1 The word of the LORD came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Ammon, king of Judah.
2 I will completely destroy everything from the face of the earth, says the Lord.
3 I will destroy men and beasts; I will destroy the birds of the air and the fish of the sea, and I will cut off the wicked; and I will wipe out men from the face of the earth, says the Lord.
4 I will stretch out my hand on Judah, and on all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and I will destroy from this place the remains of Baal, and the name of his idolatrous ministers with his priests;
5 and those who prostrate themselves on the housetops to the army of heaven, and those who prostrate themselves swearing by Jehovah and swearing by Milcom;
6 and those who turn away from following the Lord, and those who have not sought the Lord, nor consulted him.
7 Be silent before the Lord God, for the day of the Lord is near; for the LORD has prepared a sacrifice, and has prepared for his guests.
8 And on the day of the Lord’s sacrifice I will punish the princes, and the king’s sons, and all who wear foreign clothing.
9 Likewise I will punish on that day all those who break the gate, those who fill their masters’ houses with theft and deceit.
10 And there will be in that day, says the LORD, a voice of clamor from the Fish Gate, and a howling from the second gate, and great destruction from the hills.
11 Howl, inhabitants of Mactes, for all the merchant town is destroyed; destroyed are all those who brought money.
12 It will come to pass at that time that I will search Jerusalem with a lantern, and will punish the men who sit at ease like settled wine, who say in their hearts, The Lord will neither do good nor evil.
13 Therefore his goods will be plundered, and his houses will be laid waste; They will build houses, but they will not live in them, and they will plant vineyards, but they will not drink the wine from them.
14 The great day of the Lord is near, near and very near; The voice of the day of the Lord is bitter; the brave will shout there.
15 That day was a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of riot and desolation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and gloom,
16 a day of trumpet and shouting over the fortified cities, and over the tall towers.
17 And I will trouble men, and they will walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the Lord; and their blood will be shed like dust, and their flesh like dung.
18 Neither their silver nor his gold will be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord’s wrath, for the whole earth will be consumed with the fire of his jealousy; for it will certainly bring swift destruction to all the inhabitants of the earth.
1 Gather together and meditate, O shameless nation,
2 before the decree takes effect, and the day passes away like chaff; before the fierce anger of the LORD comes upon you, before the day of the wrath of the LORD comes upon you.
3 Seek the Lord, all you humble people of the earth, who have carried out his judgment; seek justice, seek meekness; perhaps you will be preserved in the day of the Lord’s anger.
4 For Gaza will be forsaken, and Ashkelon will be laid waste; They will sack Ashdod in broad daylight, and Ekron will be uprooted.
5 Woe to those who live on the coast of the sea, to the people of the Cherethites! The word of the LORD is against you, O Canaan, land of the Philistines, and I will destroy you until there is no inhabitant left.
6 And the coast of the sea will be pastures for shepherds, and pens for sheep.
7 That place will be for the remnant of the house of Judah; there they will feed; In the houses of Ashkelon they will sleep at night; for the Lord their God will visit them, and lift up their captivity.
8 I have heard the reproaches of Moab, and the insults of the children of Ammon with which they dishonored my people, and magnified themselves over their territory.
9 Therefore as I live, says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Moab will be like Sodom, and the children of Ammon like Gomorrah; nettle field, and salt mine, and perpetual desolation; The remnant of my people will plunder them, and the remnant of my people will inherit them.
10 This will come upon them because of their pride, because they have reproached and magnified themselves against the people of the Lord of hosts.
11 The Lord will be terrible against them, for he will destroy all the gods of the earth, and from his place all the lands of the nations will bow down to him.
12 You Ethiopians too will be killed by my sword.
13 And he will stretch out his hand over the north, and destroy Assyria, and make Nineveh a desolation and dry land like a desert.
14 Herds of cattle will make sheepfolds in it, all the beasts of the field; The pelican too and the hedgehog will sleep on the lintel of it; Her voice will sing in the windows; There will be desolation at the gates, because their cedar woodwork will be revealed.
15 This is the joyful city that she was confident in, the one that said in her heart: I, and no more. How it was devastated, made a den of wild beasts! Anyone who passes by her will mock her and shake her hand.
1 Woe to the rebellious and polluted and oppressive city!
2 She did not hear the voice, nor received the correction; she did not trust in Jehovah, she did not draw near to his God.
3 Her princes in her midst are roaring lions; her judges, nocturnal wolves that leave no bones for the morning.
4 Her prophets are lighthearted, prevaricating men; Her priests defiled the sanctuary and falsified the law.
5 The Lord is righteous in her midst, he will do no iniquity; in the morning he will bring to light his judgment, it will never fail; but the wicked know no shame.
6 He destroyed nations; their rooms are desolate; I made its streets deserted, until there was no one left; Their cities are devastated until there is no man left, until there is no inhabitant left.
7 He said: He will surely fear me; she will receive correction, and her dwelling will not be destroyed according to all that for which I punished her. But they hastened to corrupt all his deeds.
8 Therefore wait for me, says the Lord, until the day I arise to judge you; because my determination is to gather the nations, to gather the kingdoms, to pour out my anger on them, all the heat of my anger; By the fire of my zeal the whole earth will be consumed.
9 At that time I will restore purity of lips to the peoples, so that they may all call on the name of the Lord, so that they may serve him by common consent.
10 From the region beyond the rivers of Ethiopia they will supplicate me; The daughter of my scattered ones will bring my offering.
11 On that day you will not be put to shame for any of your works with which you rebelled against me; For then I will remove from your midst those who rejoice in your pride, and you will never again be proud on my holy mountain.
12 And I will leave among you a humble and poor people, who will trust in the name of the Lord.
13 The remnant of Israel will not do injustice or tell lies, nor will a deceitful tongue be found in their mouths; for they will be fed and will sleep, and there will be no one to make them afraid.
14 Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout for joy, O Israel; rejoice and be glad with all your heart, daughter of Jerusalem.
15 The Lord has turned away your judgments, he has cast out your enemies; Jehovah is King of Israel in your midst; You will never see evil again.
16 At that time it will be said to Jerusalem: Do not be afraid; Zion, do not let your hands weaken.
17 The Lord is in your midst, mighty, he will save; He will rejoice over you with joy, he will be silent in love, he will rejoice over you with songs.
18 I will gather together those who are weary because of the long time; Yours were, to whom her reproach was a burden.
19 Behold, at that time I will urge all your oppressors; and I will save her that lame, and I will gather her that is lost; and I will make you a praise and a name in all the earth.
20 At that time I will bring you, at that time I will gather you; For I will make you a name and a praise among all the people of the earth, when I lift up your captivity before your eyes, says the Lord.
