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
Sophonias (Zephaniah) 1
1
1The word of the Lord that came to Sophonias the son of Chusi, the son of Godolias, the son of Amarias, the son of Ezechias, in the days of Josias the son of Amon king of Juda.
2Gathering, I will gather together all things from off the face of the land, saith the Lord:
3I will gather man, and beast, I will gather the birds of the air, and the fishes of the sea: and the ungodly shall meet with ruin: and I will destroy men from off the face of the land, saith the Lord.
4And I will stretch out my hand upon Juda, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem: and I will destroy out of this place the remnant of Baal, and the names of the wardens of the temples with the priests:
5And them that worship the host of heaven upon the tops of houses, and them that adore, and swear by the Lord, and swear by Melchom.
6And them that turn away from following after the Lord, and that have not sought the Lord, nor searched after him.
7Be silent before the face of the Lord God: for the day of the Lord is near, for the Lord hath prepared a victim, he hath sanctified his guests.
8And it shall come to pass in the day of the victim of the Lord, that I will visit upon the princes, and upon the king's sons, and upon all such as are clothed with strange apparel.
9And I will visit in that day upon every one that entereth arrogantly over the threshold: them that fill the house of the Lord their God with iniquity and deceit.
10And there shall be in that day, saith the Lord, the noise of a cry from the fish gate, and a howling from the Second, and a great destruction from the hills.
11Howl, ye inhabitants of the Morter. All the people of Chanaan is hush, all are cut off that were wrapped up in silver.
12And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and will visit upon the men that are settled on their lees: that say in their hearts: The Lord will not do good, nor will he do evil.
13And their strength shall become a booty, and their houses as a desert: and they shall build houses, and shall not dwell in them: and they shall plant vineyards, and shall not drink the wine of them.
14The great day of the Lord is near, it is near and exceeding swift: the voice of the day of the Lord is bitter, the mighty man shall there meet with tribulation.
15That day is a day of wrath, a day of tribulation and distress, a day of calamity and misery, a day of darkness and obscurity, a day of clouds and whirlwinds,
16A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high bulwarks.
17And I will distress men, and they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the Lord: and their blood shall be poured out as earth, and their bodies as dung.
18Neither shall their silver and their gold be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord: all the land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy, for he shall make even a speedy destruction of all them that dwell in the land.
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An historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.