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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Zephaniah 1: NABRE
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Zephaniah 1
1
1The LORD’s word that came to Zephaniah, Cushi’s son, Gedaliah’s grandson, Amariah’s great-grandson, and Hezekiah’s great-great-grandson in the days of Judah’s King Josiah, Amon’s son.
Judgment on the world and Judah
2I will wipe out everything from the earth, says the LORD.
3I will destroy humanity and the beasts;
I will destroy the birds in the sky and the fish in the sea.
I will make the wicked into a heap of ruins;
I will eliminate humanity from the earth, says the LORD.
4I will stretch out my hand against Judah
and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
I will eliminate what’s left of Baal from this place
and the names of the priests of foreign gods,#1.4 Or the name of the priests of foreign gods along with the priests
5those bowing down to the forces of heaven on the rooftops,
those swearing by the LORD along with those swearing by Milcom,
6those turning away from the LORD,
those who don’t seek the LORD and don’t pursue him.
The day of the LORD
7Hush before the LORD God,
for the day of the LORD is near!
The LORD has established a sacrifice;
he has made holy those he has summoned.
8On the day of the LORD’s sacrifice,
I will punish the princes, the king’s sons,
and all those wearing foreign clothes.
9I will punish the one leaping on the threshold on that day,
those filling the house of their master with violence and deceit.
10On that day—says the LORD—
an outcry will resound from the Fish Gate,
wailing from the second quarter,
a loud crash from the hills.
11The ones who grind the grain#1.11 Or keeper of the mortar will wail;
all the merchants will be silenced.
I will eliminate all those weighing out silver.
12At that time, I will search Jerusalem with lamps;
I will punish the men growing fat on the sediment in their wine,
those saying to themselves, The LORD won’t do good or evil.
13Their wealth will be looted and their houses destroyed.
They will rebuild houses, but not live in them;
they will plant vineyards, but not drink the wine.
14The great day of the LORD is near;
it is near and coming very quickly.
The sound of the day of the LORD is bitter.
A warrior screams there.
15That day is a day of fury,
a day of distress and anxiety,
a day of desolation and devastation,
a day of darkness and gloominess,
a day of clouds and deep darkness,
16a day for blowing the trumpet and alarm against their invincible cities
and against their high towers.
17I will make humanity suffer;
they will walk like the blind
because they sinned against the LORD.
Their blood will be poured out like dust
and their intestines like manure.
18Moreover, their silver and their gold won’t be able to deliver them
on the day of the LORD’s fury.
His jealousy will devour the entire land with fire;
he will make an end,
a truly horrible one,
for all the inhabitants of the land.
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