Zephaniah 1
1
1The word of the Lord that came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, #Jer. 1:2 in the days of #2 Kgs. 22:1Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.
The Coming Judgment on Judah
2 #
Jer. 8:13; [ver. 18; 2 Kgs. 22:16, 17] “I will utterly sweep away everything
from the face of the earth,” declares the Lord.
3“I will sweep away #Hos. 4:3 man and beast;
I will sweep away the birds of the heavens
and #Hos. 4:3 the fish of the sea,
and #See Ezek. 7:19 the rubble#1:3 Or stumbling blocks (that is, idols) with the wicked.
I will #Ezek. 14:17cut off mankind
from the face of the earth,” declares the Lord.
4“I will stretch out my hand against Judah
and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem;
# See 2 Kgs. 23:4 and I will cut off from this place the remnant of Baal
and the name of the idolatrous priests along with the priests,
5 #
Jer. 19:13 those who bow down on the roofs
to the host of the heavens,
# [1 Kgs. 18:21; 2 Kgs. 17:33, 41] those who bow down and swear to the Lord
and yet swear by #1 Kgs. 11:5, 33Milcom,#1:5 Or their king
6 #
Jer. 2:13, 17; 15:6 those who have turned back from following the Lord,
# [Jer. 5:24; Heb. 11:6] who do not seek the Lord or inquire of him.”
The Day of the Lord Is Near
7 # [Hab. 2:20] Be silent before the Lord God!
For #[ver. 14]; See Joel 1:15 the day of the Lord is near;
#
Isa. 34:6; Jer. 46:10; Ezek. 39:17, 19 the Lord has prepared a sacrifice
and #1 Sam. 16:5consecrated his guests.
8And on the day of the Lord’s sacrifice—
#
2 Kgs. 24:12, 14; 25:7 “I will punish the officials and the king’s sons
and #[Matt. 22:11]all who array themselves in foreign attire.
9On that day I will punish
everyone #[1 Sam. 5:5]who leaps over the threshold,
and those who fill their master’s#1:9 Or their Lord’s house
with violence and fraud.
10“On that day,” declares the Lord,
“a cry will be heard from #See 2 Chr. 33:14 the Fish Gate,
#
Zech. 11:3 a wail from #2 Kgs. 22:14the Second Quarter,
a loud crash from the hills.
11 #
Zech. 11:2; James 5:1 Wail, O inhabitants of the Mortar!
For all the traders#1:11 Or all the people of Canaan are no more;
all who weigh out silver are cut off.
12At that time #Amos 9:3 I will search Jerusalem with lamps,
and I will punish the men
#
Jer. 48:11; [Amos 6:1] who are complacent,#1:12 Hebrew are thickening on the dregs [of their wine]
#
Ps. 94:7; Ezek. 8:12; Mal. 2:17; 3:14, 15 those who say in their hearts,
‘The Lord will not do good,
nor will he do ill.’
13Their goods shall be #Isa. 42:22 plundered,
and their houses laid waste.
# See Amos 5:11 Though they build houses,
they shall not inhabit them;
# See Mic. 6:15 though they plant vineyards,
they shall not drink wine from them.”
14 # [ver. 7; Ezek. 7:7, 12] The great day of the Lord is near,
near and hastening fast;
the sound of the day of the Lord is bitter;
# [Isa. 33:7] the mighty man cries aloud there.
15 # See Joel 1:15 A day of wrath is that day,
a day of distress and anguish,
a day of #Job 30:3 ruin and devastation,
# See Joel 2:2 a day of darkness and gloom,
# See Joel 2:2 a day of clouds and thick darkness,
16 # [Jer. 4:19] a day of trumpet blast and battle cry
# [Isa. 2:15] against the fortified cities
and against the lofty battlements.
17 #
Jer. 10:18 I will bring distress on mankind,
so that they shall walk #Deut. 28:29; Isa. 59:10 like the blind,
because they have sinned against the Lord;
#
Ps. 79:3 their blood shall be poured out like dust,
and their flesh #[Ps. 83:10]like dung.
18 #
Ezek. 7:19; [Prov. 11:4] Neither their silver nor their gold
shall be able to deliver them
on the day of the wrath of the Lord.
# [ch. 3:8] In the fire of his jealousy,
#
Ezek. 36:5 all the earth shall be consumed;
# [ver. 2, 3] for a full and sudden end
he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth.
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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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Zephaniah 1
1
1This is the message that the Lord gave to Zephaniah. He received this message during the time that Josiah son of Amon was king of Judah. Zephaniah was the son of Cushi, who was the son of Gedaliah. Gedaliah was the son of Amariah, who was the son of Hezekiah.
The Lord’s Day for Judging the People
2The Lord says, “I will destroy everything on earth.#1:2 earth Or “the land” or “the country.” Also in verse 18. 3I will destroy all the people and all the animals. I will destroy the birds in the air and the fish in the sea. I will destroy the evil people and everything that makes them sin. I will remove all people from the earth.” This is what the Lord said.
4“I will punish Judah and the people living in Jerusalem. I will remove from this place any signs of Baal worship. No one will remember the priests who serve the idols there. 5And those who go up on their roofs to worship the stars#1:5 stars Literally, “army of heaven.” This might mean the stars and planets or the angels. will be forgotten. They worship me, the Lord, but they also use the name of the false god Milcom to make promises. 6They have turned away from me, the Lord. They have stopped following me. They no longer ask me, the Lord, for help.”
7Be silent before the Lord GOD, because the Lord’s day for judging the people is coming soon. The Lord has prepared his sacrifice, and he has told his invited guests to get ready.#1:7 prepared … get ready Literally, “prepared his sacrifice. He has made his called ones holy.” Here, this time of judgment is compared to a fellowship meal when priests offered a sacrifice to God and had the guests get ready for this special meal with God.
8The Lord said, “On the Lord’s day of sacrifice, I will punish the king’s sons and other leaders. I will punish all the people wearing clothes from other countries. 9At that time I will punish all the people who jump over the threshold#1:9 people wearing … threshold This probably means the priests and people who worshiped foreign gods, such as Dagon, or people who copied their ways of worshiping. See 1 Sam. 5:5. and those who fill their master’s house#1:9 master’s house This means the temple where the people worshiped God or their false gods. with lies and violence.”
10The Lord also said, “At that time people will be calling for help at Fish Gate in Jerusalem and mourning in the new part of town. They will hear the sound of destruction in the hills around the city. 11You people living in the lower part of town will cry, because all the traders and rich merchants will be destroyed.
12“At that time I will take a lamp and search through Jerusalem. I will find all those who are satisfied to live their own way. They say, ‘The Lord does nothing. He does not help, and he does not hurt!’ I will find them, and I will punish them. 13Then others will take their wealth and destroy their houses. Those who built houses will not live in them, and those who planted vineyards will not drink the wine from the grapes.”
14The Lord’s special day for judging is coming soon! It is near and coming fast. People will hear very sad sounds on the Lord’s special day of judgment. Even strong soldiers will cry. 15The Lord will show his anger at that time. It will be a time of terrible troubles and a time of destruction. It will be a time of darkness—a black, cloudy, and stormy day. 16It will be like a time of war when people hear horns and trumpets in the defense towers and protected cities.
17The Lord said, “I will make life very hard on the people. They will walk around like the blind who don’t know where they are going. That will happen because they sinned against the Lord. Their blood will be spilled on the ground. Their dead bodies will lie like dung on the ground. 18Their gold and silver will not help them! At that time the Lord will become very upset and angry. The Lord will destroy the whole world#1:18 world Or “land” or “country.”! He will completely destroy everyone on earth!”
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