Tzefanyah 1
1
1The Devar Hashem which came unto Tzephanyah ben Cushi, ben Gedalyah, ben Amaryah, ben Chizkiyah, in the yamim of Yoshiyahu (Josiah) ben Amon, Melech Yehudah.
2I will utterly sweep away all things from off the adamah, saith Hashem.
3I will sweep away Adam (humankind) and Behemah (beast, animal, cattle); I will sweep away Oph HaShomayim (Birds of the Air) and the Dagim of HaYam (Fish of the Sea), and the michsholim (stumbling blocks, what causes to fall into sin) with the resha'im; and I will cut off adam from off the adamah, saith Hashem.
4I will also stretch out Mine hand against Yehudah, and against all the inhabitants of Yerushalayim; and I will cut off from this place the she'ar HaBa'al (remnant of Ba'al), and the shem (name) of the Kemarim (the idolatrous priests)#1:4 See 2Kgs 23:5 with the [idolatrous] kohanim;
5And those that worship the Tz'va HaShomayim (Army of Heaven, star g-ds) upon the rooftops; and those that worship and that swear [oaths] by Hashem, but also swear by Milcom;#1:5 i.e., their King [Ba'al]
6And those that turned back from following Hashem; and those that have not sought Hashem, nor inquired of Him.
7Hold thy peace (keep silent) at the presence of Adonai Hashem: for the Yom Hashem is at hand; for Hashem hath prepared a zevach (sacrifice), Hashem hath consecrated His guests.#1:7 i.e., made HaKeru'im (the Invited ones) of Him His Mequddashim (Consecrated ones), i.e., the nations set apart to consume His apostate people, see Isa 13:3
8And it shall come to pass in the Yom Zevach Hashem, that I will punish the sarim (princes), and Bnei HaMelech, and all such as are clothed with malbush nochri (foreign apparel).
9In the same Yom also will I visit to punish all those that leap over the threshold,#1:9 See 1Sm 5:5 which fill their mastersʼ batim (houses) with chamas (violence) and mirmah (deceit).
10And it shall come to pass in that Yom, saith Hashem, that there shall be the noise of a cry from Sha'ar HaDagim, and a wail from the Second Quarter of the city, and a loud crash from the hills.
11Howl, ye inhabitants of HaMakhtesh,#1:11 a locality in Yerushalayim for all the merchants are cut down; all they that weigh out kesef are cut off.
12And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Yerushalayim with nerot (lamps), and visit to punish the [proud] men that are [complacently] settled on their lees;#1:12 wine dregs that say in their lev, Hashem will not do tov, neither will Hashem do rah.
13Therefore their goods shall become a booty, and their batim a desolation; they shall also build batim, but not inhabit them; and they shall plant kramim (vineyards), but not drink the yayin thereof.
14The Yom Hashem HaGadol is near, near and hastening quickly; the sound of the Yom Hashem is mar (bitter); there the gibbor (mighty man, warrior) cries aloud.
15That Yom is a Yom Evrah (day of wrath), a Yom Tzarah and Metzukah (a day of trouble and distress, pressure), a Yom of Sho'ah (catastrophe) and Meshoah (desolation), a Yom of Choshech and Afelah (gloom), a Yom of Anan and Arafel (thick darkness),
16A Yom of the Shofar and Teruah (battle cry) against the fortified cities, and against the high battlements.
17And I will bring distress upon adam, that they shall walk like ivrim, because they have sinned against Hashem; and their dahm shall be poured out like dust, and their bowels like dung.
18Neither their kesef nor their zahav shall be able to save them in the Yom Evrat Hashem (Day of Hashemʼs Wrath); but kol ha'aretz (the whole earth) shall be devoured by the eish of Hashemʼs kina (jealousy, zeal, passion); for He shall make a complete end, a terrible end, of kol yoshvei ha'aretz (all them that dwell on the earth).
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Tzefanyah 1: TOJB2011
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THE ORTHODOX JEWISH BIBLE
FOURTH EDITION © Artists For Israel Intl Inc., 2002-2011, 2021.
Zephaniah 1
1
1 #
2 K 22.1—23.30; 2 Ch 34.1—35.27. I am Zephaniah, the son of Cushi, the grandson of Gedaliah, the great-grandson of Amariah, and the great-great-grandson of Hezekiah.#1.1 Hezekiah: Ruled 716–687 b.c.
When Josiah son of Amon was king of Judah,#1.1 Josiah … king of Judah: Ruled 640–609 b.c. the Lord gave me this message.
Judgment on Judah
2I, the Lord, now promise
to destroy everything
on this earth—
3people and animals,
birds and fish.
Everyone who is evil
will crash to the ground,#1.3 Everyone … ground: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
and I will wipe out
the entire human race.
4I will reach out to punish
Judah and Jerusalem—
nothing will remain
of the god Baal;#1.4 Baal: A Canaanite fertility god.
nothing will be remembered
of his pagan priests.
5Not a trace will be found
of those who worship stars
from their rooftops,
or bow down to the god Milcom,#1.5 Milcom: An Ammonite fertility god.
while claiming loyalty
to me, the Lord.
6Nothing will remain of anyone
who has turned away
and rejected me.
7Be silent! I am the Lord God,
and the time is near.
I am preparing
to sacrifice my people
and to invite my guests.
8On that day I will punish
national leaders
and sons of the king,
along with all who follow
foreign customs.#1.8 follow foreign customs: Hebrew “wear foreign clothes.”
9I will punish worshipers
of pagan gods#1.9 worshipers … gods: The Hebrew text has “all who jump over the threshold,” which was a Philistine religious practice (see 1 Samuel 5.5).
and cruel palace officials
who abuse their power.
10I, the Lord, promise
that on that day
noisy crying will be heard
from Fish Gate, New Town,
and Upper Hills.
11Everyone in Lower Hollow#1.10,11 Fish Gate, New Town, and Upper Hills … Lower Hollow: Names for different sections of Jerusalem: Fish Gate was probably the main gate on the north side of the city; New Town was a newer section; Upper Hills may have been a suburb north of the city; Lower Hollow was probably on the southern edge of town.
will mourn loudly,
because merchants
and money changers
will be wiped out.
12I'll search Jerusalem with lamps
and punish those people
who sit there unworried
while thinking,
“The Lord won't do anything,
good or bad.”
13Their possessions will be taken,
their homes left in ruins.
They won't get to live
in the houses they build,
or drink wine from the grapes
in their own vineyards.
A Terrible Day
14The great day of the Lord
is coming soon, very soon.
On that terrible day,
fearsome shouts of warriors
will be heard everywhere.
15It will be a time of anger—
of trouble and torment,
of disaster and destruction,
of darkness and despair,
of storm clouds and shadows,
16of trumpet calls
and battle cries
against fortified cities
and mighty fortresses.
17The Lord warns everyone
who has sinned against him,
“I'll strike you blind!
Then your blood and your insides
will gush out like vomit.
18Not even your silver or gold
can save you on that day
when I, the Lord, am angry.
My anger will flare up
like a furious fire
scorching the earth
and everyone on it.”
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.