Zephaniah 1
1
1The word of the Lord that came to Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah,#2Kg 16:20; 18:1–20:21 in the days of Josiah#2Kg 22:1–23:30; 2Ch 34:1–36:1; Jr 1:2 son of Amon,#2Kg 21:18–25 king of Judah.
The Great Day of the Lord
2I will completely sweep away everything
from the face of the earth#Gn 6:7; 7:4 —
this is the Lord’s declaration.
3I will sweep away people and animals;#1Kg 14:10; Ezk 14:17
I will sweep away the birds of the sky
and the fish of the sea,
and the ruins#1:3 Perhaps objects connected with idolatry along with the wicked.#Is 13:9–12; Mt 13:41
I will cut off mankind
from the face of the earth.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
4I will stretch out my hand#Ex 3:20; Ps 138:7; Ezk 14:9; 25:7,16; Zph 2:13 against Judah
and against all the residents of Jerusalem.
I will cut off every vestige of Baal#1Kg 16:30–32
from this place,
the names of the pagan priests#2Kg 23:5
along with the priests;
5those who bow in worship on the rooftops#Jr 19:13; 32:29
to the stars in the sky;
those who bow and pledge loyalty to the Lord#Dt 6:13; Is 48:1
but also pledge loyalty to Milcom;#1:5 Some LXX mss, Syr, Vg; MT, other LXX mss read their king#1Kg 11:5; 2Kg 23:13; Jr 49:1,3
6and those who turn back from following the Lord,
who do not seek the Lord or inquire of him.
7Be silent in the presence of the Lord God,#Nm 13:30; Jdg 3:19; Hab 2:20; Zch 2:13
for the day of the Lord is near.#Zph 1:14,18; 2:2–3
Indeed, the Lord has prepared a sacrifice;#Is 34:6; Jr 46:10
he has consecrated his guests.#Lv 7:11–21; 1Sm 16:5; 2Ch 35:5–13; Jr 22:17
8On the day of the Lord’s sacrifice
I will punish the officials, the king’s sons,
and all who are dressed in foreign clothing.
9On that day#Zph 1:10; 3:11,16 I will punish
all who skip over the threshold,#1:9 Hb obscure#1Sm 5:5
who fill their master’s house
with violence and deceit.
10On that day —
this is the Lord’s declaration —
there will be an outcry from the Fish Gate,#2Ch 33:14; Neh 3:3; 12:39
a wailing from the Second District,#2Kg 22:14; 2Ch 34:22
and a loud crashing from the hills.
11Wail, you residents of the Hollow,#1:11 Or the market district
for all the merchants#1:11 Or Canaanites will be silenced;
all those loaded with silver will be cut off.
12And at that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps
and punish those who settle down comfortably,#1:12 Lit who thicken on their dregs#Ex 15:8; Is 25:6; Jr 48:11
who say to themselves:
The Lord will do nothing — good or bad.#Mal 2:17
13Their wealth will become plunder
and their houses a ruin.
They will build houses but never live in them,
plant vineyards but never drink their wine.#Dt 28:30; Am 5:11; Mc 6:15
14The great day of the Lord is near,#Is 13:6,9; Jl 1:15; 2:1,11,31; 3:14; Am 5:18,20; Ob 15; Zch 14:1; Mal 4:5
near and rapidly approaching.
Listen, the day of the Lord —
then the warrior’s cry is bitter.
15That day is a day of wrath,
a day of trouble and distress,
a day of destruction and desolation,
a day of darkness#Am 1:14; 5:18–20; Ob 12–14 and gloom,
a day of clouds and total darkness,#Ps 97:2; Ezk 34:12; Jl 2:2
16a day of ram’s horn and battle cry
against the fortified cities,
and against the high corner towers.
17I will bring distress on mankind,
and they will walk like the blind#Lm 4:14
because they have sinned against the Lord.
Their blood will be poured out like dust
and their flesh like dung.
18Their silver and their gold
will be unable to rescue them
on the day of the Lord’s wrath.#Ezk 7:19
The whole earth will be consumed
by the fire of his jealousy,#Ex 34:14; Dt 29:20; Ps 79:5; Zph 3:8; Zch 1:14; 8:2
for he will make a complete,
yes, a horrifying end
of all the inhabitants of the earth.
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Zephaniah 1: CSB
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© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers
Zephaniah 1
1
1This is the message that the Lord gave to Zephaniah. He received this message during the time that 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 Day for Judging the People
2The Lord says, “I will destroy everything on earth.#1:2 earth Or “the land” or “the country.” Also in verse 18. 3I will destroy all the people and all the animals. I will destroy the birds in the air and the fish in the sea. I will destroy the evil people and everything that makes them sin. I will remove all people from the earth.” This is what the Lord said.
4“I will punish Judah and the people living in Jerusalem. I will remove from this place any signs of Baal worship. No one will remember the priests who serve the idols there. 5And those who go up on their roofs to worship the stars#1:5 stars Literally, “army of heaven.” This might mean the stars and planets or the angels. will be forgotten. They worship me, the Lord, but they also use the name of the false god Milcom to make promises. 6They have turned away from me, the Lord. They have stopped following me. They no longer ask me, the Lord, for help.”
7Be silent before the Lord GOD, because the Lord’s day for judging the people is coming soon. The Lord has prepared his sacrifice, and he has told his invited guests to get ready.#1:7 prepared … get ready Literally, “prepared his sacrifice. He has made his called ones holy.” Here, this time of judgment is compared to a fellowship meal when priests offered a sacrifice to God and had the guests get ready for this special meal with God.
8The Lord said, “On the Lord’s day of sacrifice, I will punish the king’s sons and other leaders. I will punish all the people wearing clothes from other countries. 9At that time I will punish all the people who jump over the threshold#1:9 people wearing … threshold This probably means the priests and people who worshiped foreign gods, such as Dagon, or people who copied their ways of worshiping. See 1 Sam. 5:5. and those who fill their master’s house#1:9 master’s house This means the temple where the people worshiped God or their false gods. with lies and violence.”
10The Lord also said, “At that time people will be calling for help at Fish Gate in Jerusalem and mourning in the new part of town. They will hear the sound of destruction in the hills around the city. 11You people living in the lower part of town will cry, because all the traders and rich merchants will be destroyed.
12“At that time I will take a lamp and search through Jerusalem. I will find all those who are satisfied to live their own way. They say, ‘The Lord does nothing. He does not help, and he does not hurt!’ I will find them, and I will punish them. 13Then others will take their wealth and destroy their houses. Those who built houses will not live in them, and those who planted vineyards will not drink the wine from the grapes.”
14The Lord’s special day for judging is coming soon! It is near and coming fast. People will hear very sad sounds on the Lord’s special day of judgment. Even strong soldiers will cry. 15The Lord will show his anger at that time. It will be a time of terrible troubles and a time of destruction. It will be a time of darkness—a black, cloudy, and stormy day. 16It will be like a time of war when people hear horns and trumpets in the defense towers and protected cities.
17The Lord said, “I will make life very hard on the people. They will walk around like the blind who don’t know where they are going. That will happen because they sinned against the Lord. Their blood will be spilled on the ground. Their dead bodies will lie like dung on the ground. 18Their gold and silver will not help them! At that time the Lord will become very upset and angry. The Lord will destroy the whole world#1:18 world Or “land” or “country.”! He will completely destroy everyone on earth!”
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