Zephaniah 1
1
1The word of the Lord which came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.
2“I will utterly sweep away everything
from the face of the earth,” says the Lord.
3“I will sweep away man and beast;
I will sweep away the birds of the air
and the fish of the sea.
I will overthrow#1.3 Cn: Heb the stumbling blocks the wicked;
I will cut off mankind
from the face of the earth,” says the Lord.
4“I will stretch out my hand against Judah,
and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem;
and I will cut off from this place the remnant of Baal
and the name of the idolatrous priests;#1.4 Compare Gk: Heb idolatrous priests with the priests
5those who bow down on the roofs
to the host of the heavens;
those who bow down and swear to the Lord
and yet swear by Milcom;
6those who have turned back from following the Lord,
who do not seek the Lord or inquire of him.”
7 #
Hab 2.20; Zech 2.13. Be silent before the Lord God!
For the day of the Lord is at hand;
the Lord has prepared a sacrifice
and consecrated his guests.
8And on the day of the Lord's sacrifice—
“I will punish the officials and the king's sons
and all who array themselves in foreign attire.
9On that day I will punish
every one who leaps over the threshold,
and those who fill their master's house
with violence and fraud.”
10“On that day,” says the Lord,
“a cry will be heard from the Fish Gate,
a wail from the Second Quarter,
a loud crash from the hills.
11Wail, O inhabitants of the Mortar!
For all the traders are no more;
all who weigh out silver are cut off.
12At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps,
and I will punish the men
who are thickening upon their lees,
those who say in their hearts,
‘The Lord will not do good,
nor will he do ill.’
13Their goods shall be plundered,
and their houses laid waste.
Though they build houses,
they shall not inhabit them;
though they plant vineyards,
they shall not drink wine from them.”
14The great day of the Lord is near,
near and hastening fast;
the sound of the day of the Lord is bitter,
the mighty man cries aloud there.
15A day of wrath is that day,
a day of distress and anguish,
a day of ruin and devastation,
a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and thick darkness,
16a day of trumpet blast and battle cry
against the fortified cities
and against the lofty battlements.
17I will bring distress on men,
so that they shall walk like the blind,
because they have sinned against the Lord;
their blood shall be poured out like dust,
and their flesh like dung.
18Neither their silver nor their gold
shall be able to deliver them
on the day of the wrath of the Lord.
In the fire of his jealous wrath,
all the earth shall be consumed;
for a full, yea, sudden end
he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth.
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Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America
Zephaniah 1
1
Judah and Jerusalem will be punished on the day of the Lord
1I 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 BC.#2 K 22.1—23.30; 2 Ch 34.1—35.27.
When Josiah son of Amon was king of Judah,#1.1 Josiah…king of Judah: Ruled 640-609 BC. 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 worshippers
of pagan gods#1.9 worshippers…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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© British and Foreign Bible Society 2012