Zephaniah 3:1–7

Jerusalem’s Rebellion and Redemption

¹What sorrow awaits rebellious, polluted Jerusalem,

the city of violence and crime!

²No one can tell it anything;

it refuses all correction.

It does not trust in the Lord

or draw near to its God.

³Its leaders are like roaring lions

hunting for their victims.

Its judges are like ravenous wolves at evening time,

who by dawn have left no trace of their prey.

⁴Its prophets are arrogant liars seeking their own gain.

Its priests defile the Temple by disobeying God’s instructions.

⁵But the Lord is still there in the city,

and he does no wrong.

Day by day he hands down justice,

and he does not fail.

But the wicked know no shame.

⁶“I have wiped out many nations,

devastating their fortress walls and towers.

Their streets are now deserted;

their cities lie in silent ruin.

There are no survivors—

none at all.

⁷I thought, ‘Surely they will have reverence for me now!

Surely they will listen to my warnings.

Then I won’t need to strike again,

destroying their homes.’

But no, they get up early

to continue their evil deeds.