My fierce anger;

All the earth ^jshall be devoured

With the fire of My jealousy.

⁹“For then I will restore to the peoples ^ka pure ⁵language,

That they all may call on the name of the Lord,

To serve Him with one accord.

^10lFrom beyond the rivers of Ethiopia

My worshipers,

The daughter of My dispersed ones,

Shall bring My offering.

¹¹In that day you shall not be shamed for any of your deeds

In which you transgress against Me;

For then I will take away from your midst

Those who ^mrejoice in your pride,

And you shall no longer be haughty

In My holy mountain.

¹²I will leave in your midst

ⁿA meek and humble people,

And they shall trust in the name of the Lord.

^13oThe remnant of Israel ^pshall do no unrighteousness

^qAnd speak no lies,

Nor shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth;

For ^rthey shall feed their flocks and lie down,

And no one shall make them afraid.”

Joy in God’s Faithfulness

^14sSing, O daughter of Zion!

Shout, O Israel!

Be glad and rejoice with all your heart,

O daughter of Jerusalem!

¹⁵The Lord has taken away your judgments,

He has cast out your enemy.

^tThe King of Israel, the Lord, ^uis in your midst;

You shall ⁶see disaster no more.

¹⁶In that day ^vit shall be said to Jerusalem:

“Do not fear;

Zion, ^wlet not your hands be weak.

¹⁷The Lord your God ^xin your midst,

The Mighty One, will save;

^yHe will rejoice over you with gladness,

He will quiet you with His love,

He will rejoice over you with singing.”

¹⁸“I will gather those who ^zsorrow over the appointed assembly,

Who are among you,

To whom its reproach is a burden.

¹⁹Behold, at that time

I will deal with all who afflict you;

I will save the ^alame,

And gather those who were driven out;

I will appoint them for praise and fame

In every land where they were put to shame.

²⁰At that time ^bI will bring you back,

Even at the time I gather you;

For I will give you ⁷fame and praise

Among all the peoples of the earth,

When I return your captives before your eyes,”

Says the Lord.