Zephaniah 1
1
1Yahweh’s#1:1 “Yahweh” is God’s proper Name, sometimes rendered “Lord” (all caps) in other translations. word which came to Zephaniah, the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah, the son of Amon, king of Judah.
2I will utterly sweep away everything from the surface of the earth, says Yahweh. 3I will sweep away man and animal. I will sweep away the birds of the sky, the fish of the sea, and the heaps of rubble with the wicked. I will cut off man from the surface of the earth, says Yahweh. 4I will stretch out my hand against Judah and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place—the name of the idolatrous and pagan priests, 5those who worship the army of the sky on the housetops, those who worship and swear by Yahweh and also swear by Malcam, 6those who have turned back from following Yahweh, and those who haven’t sought Yahweh nor inquired after him.
7Be silent at the presence of the Lord#1:7 The word translated “Lord” is “Adonai.” Yahweh, for the day of Yahweh is at hand. For Yahweh has prepared a sacrifice. He has consecrated his guests. 8It will happen in the day of Yahweh’s sacrifice that I will punish the princes, the king’s sons, and all those who are clothed with foreign clothing. 9In that day, I will punish all those who leap over the threshold, who fill their master’s house with violence and deceit.
10In that day, says Yahweh, there will be the noise of a cry from the fish gate, a wailing from the second quarter, and a great crashing from the hills. 11Wail, you inhabitants of Maktesh, for all the people of Canaan are undone! All those who were loaded with silver are cut off. 12It will happen at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the men who are settled on their dregs, who say in their heart, “Yahweh will not do good, neither will he do evil.” 13Their wealth will become a plunder, and their houses a desolation. Yes, they will build houses, but won’t inhabit them. They will plant vineyards, but won’t drink their wine.
14The great day of Yahweh is near. It is near and hurries greatly, the voice of the day of Yahweh. The mighty man cries there bitterly. 15That day is a day of wrath, a day of distress and anguish, a day of trouble and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness, 16a day of the trumpet and alarm against the fortified cities and against the high battlements. 17I will bring such distress on men that they will walk like blind men because they have sinned against Yahweh. Their blood will be poured out like dust and their flesh like dung. 18Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them in the day of Yahweh’s wrath, but the whole land will be devoured by the fire of his jealousy; for he will make an end, yes, a terrible end, of all those who dwell in the land.
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Zephaniah 1: WEBUS
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Zephaniah 1
1
1The word of the Lord which came to Zephaniah, the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah,#Hezekiah: it is possible, but not certain, that Zephaniah’s ancestor was King Hezekiah who reigned in Judah from 715 to 687 B.C. (2 Kgs 18–20). in the days of Josiah, the son of Amon, king of Judah.
I. The Day of the Lord: Judgment on Judah
2I will completely sweep away all things
from the face of the land—oracle of the Lord.
3I will sweep away human being and beast alike,
I will sweep away the birds of the sky,
and the fish of the sea.
I will make the wicked stumble;
I will eliminate the people
from the face of the land—oracle of the Lord.#Hos 4:3.
4I will stretch out my hand against Judah,
and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem;
I will eliminate from this place
the last vestige of Baal,
the name of the idolatrous priests.
5And those who bow down on the roofs
to the host of heaven,#The host of heaven: the sun, moon, planets, and stars, the worship of which became widespread in Judah under Assyrian influence. Milcom: the god of the Ammonites; cf. 1 Kgs 11:5, 7, 33; 2 Kgs 23:13.
And those who bow down to the Lord
but swear by Milcom;#Jer 8:2; 2 Kgs 23:13.
6And those who have turned away from the Lord,
and those who have not sought the Lord,
who have not inquired of him.
7Silence in the presence of the Lord God!
for near is the day of the Lord,
Yes, the Lord has prepared a sacrifice,
he has consecrated his guests.#He has consecrated his guests: God has consecrated the troops, presumably foreign, who have been invited to share in the spoil on the day of slaughter.#Is 34:6; Am 5:18.
8On the day of the Lord’s sacrifice
I will punish the officials and the king’s sons,
and all who dress in foreign apparel.
9I will punish, on that day,
all who leap over the threshold,#Leap over the threshold: the reference may be to a religious ritual like that practiced by the priests of the Philistine deity Dagon (1 Sm 5:5).
Who fill the house of their master
with violence and deceit.
10On that day—oracle of the Lord—
A cry will be heard from the Fish Gate,
a wail from the Second Quarter,#The Second Quarter…Maktesh: sections of Jerusalem (cf. 2 Kgs 22:14).
loud crashing from the hills.
11Wail, O inhabitants of Maktesh!
for all the merchants are destroyed,
all who weigh out silver, done away with.
12At that time,
I will search Jerusalem with lamps,
I will punish the people
who settle like dregs in wine,#Settle like dregs in wine: those who are overconfident because, like the sediment that settles to the bottom of a bottle of wine, they have remained at peace and undisturbed for a long time.
Who say in their hearts,
“The Lord will not do good,
nor will he do harm.”
13Their wealth shall be given to plunder
and their houses to devastation;
They will build houses,
but not dwell in them;
They will plant vineyards,
but not drink their wine.#Am 5:11.
14Near is the great day of the Lord,
near and very swiftly coming.
The sound of the day of the Lord! Piercing—
there a warrior shrieks!
15A day of wrath is that day,
a day of distress and anguish,
a day of ruin and desolation,
A day of darkness and gloom,
a day of thick black clouds,#Is 13:9; Jl 2:1–2.
16A day of trumpet blasts and battle cries
against fortified cities,
against lofty battlements.#Am 2:2.
17I will hem the people in
till they walk like the blind,
because they have sinned against the Lord;
And their blood shall be poured out like dust,
and their bowels like dung.
18Neither their silver nor their gold
will be able to save them.
On the day of the Lord’s wrath,
in the fire of his passion,
all the earth will be consumed.
For he will make an end, yes, a sudden end,
of all who live on the earth.#Zep 3:8; Jer 4:26–27.
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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc