Zephaniah 1
1
Hand of Judgment Upon Idolaters
1The word of Adonai that came to Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah:
2I will totally sweep away everything from the face of the earth, declares Adonai.
3I will sweep away man and beast, I will sweep away the birds of the sky and the fish of the sea— also the stumbling blocks—the wicked. I will cut off mankind from the face of the earth, declares Adonai.
4“I will stretch out my hand upon Judah and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place —the names of the idolatrous priests along with the kohanim,
5those bowing down on the roofs to the host of the heavens. those bowing down, swearing to Adonai and also swearing by Molech
6those turning from following Adonai, not seeking Adonai or consulting Him.
The Day Is At Hand
7Be silent before Adonai God. For the day of Adonai is at hand! Adonai has prepared a sacrifice, He has consecrated his guests.
8On the day of Adonai’s sacrifice, I will punish the princes, the king’s sons and all who dress in foreign attire.
9In that day I will punish all who skip over the threshold while filling their master’s House with violence and deceit.
10In that day—declares Adonai— there will be the sound of screaming from the Fish Gate, wailing from the second district and a loud crash from the heights.
11Howl, inhabitants of Maktesh! For all the people of Canaan are destroyed. All who weigh out silver are cut off.
12At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps and punish the men whose spirits have hardened, who say in their hearts, ‘Adonai will do neither good nor evil.’
13Their wealth will become plunder, their houses a ruin. They will build houses but not live in them. They will plant vineyards but not drink their wine.
14The great day of Adonai is near— near and coming very quickly! The sound of the day of Adonai is bitter— the shouting of the warrior is there.
15That day is a day of wrath a day of trouble and distress, a day of devastating storm and desolation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness,
16a day of shofar and alarm against the fortified cities and against the high corner towers.
17I will bring such distress upon mankind that they will walk like the blind— for they have sinned against Adonai. Their blood will be poured out like dust, and their flesh like dung.
18Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to rescue them on the day of Adonai’s wrath. With the fire of His passion the entire earth will be consumed. For He will make a total, dreadful annihilation of all the inhabitants of the earth.
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Zephaniah 1: TLV
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Copyright © 2014 - Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society
Zephaniah 1
1
1 #
2 K 22.1—23.30; 2 Ch 34.1—35.27. I 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 b.c.
When Josiah son of Amon was king of Judah,#1.1 Josiah … king of Judah: Ruled 640–609 b.c. 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 worshipers
of pagan gods#1.9 worshipers … 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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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.