Zephaniah 1
1
1 The word of the Lord that 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.
2 While gathering, I will gather together all things from the face of the earth, says the Lord.
3 I will gather man and cattle; I will gather the flying things of the air and the fish of the sea. And the impious will be a catastrophe. And I will disperse men before the face of the earth, says the Lord.
4 And I will extend my hand over Judah and over all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And I will disperse from this place the remnant of Baal, and the names of the administrators along with the priests,
5 and those who adore the military campaign over the ceiling of the sky, both those who adore and swear by the Lord, and those who swear by Melchom,
6 both those who turn aside from following after the Lord, and those who have not sought the Lord, nor inquired about him.
7 Be silent before the face of the Lord God. For the day of the Lord is near; for the Lord has prepared a victim, he has sanctified those he has called.
8 And this shall be: in the day of the victim of the Lord, I will visit upon the leaders, and upon the sons of the king, and upon all who have been clothed with strange garments.
9 And I will visit upon all who enter arrogantly over the threshold in that day, those who fill the house of the Lord their God with iniquity and deceit.
10 And this shall be in that day, says the Lord: the voice of an outcry from the fish gate, and a howling from the Second, and a great contrition from the hills.
11 Howl, inhabitants of the Pillar. All the people of Canaan have fallen silent. All were ruined who had been wrapped in silver.
12 And this shall be in that time: I will scrutinize Jerusalem with lamps, and I will visit upon the men who have become stuck in the dregs, who say in their hearts, "The Lord will not do good, and he will not do evil."
13 And their strength will be in plundering, and their houses in the desert. And they will build houses and not dwell in them, and they will plant vineyards and not drink their wine.
14 The great day of the Lord is near; it is near and exceedingly swift. The voice of the day of the Lord is bitter; the strong will be tested there.
15 That day is a day of wrath, a day of tribulation and anguish, a day of calamity and misery, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and whirlwinds,
16 a day of the trumpet and the trumpet blast over fortified cities and over exalted ramparts.
17 And I will trouble men, and they will walk like the blind, because they have sinned against the Lord. And their blood will be poured out like soil, and their bodies like manure.
18 Neither their silver, nor their gold, will be able to free them in the day of the wrath of the Lord. All the land will be devoured in the fire of his zeal, for with all speed, he will bring to consummation every inhabitant of the land.
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Zephaniah 1
1
1The Lord gave this message to Zephaniah when Josiah son of Amon was king of Judah. Zephaniah was the son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah.
Coming Judgment against Judah
2“I will sweep away everything
from the face of the earth,” says the Lord.
3“I will sweep away people and animals alike.
I will sweep away the birds of the sky and the fish in the sea.
I will reduce the wicked to heaps of rubble,#1:3 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
and I will wipe humanity from the face of the earth,” says the Lord.
4“I will crush Judah and Jerusalem with my fist
and destroy every last trace of their Baal worship.
I will put an end to all the idolatrous priests,
so that even the memory of them will disappear.
5For they go up to their roofs
and bow down to the sun, moon, and stars.
They claim to follow the Lord,
but then they worship Molech,#1:5 Hebrew Malcam, a variant spelling of Molech; or it could possibly mean their king. too.
6And I will destroy those who used to worship me
but now no longer do.
They no longer ask for the Lord’s guidance
or seek my blessings.”
7Stand in silence in the presence of the Sovereign Lord,
for the awesome day of the Lord’s judgment is near.
The Lord has prepared his people for a great slaughter
and has chosen their executioners.#1:7 Hebrew has prepared a sacrifice and sanctified his guests.
8“On that day of judgment,”
says the Lord,
“I will punish the leaders and princes of Judah
and all those following pagan customs.
9Yes, I will punish those who participate in pagan worship ceremonies,
and those who fill their masters’ houses with violence and deceit.
10“On that day,” says the Lord,
“a cry of alarm will come from the Fish Gate
and echo throughout the New Quarter of the city.#1:10 Or the Second Quarter, a newer section of Jerusalem. Hebrew reads the Mishneh.
And a great crash will sound from the hills.
11Wail in sorrow, all you who live in the market area,#1:11 Or in the valley, a lower section of Jerusalem. Hebrew reads the Maktesh.
for all the merchants and traders will be destroyed.
12“I will search with lanterns in Jerusalem’s darkest corners
to punish those who sit complacent in their sins.
They think the Lord will do nothing to them,
either good or bad.
13So their property will be plundered,
their homes will be ransacked.
They will build new homes
but never live in them.
They will plant vineyards
but never drink wine from them.
14“That terrible day of the Lord is near.
Swiftly it comes—
a day of bitter tears,
a day when even strong men will cry out.
15It will be a day when the Lord’s anger is poured out—
a day of terrible distress and anguish,
a day of ruin and desolation,
a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and blackness,
16a day of trumpet calls and battle cries.
Down go the walled cities
and the strongest battlements!
17“Because you have sinned against the Lord,
I will make you grope around like the blind.
Your blood will be poured into the dust,
and your bodies will lie rotting on the ground.”
18Your silver and gold will not save you
on that day of the Lord’s anger.
For the whole land will be devoured
by the fire of his jealousy.
He will make a terrifying end
of all the people on earth.#1:18 Or the people living in the land.
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
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