Zephaniah 1
1
Zephaniah’s Prophecy
1This is the word that the Lord spoke to Zephaniah, who was the son of Cushi, the grandson of Gedaliah, and the great-grandson of Amariah, son of Hezekiah. The Lord spoke his word in the days of Judah’s King Josiah, son of Amon.
The LORD Will Judge the Earth
2“I will gather everything on the face of the earth
and put an end to it,” declares the Lord.
3“I will put an end to humans and animals.
I will put an end to
the birds in the sky,
the fish in the sea,
and the sins that make people fall, together with the sinners.
I will remove all people from the face of the earth,” declares the Lord.
The LORD Will Judge Judah
4“I will use my power against Judah
and against those who live in Jerusalem.
I will remove the faithful few of Baal from this place
and the names of the pagan priests along with my priests.
5I will remove those who worship all the stars in the sky on their rooftops
and those who worship by swearing loyalty to the Lord
while also swearing loyalty to the god Milcom.#1:5 Or “to their king.”
6I will remove those who have turned away from following the Lord
and those who no longer seek the Lord or ask him for help.”
7Be silent in the presence of the Almighty Lord,
because the day of the Lord is near.
The Lord has prepared a sacrifice.
He has invited his special guests.
8“On the day of the Lord’s sacrifice I will punish the officials,
the king’s sons, and all who dress in foreign clothing.#1:8 Wearing foreign clothing was a sign of worshiping foreign gods.
9On that day I will punish all who jump over the doorway
and all who fill their master’s house with violence and deception.
10On that day a loud cry will come from Fish Gate,
a howling from the Second Part of the city,
and a loud crashing sound from the hills,” declares the Lord.
11“Howl, inhabitants of the Mortar,#1:10–11 The Mortar was in the northern part of Jerusalem, the Second Part of the city, which could be entered through the Fish Gate.
because all the merchants will be destroyed
and all who handle money will be killed.
12“At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps and punish those
who are satisfied with their hardened lifestyle,
who think that the Lord won’t do anything—good or bad.
13Their wealth will be looted.
Their homes will be demolished.
They will build houses, but they won’t live in them.
They will plant vineyards, but they won’t drink their wine.”
The Day of the LORD
14The frightening day of the Lord is near.
It is near and coming very quickly.
Listen! Warriors will cry out bitterly on the day of the Lord.
15That day will be a day of overflowing fury,
a day of trouble and distress,
a day of devastation and desolation,
a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and overcast skies,
16a day of rams’ horns and battle cries
against the fortified cities
and against the high corner towers.
17“I will bring such distress on humans that they will walk like they are blind,
because they have sinned against the Lord.”
Their blood will be poured out like dust
and their intestines like manure.
18Their silver and their gold will not be able to rescue them
on the day of the Lord’s overflowing fury.
The whole earth will be consumed by his fiery anger,
because he will put an end, a frightening end,
to those who live on earth.
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Zephaniah 1: GW
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GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.
Zephaniah 1
1
Judah and Jerusalem will be punished on the day of the Lord
1I 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 BC.#2 K 22.1—23.30; 2 Ch 34.1—35.27.
When Josiah son of Amon was king of Judah,#1.1 Josiah…king of Judah: Ruled 640-609 BC. 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 worshippers
of pagan gods#1.9 worshippers…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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© British and Foreign Bible Society 2012