Zephaniah 1
1
1 #
2 Kgs 22.1—23.30; 2 Chr 34.1—35.27 This is the message that the LORD gave to Zephaniah during the time that Josiah son of Amon was king of Judah. (Zephaniah was descended from King Hezekiah through Amariah, Gedaliah, and Cushi.)
The Day of the LORD's Judgement
2The LORD said, “I am going to destroy everything on earth, 3all human beings and animals, birds and fish. I will bring about the downfall of#1.3 Probable text I will bring about the downfall of; Hebrew the stumbling blocks. the wicked. I will destroy the whole human race, and no survivors will be left. I, the LORD, have spoken.
4“I will punish the people of Jerusalem and of all Judah. I will destroy the last trace of the worship of Baal there, and no one will even remember the pagan priests who serve him. 5I will destroy anyone who goes up on the roof and worships the sun, the moon, and the stars. I will also destroy those who worship me and swear loyalty to me, but then take oaths in the name of the god Molech. 6I will destroy those who have turned back and no longer follow me, those who do not come to me or ask me to guide them.”
7The day is near when the LORD will sit in judgement; so be silent in his presence. The LORD is preparing to sacrifice his people and has invited enemies to plunder Judah. 8“On that day of slaughter,” says the LORD, “I will punish the officials, the king's sons, and all who practise foreign customs. 9I will punish all who worship like pagans and who steal and kill in order to fill their master's house#1.9 their master's house; or the temple of their god. with loot.
10“On that day,” says the LORD, “you will hear the sound of crying at the Fish Gate in Jerusalem. You will hear wailing in the newer part of the city and a great crashing sound in the hills. 11Wail and cry when you hear this, you that live in the lower part of the city, because all the merchants will be dead!
12“At that time I will take a lamp and search Jerusalem. I will punish the people who are self-satisfied and confident, who say to themselves, ‘The LORD never does anything, one way or the other.’ 13Their wealth will be looted and their houses destroyed. They will never live in the houses they are building or drink wine from the vineyards they are planting.”
14The great day of the LORD is near — very near and coming fast! That will be a bitter day, for even#1.14 That… even; or Listen! That terrible day is coming when even. the bravest soldiers will cry out in despair! 15It will be a day of fury, a day of trouble and distress, a day of ruin and destruction, a day of darkness and gloom, a black and cloudy day, 16a day filled with the sound of war trumpets and the battle cry of soldiers attacking fortified cities and high towers.
17The LORD says, “I will bring such disasters on mankind that everyone will grope about like someone blind. They have sinned against me, and now their blood will be poured out like water, and their dead bodies will lie rotting on the ground.”
18On the day when the LORD shows his fury, not even all their silver and gold will save them. The whole earth will be destroyed by the fire of his anger. He will put an end — a sudden end — to everyone who lives on earth.
Currently Selected:
Zephaniah 1: GNBUK
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.
Zephaniah 1
1
1The word of Jehovah that came unto 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 take away everything from off the face of the ground, saith Jehovah: 3I will take away man and beast; I will take away the fowl of the heavens and the fishes of the sea, and the stumbling-blocks with the wicked, and I will cut off mankind from off the face of the ground, saith Jehovah. 4And I will stretch forth my hand upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, the name of the Chemarim with the priests; 5and them that bow down to the host of the heavens upon the housetops; and them that bow down to Jehovah, that swear by him, and swear by Malcham; 6and them that turn back from after Jehovah, and that do not seek Jehovah, nor inquire for him.
7Be silent at the presence of the Lord Jehovah; for the day of Jehovah is at hand; for Jehovah hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath hallowed his guests. 8And it shall come to pass in the day of Jehovah's sacrifice, that I will punish the princes, and the king's sons, and all such as are clothed with foreign apparel. 9And in that day will I punish all those that leap over the threshold, who fill their master's house with violence and deceit. 10And in that day, saith Jehovah, there shall be the noise of a cry from the fish-gate, and a howling from the second quarter, and a great crashing from the hills. 11Howl, ye inhabitants of Maktesh; for all the people of Canaan are cut down, all they that are laden with silver are cut off. 12And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and punish the men that are settled on their lees, that say in their heart, Jehovah will not do good, neither will he do evil. 13And their wealth shall become a booty, and their houses a desolation; and they shall build houses, and not inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and not drink the wine thereof.
14The great day of Jehovah is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly. The voice of the day of Jehovah: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly. 15That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of ruin and desolation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and gross darkness, 16a day of the trumpet and alarm, against the fenced cities and against the high battlements. 17And I will bring distress upon men, and they shall walk like blind men; for they have sinned against Jehovah; and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as dung: 18their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them, in the day of Jehovah's wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for a full end, yea, a sudden end, shall he make of all them that dwell in the land.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
First published in 1890. This edition is maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.