Zephaniah 1:7-16

¶[Hush!] Be silent before the Lord GOD [there is no acceptable excuse to offer]! For the day [of the vengeance] of the LORD is near, For the LORD has prepared a sacrifice (Judah), He has set apart [for His use] those who have accepted His invitation [the Chaldeans who rule Babylon]. [Hab 2:20] “Then it will come about on the day of the LORD’S sacrifice That I will punish the princes and the king’s sons And all who are clothed in [lavish] foreign apparel [reflecting their paganism]. [Num 15:38, 39] “On that day I will also punish all those who leap over the temple threshold, Who fill their [pagan] lord’s temple with violence and deceit. “On that day,” declares the LORD, “There will be the sound of crying from the Fish (Damascus) Gate [in the northern wall of Jerusalem where invaders enter] And wailing from the Second Quarter [of the city], And a loud crash from the hills. “Wail [in anguish], you inhabitants of the Mortar (Valley of Siloam), For all the merchants of Canaan will be silenced and destroyed; All who weigh out silver will be cut off. “It will come about at that time That I will search Jerusalem with lamps And I will punish the men Who [like old wine] are stagnant in spirit, Who say in their hearts, ‘The LORD will not do good, nor will He do evil.’ “Furthermore, their wealth will become plunder And their houses a desolation. Yes, they will build houses but not live in them, And plant vineyards but not drink their wine.” [Deut 28:30, 39; Amos 5:11, 12] ¶The great [judgment] day of the LORD is near, Near and coming very quickly. Listen! The [voice of the] day of the LORD! The warrior cries out bitterly [unable to fight or to flee]. That day is a day of [the outpouring of the] wrath [of God], A day of trouble and distress, A day of destruction and devastation, A day of darkness and gloom, A day of clouds and thick darkness, [Jer 30:7; Joel 2:11; Amos 5:18] A day of trumpet and the battle cry [of invaders] Against the fortified cities And against the high corner towers (battlements).