Zephaniah 1
1
1The Lord gave this message to Zephaniah when Josiah son of Amon was king of Judah. Zephaniah was the son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah.
Coming Judgment against Judah
2“I will sweep away everything
from the face of the earth,” says the Lord.
3“I will sweep away people and animals alike.
I will sweep away the birds of the sky and the fish in the sea.
I will reduce the wicked to heaps of rubble,#1:3 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
and I will wipe humanity from the face of the earth,” says the Lord.
4“I will crush Judah and Jerusalem with my fist
and destroy every last trace of their Baal worship.
I will put an end to all the idolatrous priests,
so that even the memory of them will disappear.
5For they go up to their roofs
and bow down to the sun, moon, and stars.
They claim to follow the Lord,
but then they worship Molech,#1:5 Hebrew Malcam, a variant spelling of Molech; or it could possibly mean their king. too.
6And I will destroy those who used to worship me
but now no longer do.
They no longer ask for the Lord’s guidance
or seek my blessings.”
7Stand in silence in the presence of the Sovereign Lord,
for the awesome day of the Lord’s judgment is near.
The Lord has prepared his people for a great slaughter
and has chosen their executioners.#1:7 Hebrew has prepared a sacrifice and sanctified his guests.
8“On that day of judgment,”
says the Lord,
“I will punish the leaders and princes of Judah
and all those following pagan customs.
9Yes, I will punish those who participate in pagan worship ceremonies,
and those who fill their masters’ houses with violence and deceit.
10“On that day,” says the Lord,
“a cry of alarm will come from the Fish Gate
and echo throughout the New Quarter of the city.#1:10 Or the Second Quarter, a newer section of Jerusalem. Hebrew reads the Mishneh.
And a great crash will sound from the hills.
11Wail in sorrow, all you who live in the market area,#1:11 Or in the valley, a lower section of Jerusalem. Hebrew reads the Maktesh.
for all the merchants and traders will be destroyed.
12“I will search with lanterns in Jerusalem’s darkest corners
to punish those who sit complacent in their sins.
They think the Lord will do nothing to them,
either good or bad.
13So their property will be plundered,
their homes will be ransacked.
They will build new homes
but never live in them.
They will plant vineyards
but never drink wine from them.
14“That terrible day of the Lord is near.
Swiftly it comes—
a day of bitter tears,
a day when even strong men will cry out.
15It will be a day when the Lord’s anger is poured out—
a day of terrible distress and anguish,
a day of ruin and desolation,
a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and blackness,
16a day of trumpet calls and battle cries.
Down go the walled cities
and the strongest battlements!
17“Because you have sinned against the Lord,
I will make you grope around like the blind.
Your blood will be poured into the dust,
and your bodies will lie rotting on the ground.”
18Your silver and gold will not save you
on that day of the Lord’s anger.
For the whole land will be devoured
by the fire of his jealousy.
He will make a terrifying end
of all the people on earth.#1:18 Or the people living in the land.
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Zephaniah 1: NLT
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Zephaniah 1
1
1This is the word of the Lord that came through Zephaniah while Josiah son of Amon was king of Judah. Zephaniah was the son of Cushi, who was the son of Gedaliah. Gedaliah was the son of Amariah, who was the son of Hezekiah.
The Lord’s Judgment
2“I will sweep away everything
from the earth,” says the Lord.
3“I will sweep away the people and animals;
I will destroy the birds in the air
and the fish of the sea.
I will ruin the evil people,
and I will remove human beings from the earth,” says the Lord.
The Future of Judah
4“I will punish Judah
and all the people living in Jerusalem.
I will remove from this place
all signs of Baal, the false priests, and the other priests.
5I will destroy those who worship
the stars from the roofs,
and those who worship and make promises
by both the Lord and the god Molech,
6and those who turned away from the Lord,
and those who quit following the Lord and praying to him for direction.
7Be silent before the Lord God,
because the Lord’s day for judging people is coming soon.
The Lord has prepared a sacrifice;
he has made holy his invited guests.
8On the day of the Lord’s sacrifice,
I, the Lord, will punish the princes and the king’s sons
and all those who wear foreign clothes.
9On that day I will punish those who worship Dagon,
those who hurt others and tell lies in the temples of their gods.
10“On that day,” says the Lord,
“a cry will be heard at the Fish Gate.
A wail will come from the new area of the city,
and a loud crash will echo from the hills.
11Cry, you people living in the market area,
because all the merchants will be dead;
all the silver traders will be gone.
12At that time I, the Lord, will search Jerusalem with lamps.
I will punish those who are satisfied with themselves,
who think, ‘The Lord won’t help us or punish us.’
13Their wealth will be stolen
and their houses destroyed.
They may build houses,
but they will not live in them.
They may plant vineyards,
but they will not drink any wine from them.
The Lord’s Day of Judging
14“The Lord’s day of judging is coming soon;
it is near and coming fast.
The cry will be very sad on the day of the Lord;
even soldiers will cry.
15That day will be a day of anger,
a day of terror and trouble,
a day of destruction and ruin,
a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and blackness,
16a day of alarms and battle cries.
‘Attack the strong, walled cities!
Attack the corner towers!’
17I will make life hard on the people;
they will walk around like the blind,
because they have sinned against the Lord.
Their blood will be poured out like dust,
and their insides will be dumped like trash.
18On the day that God will show his anger,
neither their silver nor gold will save them.
The Lord’s anger will be like a fire
that will burn up the whole world;
suddenly he will bring an end, yes, an end
to everyone on earth.”
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