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Zephaniah 1-3
New International Version
Zephaniah 1-3
New International Version
1 The word of the Lord that came to Zephaniah son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, during the reign of Josiah(A) son of Amon(B) king of Judah:
Judgment on the Whole Earth in the Day of the Lord
2 “I will sweep away everything
from the face of the earth,”(C)
declares the Lord.
3 “I will sweep away both man and beast;(D)
I will sweep away the birds in the sky(E)
and the fish in the sea—
and the idols that cause the wicked to stumble.”[a]
“When I destroy all mankind
on the face of the earth,”(F)
declares the Lord,(G)
4 “I will stretch out my hand(H) against Judah
and against all who live in Jerusalem.
I will destroy every remnant of Baal worship in this place,(I)
the very names of the idolatrous priests(J)—
5 those who bow down on the roofs
to worship the starry host,(K)
those who bow down and swear by the Lord
and who also swear by Molek,[b](L)
6 those who turn back from following(M) the Lord
and neither seek(N) the Lord nor inquire(O) of him.”
7 Be silent(P) before the Sovereign Lord,
for the day of the Lord(Q) is near.
The Lord has prepared a sacrifice;(R)
he has consecrated those he has invited.
8 “On the day of the Lord’s sacrifice
I will punish(S) the officials
and the king’s sons(T)
and all those clad
in foreign clothes.
9 On that day I will punish
all who avoid stepping on the threshold,[c](U)
who fill the temple of their gods
with violence and deceit.(V)
10 “On that day,(W)”
declares the Lord,
“a cry will go up from the Fish Gate,(X)
wailing(Y) from the New Quarter,
and a loud crash from the hills.
11 Wail,(Z) you who live in the market district[d];
all your merchants will be wiped out,
all who trade with[e] silver will be destroyed.(AA)
12 At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps
and punish those who are complacent,(AB)
who are like wine left on its dregs,(AC)
who think, ‘The Lord will do nothing,(AD)
either good or bad.’(AE)
13 Their wealth will be plundered,(AF)
their houses demolished.
Though they build houses,
they will not live in them;
though they plant vineyards,
they will not drink the wine.”(AG)
14 The great day of the Lord(AH) is near(AI)—
near and coming quickly.
The cry on the day of the Lord is bitter;
the Mighty Warrior shouts his battle cry.
15 That day will be a day of wrath—
a day of distress and anguish,
a day of trouble and ruin,
a day of darkness(AJ) and gloom,
a day of clouds and blackness(AK)—
16 a day of trumpet and battle cry(AL)
against the fortified cities
and against the corner towers.(AM)
17 “I will bring such distress(AN) on all people
that they will grope about like those who are blind,(AO)
because they have sinned against the Lord.
Their blood will be poured out(AP) like dust
and their entrails like dung.(AQ)
18 Neither their silver nor their gold
will be able to save them
on the day of the Lord’s wrath.”(AR)
In the fire of his jealousy(AS)
the whole earth will be consumed,(AT)
for he will make a sudden end
of all who live on the earth.(AU)
Judah and Jerusalem Judged Along With the Nations
Judah Summoned to Repent
2 Gather together,(AV) gather yourselves together,
you shameful(AW) nation,
2 before the decree takes effect
and that day passes like windblown chaff,(AX)
before the Lord’s fierce anger(AY)
comes upon you,
before the day of the Lord’s wrath(AZ)
comes upon you.
3 Seek(BA) the Lord, all you humble of the land,
you who do what he commands.
Seek righteousness,(BB) seek humility;(BC)
perhaps you will be sheltered(BD)
on the day of the Lord’s anger.
Philistia
4 Gaza(BE) will be abandoned
and Ashkelon(BF) left in ruins.
At midday Ashdod will be emptied
and Ekron uprooted.
5 Woe to you who live by the sea,
you Kerethite(BG) people;
the word of the Lord is against you,(BH)
Canaan, land of the Philistines.
He says, “I will destroy you,
and none will be left.”(BI)
6 The land by the sea will become pastures
having wells for shepherds
and pens for flocks.(BJ)
7 That land will belong
to the remnant(BK) of the people of Judah;
there they will find pasture.
In the evening they will lie down
in the houses of Ashkelon.
The Lord their God will care for them;
he will restore their fortunes.[f](BL)
Moab and Ammon
8 “I have heard the insults(BM) of Moab(BN)
and the taunts of the Ammonites,(BO)
who insulted(BP) my people
and made threats against their land.(BQ)
9 Therefore, as surely as I live,”
declares the Lord Almighty,
the God of Israel,
“surely Moab(BR) will become like Sodom,(BS)
the Ammonites(BT) like Gomorrah—
a place of weeds and salt pits,
a wasteland forever.
The remnant of my people will plunder(BU) them;
the survivors(BV) of my nation will inherit their land.(BW)”
10 This is what they will get in return for their pride,(BX)
for insulting(BY) and mocking
the people of the Lord Almighty.(BZ)
11 The Lord will be awesome(CA) to them
when he destroys all the gods(CB) of the earth.(CC)
Distant nations will bow down to him,(CD)
all of them in their own lands.
Cush
Assyria
13 He will stretch out his hand against the north
and destroy Assyria,(CG)
leaving Nineveh(CH) utterly desolate
and dry as the desert.(CI)
14 Flocks and herds(CJ) will lie down there,
creatures of every kind.
The desert owl(CK) and the screech owl(CL)
will roost on her columns.
Their hooting will echo through the windows,
rubble will fill the doorways,
the beams of cedar will be exposed.
15 This is the city of revelry(CM)
that lived in safety.(CN)
She said to herself,
“I am the one! And there is none besides me.”(CO)
What a ruin she has become,
a lair for wild beasts!(CP)
All who pass by her scoff(CQ)
and shake their fists.(CR)
Jerusalem
3 Woe to the city of oppressors,(CS)
rebellious(CT) and defiled!(CU)
2 She obeys(CV) no one,
she accepts no correction.(CW)
She does not trust(CX) in the Lord,
she does not draw near(CY) to her God.
3 Her officials within her
are roaring lions;(CZ)
her rulers are evening wolves,(DA)
who leave nothing for the morning.(DB)
4 Her prophets are unprincipled;
they are treacherous people.(DC)
Her priests profane the sanctuary
and do violence to the law.(DD)
5 The Lord within her is righteous;(DE)
he does no wrong.(DF)
Morning by morning(DG) he dispenses his justice,
and every new day he does not fail,(DH)
yet the unrighteous know no shame.(DI)
Jerusalem Remains Unrepentant
6 “I have destroyed nations;
their strongholds are demolished.
I have left their streets deserted,
with no one passing through.
Their cities are laid waste;(DJ)
they are deserted and empty.
7 Of Jerusalem I thought,
‘Surely you will fear me
and accept correction!’(DK)
Then her place of refuge[h] would not be destroyed,
nor all my punishments come upon[i] her.
But they were still eager
to act corruptly(DL) in all they did.
8 Therefore wait(DM) for me,”
declares the Lord,
“for the day I will stand up to testify.[j]
I have decided to assemble(DN) the nations,(DO)
to gather the kingdoms
and to pour out my wrath(DP) on them—
all my fierce anger.(DQ)
The whole world will be consumed(DR)
by the fire of my jealous anger.
Restoration of Israel’s Remnant
9 “Then I will purify the lips of the peoples,
that all of them may call(DS) on the name of the Lord(DT)
and serve(DU) him shoulder to shoulder.
10 From beyond the rivers of Cush[k](DV)
my worshipers, my scattered people,
will bring me offerings.(DW)
11 On that day you, Jerusalem, will not be put to shame(DX)
for all the wrongs you have done to me,(DY)
because I will remove from you
your arrogant boasters.(DZ)
Never again will you be haughty
on my holy hill.(EA)
12 But I will leave within you
the meek(EB) and humble.
The remnant of Israel
will trust(EC) in the name of the Lord.
13 They(ED) will do no wrong;(EE)
they will tell no lies.(EF)
A deceitful tongue
will not be found in their mouths.(EG)
They will eat and lie down(EH)
and no one will make them afraid.(EI)”
14 Sing, Daughter Zion;(EJ)
shout aloud,(EK) Israel!
Be glad and rejoice(EL) with all your heart,
Daughter Jerusalem!
15 The Lord has taken away your punishment,
he has turned back your enemy.
The Lord, the King of Israel, is with you;(EM)
never again will you fear(EN) any harm.(EO)
16 On that day
they will say to Jerusalem,
“Do not fear, Zion;
do not let your hands hang limp.(EP)
17 The Lord your God is with you,
the Mighty Warrior who saves.(EQ)
He will take great delight(ER) in you;
in his love he will no longer rebuke you,(ES)
but will rejoice over you with singing.”(ET)
18 “I will remove from you
all who mourn over the loss of your appointed festivals,
which is a burden and reproach for you.
19 At that time I will deal
with all who oppressed(EU) you.
I will rescue the lame;
I will gather the exiles.(EV)
I will give them praise(EW) and honor
in every land where they have suffered shame.
20 At that time I will gather you;
at that time I will bring(EX) you home.
I will give you honor(EY) and praise(EZ)
among all the peoples of the earth
when I restore your fortunes[l](FA)
before your very eyes,”
says the Lord.
Footnotes
- Zephaniah 1:3 The meaning of the Hebrew for this line is uncertain.
- Zephaniah 1:5 Hebrew Malkam
- Zephaniah 1:9 See 1 Samuel 5:5.
- Zephaniah 1:11 Or the Mortar
- Zephaniah 1:11 Or in
- Zephaniah 2:7 Or will bring back their captives
- Zephaniah 2:12 That is, people from the upper Nile region
- Zephaniah 3:7 Or her sanctuary
- Zephaniah 3:7 Or all those I appointed over
- Zephaniah 3:8 Septuagint and Syriac; Hebrew will rise up to plunder
- Zephaniah 3:10 That is, the upper Nile region
- Zephaniah 3:20 Or I bring back your captives
Zephaniah 1-3
New King James Version
Zephaniah 1-3
New King James Version
The Great Day of the Lord(A)
1 The word of the Lord which came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, in the days of (B)Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.
The Great Day of the Lord
2 “I will [a]utterly consume everything
From the face of the land,”
Says the Lord;
3 “I(C) will consume man and beast;
I will consume the birds of the heavens,
The fish of the sea,
And the [b]stumbling blocks along with the wicked.
I will cut off man from the face of the [c]land,”
Says the Lord.
4 “I will stretch out My hand against Judah,
And against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
[d]I will cut off every trace of Baal from this place,
The names of the (D)idolatrous[e] priests with the pagan priests—
5 Those (E)who worship the host of heaven on the housetops;
Those who worship and swear oaths by the Lord,
But who also swear (F)by [f]Milcom;
6 (G)Those who have turned back from following the Lord,
And (H)have not sought the Lord, nor inquired of Him.”
7 (I)Be silent in the presence of the Lord God;
(J)For the day of the Lord is at hand,
For (K)the Lord has prepared a sacrifice;
He has [g]invited His guests.
8 “And it shall be,
In the day of the Lord’s sacrifice,
That I will punish (L)the princes and the king’s children,
And all such as are clothed with foreign apparel.
9 In the same day I will punish
All those who (M)leap over the threshold,
Who fill their masters’ houses with violence and deceit.
10 “And there shall be on that day,” says the Lord,
“The sound of a mournful cry from (N)the Fish Gate,
A wailing from the Second Quarter,
And a loud crashing from the hills.
11 (O)Wail, you inhabitants of [h]Maktesh!
For all the merchant people are cut down;
All those who handle money are cut off.
12 “And it shall come to pass at that time
That I will search Jerusalem with lamps,
And punish the men
Who are (P)settled[i] in complacency,
(Q)Who say in their heart,
‘The Lord will not do good,
Nor will He do evil.’
13 Therefore their goods shall become booty,
And their houses a desolation;
They shall build houses, but not inhabit them;
They shall plant vineyards, but (R)not drink their wine.”
14 (S)The great day of the Lord is near;
It is near and hastens quickly.
The noise of the day of the Lord is bitter;
There the mighty men shall cry out.
15 (T)That day is a day of wrath,
A day of trouble and distress,
A day of devastation and desolation,
A day of darkness and gloominess,
A day of clouds and thick darkness,
16 A day of (U)trumpet and alarm
Against the fortified cities
And against the high towers.
17 “I will bring distress upon men,
And they shall (V)walk like blind men,
Because they have sinned against the Lord;
Their blood shall be poured out like dust,
And their flesh like refuse.”
18 (W)Neither their silver nor their gold
Shall be able to deliver them
In the day of the Lord’s wrath;
But the whole land shall be devoured
By the fire of His jealousy,
For He will make speedy riddance
Of all those who dwell in the land.
A Call to Repentance
2 Gather(X) yourselves together, yes, gather together,
O [j]undesirable nation,
2 Before the decree is issued,
Or the day passes like chaff,
Before the Lord’s fierce anger comes upon you,
Before the day of the Lord’s anger comes upon you!
3 (Y)Seek the Lord, (Z)all you meek of the earth,
Who have upheld His justice.
Seek righteousness, seek humility.
(AA)It may be that you will be hidden
In the day of the Lord’s anger.
Judgment on Nations
4 For (AB)Gaza shall be forsaken,
And Ashkelon desolate;
They shall drive out Ashdod (AC)at noonday,
And Ekron shall be uprooted.
5 Woe to the inhabitants of (AD)the seacoast,
The nation of the Cherethites!
The word of the Lord is against you,
O (AE)Canaan, land of the Philistines:
“I will destroy you;
So there shall be no inhabitant.”
6 The seacoast shall be pastures,
With [k]shelters for shepherds (AF)and folds for flocks.
7 The coast shall be for (AG)the remnant of the house of Judah;
They shall feed their flocks there;
In the houses of Ashkelon they shall lie down at evening.
For the Lord their God will (AH)intervene[l] for them,
And (AI)return their captives.
8 “I(AJ) have heard the reproach of Moab,
And (AK)the insults of the people of Ammon,
With which they have reproached My people,
And (AL)made arrogant threats against their borders.
9 Therefore, as I live,”
Says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel,
“Surely (AM)Moab shall be like Sodom,
And (AN)the people of Ammon like Gomorrah—
(AO)Overrun[m] with weeds and saltpits,
And a [n]perpetual desolation.
The residue of My people shall plunder them,
And the remnant of My people shall possess them.”
10 This they shall have (AP)for their pride,
Because they have reproached and made arrogant threats
Against the people of the Lord of hosts.
11 The Lord will be awesome to them,
For He will reduce to nothing all the gods of the earth;
(AQ)People shall worship Him,
Each one from his place,
Indeed all (AR)the shores of the nations.
13 And He will stretch out His hand against the north,
(AU)Destroy Assyria,
And make Nineveh a desolation,
As dry as the wilderness.
14 The herds shall lie down in her midst,
(AV)Every beast of the nation.
Both the (AW)pelican and the bittern
Shall lodge on the capitals of her pillars;
Their voice shall sing in the windows;
Desolation shall be at the threshold;
For He will lay bare the (AX)cedar work.
15 This is the rejoicing city
(AY)That dwelt securely,
(AZ)That said in her heart,
“I am it, and there is none besides me.”
How has she become a desolation,
A place for beasts to lie down!
Everyone who passes by her
(BA)Shall hiss and (BB)shake his fist.
The Wickedness of Jerusalem
3 Woe to her who is rebellious and polluted,
To the oppressing city!
2 She has not obeyed His voice,
She has not received correction;
She has not trusted in the Lord,
She has not drawn near to her God.
3 (BC)Her princes in her midst are roaring lions;
Her judges are (BD)evening wolves
That leave not a bone till morning.
4 Her (BE)prophets are insolent, treacherous people;
Her priests have [o]polluted the sanctuary,
They have done (BF)violence to the law.
5 The Lord is righteous in her midst,
He will do no unrighteousness.
[p]Every morning He brings His justice to light;
He never fails,
But (BG)the unjust knows no shame.
6 “I have cut off nations,
Their fortresses are devastated;
I have made their streets desolate,
With none passing by.
Their cities are destroyed;
There is no one, no inhabitant.
7 (BH)I said, ‘Surely you will fear Me,
You will receive instruction’—
So that her dwelling would not be cut off,
Despite everything for which I punished her.
But [q]they rose early and (BI)corrupted all their deeds.
A Faithful Remnant(BJ)
8 “Therefore (BK)wait for Me,” says the Lord,
“Until the day I rise up [r]for plunder;
My determination is to (BL)gather the nations
To My assembly of kingdoms,
To pour on them My indignation,
All My fierce anger;
All the earth (BM)shall be devoured
With the fire of My jealousy.
9 “For then I will restore to the peoples (BN)a pure [s]language,
That they all may call on the name of the Lord,
To serve Him with one accord.
10 (BO)From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia
My worshipers,
The daughter of My dispersed ones,
Shall bring My offering.
11 In that day you shall not be shamed for any of your deeds
In which you transgress against Me;
For then I will take away from your midst
Those who (BP)rejoice in your pride,
And you shall no longer be haughty
In My holy mountain.
12 I will leave in your midst
(BQ)A meek and humble people,
And they shall trust in the name of the Lord.
13 (BR)The remnant of Israel (BS)shall do no unrighteousness
(BT)And speak no lies,
Nor shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth;
For (BU)they shall feed their flocks and lie down,
And no one shall make them afraid.”
Joy in God’s Faithfulness
14 (BV)Sing, O daughter of Zion!
Shout, O Israel!
Be glad and rejoice with all your heart,
O daughter of Jerusalem!
15 The Lord has taken away your judgments,
He has cast out your enemy.
(BW)The King of Israel, the Lord, (BX)is in your midst;
You shall [t]see disaster no more.
16 In that day (BY)it shall be said to Jerusalem:
“Do not fear;
Zion, (BZ)let not your hands be weak.
17 The Lord your God (CA)in your midst,
The Mighty One, will save;
(CB)He will rejoice over you with gladness,
He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing.”
18 “I will gather those who (CC)sorrow over the appointed assembly,
Who are among you,
To whom its reproach is a burden.
19 Behold, at that time
I will deal with all who afflict you;
I will save the (CD)lame,
And gather those who were driven out;
I will appoint them for praise and fame
In every land where they were put to shame.
20 At that time (CE)I will bring you back,
Even at the time I gather you;
For I will give you [u]fame and praise
Among all the peoples of the earth,
When I return your captives before your eyes,”
Says the Lord.
Footnotes
- Zephaniah 1:2 Lit. make a complete end of, Jer. 8:13
- Zephaniah 1:3 Idols
- Zephaniah 1:3 ground
- Zephaniah 1:4 Fulfilled in 2 Kin. 23:4, 5
- Zephaniah 1:4 Heb. chemarim
- Zephaniah 1:5 Or Malcam, an Ammonite god, 1 Kin. 11:5; Jer. 49:1; Molech, Lev. 18:21
- Zephaniah 1:7 Lit. set apart, consecrated
- Zephaniah 1:11 A market district of Jerusalem, lit. Mortar
- Zephaniah 1:12 Lit. on their lees; like the dregs of wine
- Zephaniah 2:1 Or shameless
- Zephaniah 2:6 Underground huts or cisterns, lit. excavations
- Zephaniah 2:7 Lit. visit them
- Zephaniah 2:9 Lit. Possessed by nettles
- Zephaniah 2:9 Or permanent ruin
- Zephaniah 3:4 Or profaned
- Zephaniah 3:5 Lit. Morning by morning
- Zephaniah 3:7 They were eager
- Zephaniah 3:8 LXX, Syr. for witness; Tg. for the day of My revelation for judgment; Vg. for the day of My resurrection that is to come
- Zephaniah 3:9 Lit. lip
- Zephaniah 3:15 So with Heb. mss., LXX, Bg.; MT, Vg. fear
- Zephaniah 3:20 Lit. a name
Zephaniah 1-3
New American Standard Bible
Zephaniah 1-3
New American Standard Bible
Day of Judgment on Judah
1 The word of the Lord which came to Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, in the days of (A)Josiah son of (B)Amon, king of Judah:
2 “I will completely (C)remove all things
From the face of the [a]earth,” declares the Lord.
3 “I will remove (D)human and animal life;
I will remove the (E)birds of the sky
And the fish of the sea,
And the [b](F)ruins along with the wicked;
And I will eliminate mankind from the face of the [c]earth,” declares the Lord.
4 “So I will (G)stretch out My hand against Judah
And against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
And I will (H)eliminate the remnant of Baal from this place,
And the names of the (I)idolatrous priests along with the other priests.
5 And those who bow down on the (J)housetops to the heavenly [d]lights,
And those who bow down and (K)swear to the Lord, but also swear by [e](L)Milcom,
6 And those who have (M)turned back from following the Lord,
And those who have (N)not sought the Lord nor inquired of Him.”
7 [f](O)Be silent before the Lord [g]God!
For the (P)day of the Lord is near,
Because the Lord has prepared a (Q)sacrifice,
He has (R)consecrated His guests.
8 “Then it will come about on the day of the Lord’s sacrifice
That I will (S)punish the princes, the king’s sons,
And all who clothe themselves with (T)foreign garments.
9 And on that day I will punish all who leap on the temple threshold,
Who fill the house of their [h]lord with (U)violence and deceit.
10 And on that day,” declares the Lord,
“There will be the sound of a cry from the (V)Fish Gate,
Wailing from the [i](W)Second Quarter,
And a loud crash from the (X)hills.
11 Wail, you inhabitants of the [j]Mortar,
Because all the [k]people of (Y)Canaan will be destroyed;
All who weigh out (Z)silver will be eliminated.
12 And it will come about at that time
That I will (AA)search Jerusalem with lamps,
And I will punish the people
Who are [l](AB)stagnant in spirit,
Who say in their hearts,
‘The Lord will (AC)not do good nor harm!’
13 Their wealth will become (AD)plunder,
And their houses desolate;
Yes, (AE)they will build houses but not inhabit them,
And plant vineyards but not drink their wine.”
14 The (AF)great (AG)day of the Lord is near,
Near and coming very quickly;
Listen, the day of the Lord!
[m]In it the warrior (AH)cries out bitterly.
15 That day is a day of anger,
A day of (AI)trouble and distress,
A day of destruction and desolation,
A day of (AJ)darkness and gloom,
A day of clouds and thick darkness,
16 A day of (AK)trumpet and battle cry
Against the (AL)fortified cities
And the high corner towers.
17 I will bring (AM)distress on mankind
So that they will walk (AN)like those who are blind,
Because they have sinned against the Lord;
And their (AO)blood will be poured out like dust,
And their (AP)flesh like dung.
18 Neither their (AQ)silver nor their gold
Will be able to save them
On the day of the Lord’s anger;
And (AR)all the earth will be devoured
By the fire of His jealousy,
For He will (AS)make a complete end,
Indeed a horrifying one,
Of all the inhabitants of the earth.
Judgments on Judah’s Enemies
2 Gather yourselves together, yes, (AT)join together,
You nation (AU)without [n]shame,
2 Before the decree [o]takes effect—
The day passes (AV)like chaff—
Before the (AW)burning anger of the Lord comes upon you,
Before the (AX)day of the Lord’s anger comes upon you.
3 (AY)Seek the Lord,
All you (AZ)humble of the [p]earth
Who have practiced His [q]ordinances;
(BA)Seek righteousness, seek humility.
Perhaps you will (BB)remain hidden
On the day of the Lord’s anger.
4 For (BC)Gaza will be abandoned,
And Ashkelon will become a desolation;
The inhabitants of (BD)Ashdod will be driven out at noon,
And (BE)Ekron will be uprooted.
5 Woe to the inhabitants of the seacoast,
The nation of the [r](BF)Cherethites!
The word of the Lord is (BG)against you,
(BH)Canaan, land of the Philistines;
And I will (BI)eliminate you
So that there will be (BJ)no inhabitant.
6 So the seacoast will become (BK)grazing places,
With pastures for shepherds and folds for flocks.
7 And the coast will be
For the (BL)remnant of the house of Judah,
They will (BM)drive sheep to pasture on it.
In the houses of Ashkelon they will lie down at evening;
For the Lord their God will (BN)care for them
And (BO)restore their fortunes.
8 “I have heard the (BP)taunting of Moab
And the (BQ)abusive speech of the sons of Ammon,
With which they have taunted My people
And (BR)boasted against their territory.
9 Therefore, as I live,” declares the Lord of armies,
The God of Israel,
“(BS)Moab will assuredly be like (BT)Sodom,
And the sons of (BU)Ammon like (BV)Gomorrah—
Ground overgrown with weeds and full of salt mines,
And a permanent desolation.
The remnant of My people will (BW)plunder them,
And the remainder of My nation will inherit them.”
10 This they will have in return for their (BX)arrogance, because they have (BY)taunted and boasted against the people of the Lord of armies. 11 The Lord will be (BZ)terrifying to them, for He will [s]starve (CA)all the gods of the earth; and all the (CB)coastlands of the nations will (CC)bow down to Him, everyone from his own place.
12 “You also, (CD)Ethiopians, will be slain by My sword.”
13 And He will (CE)stretch out His hand against the north
And eliminate (CF)Assyria,
And He will make (CG)Nineveh a desolation,
Parched like the wilderness.
14 Flocks will lie down in her midst,
[t]All animals that range in herds;
Both the [u](CH)pelican and the hedgehog
Will spend their nights in [v]the tops of her pillars;
[w]Birds will sing in the window,
Devastation will be on the threshold;
For He has uncovered the cedar work.
15 This is the (CI)presumptuous city
That (CJ)dwells securely,
Who says in her heart,
“(CK)I am, and there is no one besides me.”
How she has become a (CL)desolation,
A resting place for animals!
(CM)Everyone who passes by her will [x]hiss
And wave his hand in contempt.
Woe to Jerusalem and the Nations
3 Woe to her who is (CN)rebellious and (CO)defiled,
The (CP)oppressive city!
2 She (CQ)obeyed no voice,
She (CR)accepted no discipline.
She did not (CS)trust in the Lord,
She did not (CT)approach her God.
3 Her (CU)leaders within her are roaring lions,
Her judges are (CV)wolves at evening;
They have no bones to gnaw in the morning.
4 Her prophets are (CW)insolent, treacherous men;
Her (CX)priests have profaned the sanctuary.
They have done violence to the Law.
5 The Lord is (CY)righteous (CZ)within her;
He will (DA)do no injustice.
(DB)Every morning He brings His justice to light;
He [y]does not fail.
But the [z]criminal (DC)knows no shame.
6 “I have eliminated nations;
Their corner towers are deserted.
I have (DD)laid waste their streets,
With no one passing by;
Their (DE)cities have been laid waste,
Without a person, (DF)without an inhabitant.
7 I said, ‘You will certainly revere Me,
You will (DG)accept discipline.’
So her dwelling will (DH)not be eliminated
In accordance with everything that I have stipulated for her.
Instead, they were eager to (DI)corrupt all their deeds.
8 “Therefore (DJ)wait for Me,” declares the Lord,
“For the day when I rise up as a witness.
Indeed, My decision is to (DK)gather nations,
To assemble kingdoms,
To pour out on them My indignation,
All My burning anger;
For (DL)all the earth will be devoured
By the fire of My zeal.
9 For then I will [aa]restore to the peoples (DM)pure lips,
So that all of them may (DN)call on the name of the Lord,
To serve Him [ab]shoulder to shoulder.
10 From beyond the rivers of (DO)Ethiopia
My worshipers, [ac]My dispersed ones,
Will (DP)bring My offerings.
11 On that day you will (DQ)feel no shame
Because of all your deeds
By which you have rebelled against Me;
For then I will remove from your midst
Your (DR)proud, arrogant ones,
And you will never again be haughty
On My (DS)holy mountain.
A Remnant of Israel
12 But I will leave among you
A (DT)humble and lowly people,
And they will (DU)take refuge in the name of the Lord.
13 The (DV)remnant of Israel will (DW)do no wrong
And (DX)tell no lies,
Nor will a deceitful tongue
Be found in their mouths;
For they will (DY)feed and lie down
With no one to frighten them.”
14 Shout for joy, daughter of Zion!
(DZ)Shout in triumph, Israel!
Rejoice and triumph with all your heart,
Daughter of Jerusalem!
15 The Lord has taken away (EA)His judgments against you,
He has cleared away your enemies.
The King of Israel, the Lord, is (EB)in your midst;
You will no longer (EC)fear disaster.
16 (ED)On that day it will be said to Jerusalem:
“(EE)Do not be afraid, Zion;
(EF)Do not let your hands fall limp.
17 The Lord your God is (EG)in your midst,
A [ad](EH)victorious warrior.
He will (EI)rejoice over you with joy,
He will [ae]be quiet in His love,
He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.
18 I will gather those who are (EJ)worried about the appointed feasts—
They [af]came from you, Zion;
The disgrace of exile is a burden on [ag]them.
19 Behold, I am going to deal at that time
With all your (EK)oppressors;
I will save (EL)those who limp
And gather the scattered,
And I will turn their (EM)shame into (EN)praise and fame
In all the earth.
20 At that time I will (EO)bring you in,
Even at the time when I gather you together;
Indeed, I will make you (EP)famous and praiseworthy
Among all the peoples of the earth,
When I (EQ)restore your fortunes before your eyes,”
Says the Lord.
Footnotes
- Zephaniah 1:2 Lit ground
- Zephaniah 1:3 Or stumbling blocks
- Zephaniah 1:3 Lit ground
- Zephaniah 1:5 Lit host; i.e., sun, stars, etc.
- Zephaniah 1:5 Or their king; MT Malcam, prob. a variant spelling of Milcom, the Ammonite god
- Zephaniah 1:7 Lit Hush
- Zephaniah 1:7 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
- Zephaniah 1:9 Or Lord
- Zephaniah 1:10 I.e., a district of Jerusalem
- Zephaniah 1:11 I.e., a district of Jerusalem
- Zephaniah 1:11 Or merchant people will
- Zephaniah 1:12 Lit thickening on their dregs
- Zephaniah 1:14 Lit There
- Zephaniah 2:1 Or longing
- Zephaniah 2:2 Lit gives birth
- Zephaniah 2:3 Or land
- Zephaniah 2:3 Or justice
- Zephaniah 2:5 I.e., a segment of the Philistines with roots in Crete
- Zephaniah 2:11 Lit allow to dwindle
- Zephaniah 2:14 Or All kinds of beasts in crowds; lit Every kind of beast of a nation
- Zephaniah 2:14 Or owl; or jackdaw
- Zephaniah 2:14 Lit her capitals
- Zephaniah 2:14 Lit A voice
- Zephaniah 2:15 Or whistle
- Zephaniah 3:5 Lit is not missing
- Zephaniah 3:5 Or sinner
- Zephaniah 3:9 Lit change
- Zephaniah 3:9 Lit with one shoulder
- Zephaniah 3:10 Lit the daughter of My dispersed ones
- Zephaniah 3:17 Lit A warrior who saves
- Zephaniah 3:17 Or with some ancient versions, renew you in
- Zephaniah 3:18 Lit were
- Zephaniah 3:18 Lit her
Zephaniah 1-3
New Living Translation
Zephaniah 1-3
New Living Translation
1 The 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,[a]
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.
5 For 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,[b] too.
6 And 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.”
7 Stand 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.[c]
8 “On that day of judgment,”
says the Lord,
“I will punish the leaders and princes of Judah
and all those following pagan customs.
9 Yes, 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.[d]
And a great crash will sound from the hills.
11 Wail in sorrow, all you who live in the market area,[e]
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.
13 So 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.
15 It 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,
16 a 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.”
18 Your 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.[f]
A Call to Repentance
2 Gather together—yes, gather together,
you shameless nation.
2 Gather before judgment begins,
before your time to repent is blown away like chaff.
Act now, before the fierce fury of the Lord falls
and the terrible day of the Lord’s anger begins.
3 Seek the Lord, all who are humble,
and follow his commands.
Seek to do what is right
and to live humbly.
Perhaps even yet the Lord will protect you—
protect you from his anger on that day of destruction.
Judgment against Philistia
4 Gaza and Ashkelon will be abandoned,
Ashdod and Ekron torn down.
5 And what sorrow awaits you Philistines[g]
who live along the coast and in the land of Canaan,
for this judgment is against you, too!
The Lord will destroy you
until not one of you is left.
6 The Philistine coast will become a wilderness pasture,
a place of shepherd camps
and enclosures for sheep and goats.
7 The remnant of the tribe of Judah will pasture there.
They will rest at night in the abandoned houses in Ashkelon.
For the Lord their God will visit his people in kindness
and restore their prosperity again.
Judgment against Moab and Ammon
8 “I have heard the taunts of the Moabites
and the insults of the Ammonites,
mocking my people
and invading their borders.
9 Now, as surely as I live,”
says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel,
“Moab and Ammon will be destroyed—
destroyed as completely as Sodom and Gomorrah.
Their land will become a place of stinging nettles,
salt pits, and eternal desolation.
The remnant of my people will plunder them
and take their land.”
10 They will receive the wages of their pride,
for they have scoffed at the people of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
11 The Lord will terrify them
as he destroys all the gods in the land.
Then nations around the world will worship the Lord,
each in their own land.
Judgment against Ethiopia and Assyria
12 “You Ethiopians[h] will also be slaughtered
by my sword,” says the Lord.
13 And the Lord will strike the lands of the north with his fist,
destroying the land of Assyria.
He will make its great capital, Nineveh, a desolate wasteland,
parched like a desert.
14 The proud city will become a pasture for flocks and herds,
and all sorts of wild animals will settle there.
The desert owl and screech owl will roost on its ruined columns,
their calls echoing through the gaping windows.
Rubble will block all the doorways,
and the cedar paneling will be exposed to the weather.
15 This is the boisterous city,
once so secure.
“I am the greatest!” it boasted.
“No other city can compare with me!”
But now, look how it has become an utter ruin,
a haven for wild animals.
Everyone passing by will laugh in derision
and shake a defiant fist.
Jerusalem’s Rebellion and Redemption
3 What sorrow awaits rebellious, polluted Jerusalem,
the city of violence and crime!
2 No one can tell it anything;
it refuses all correction.
It does not trust in the Lord
or draw near to its God.
3 Its leaders are like roaring lions
hunting for their victims.
Its judges are like ravenous wolves at evening time,
who by dawn have left no trace of their prey.
4 Its prophets are arrogant liars seeking their own gain.
Its priests defile the Temple by disobeying God’s instructions.
5 But the Lord is still there in the city,
and he does no wrong.
Day by day he hands down justice,
and he does not fail.
But the wicked know no shame.
6 “I have wiped out many nations,
devastating their fortress walls and towers.
Their streets are now deserted;
their cities lie in silent ruin.
There are no survivors—
none at all.
7 I thought, ‘Surely they will have reverence for me now!
Surely they will listen to my warnings.
Then I won’t need to strike again,
destroying their homes.’
But no, they get up early
to continue their evil deeds.
8 Therefore, be patient,” says the Lord.
“Soon I will stand and accuse these evil nations.
For I have decided to gather the kingdoms of the earth
and pour out my fiercest anger and fury on them.
All the earth will be devoured
by the fire of my jealousy.
9 “Then I will purify the speech of all people,
so that everyone can worship the Lord together.
10 My scattered people who live beyond the rivers of Ethiopia[i]
will come to present their offerings.
11 On that day you will no longer need to be ashamed,
for you will no longer be rebels against me.
I will remove all proud and arrogant people from among you.
There will be no more haughtiness on my holy mountain.
12 Those who are left will be the lowly and humble,
for it is they who trust in the name of the Lord.
13 The remnant of Israel will do no wrong;
they will never tell lies or deceive one another.
They will eat and sleep in safety,
and no one will make them afraid.”
14 Sing, O daughter of Zion;
shout aloud, O Israel!
Be glad and rejoice with all your heart,
O daughter of Jerusalem!
15 For the Lord will remove his hand of judgment
and will disperse the armies of your enemy.
And the Lord himself, the King of Israel,
will live among you!
At last your troubles will be over,
and you will never again fear disaster.
16 On that day the announcement to Jerusalem will be,
“Cheer up, Zion! Don’t be afraid!
17 For the Lord your God is living among you.
He is a mighty savior.
He will take delight in you with gladness.
With his love, he will calm all your fears.[j]
He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.”
18 “I will gather you who mourn for the appointed festivals;
you will be disgraced no more.[k]
19 And I will deal severely with all who have oppressed you.
I will save the weak and helpless ones;
I will bring together
those who were chased away.
I will give glory and fame to my former exiles,
wherever they have been mocked and shamed.
20 On that day I will gather you together
and bring you home again.
I will give you a good name, a name of distinction,
among all the nations of the earth,
as I restore your fortunes before their very eyes.
I, the Lord, have spoken!”
Footnotes
- 1:3 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
- 1:5 Hebrew Malcam, a variant spelling of Molech; or it could possibly mean their king.
- 1:7 Hebrew has prepared a sacrifice and sanctified his guests.
- 1:10 Or the Second Quarter, a newer section of Jerusalem. Hebrew reads the Mishneh.
- 1:11 Or in the valley, a lower section of Jerusalem. Hebrew reads the Maktesh.
- 1:18 Or the people living in the land.
- 2:5 Hebrew Kerethites.
- 2:12 Hebrew Cushites.
- 3:10 Hebrew Cush.
- 3:17 Or He will be silent in his love. Greek and Syriac versions read He will renew you with his love.
- 3:18 The meaning of the Hebrew for this verse is uncertain.
Zephaniah 1-3
The Message
Zephaniah 1-3
The Message
No Longer Giving God a Thought or a Prayer
1 God’s Message to Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah. It came during the reign of Josiah son of Amon, who was king of Judah:
2 “I’m going to make a clean sweep of the earth,
a thorough housecleaning.” God’s Decree.
3 “Men and women and animals,
including birds and fish—
Anything and everything that causes sin—will go,
but especially people.
* * *
4-6 “I’ll start with Judah
and everybody who lives in Jerusalem.
I’ll sweep the place clean of every trace
of the sex-and-religion Baal shrines and their priests.
I’ll get rid of the people who sneak up to their rooftops at night
to worship the star gods and goddesses;
Also those who continue to worship God
but cover their bases by worshiping other king-gods as well;
Not to mention those who’ve dumped God altogether,
no longer giving him a thought or offering a prayer.
* * *
7-13 “Quiet now!
Reverent silence before me, God, the Master!
Time’s up. My Judgment Day is near:
The Holy Day is all set, the invited guests made holy.
On the Holy Day, God’s Judgment Day,
I will punish the leaders and the royal sons;
I will punish those who dress up like foreign priests and priestesses,
Who introduce pagan prayers and practices;
And I’ll punish all who import pagan superstitions
that turn holy places into hellholes.
Judgment Day!” God’s Decree!
“Cries of panic from the city’s Fish Gate,
Cries of terror from the city’s Second Quarter,
sounds of great crashing from the hills!
Wail, you shopkeepers on Market Street!
Moneymaking has had its day. The god Money is dead.
On Judgment Day,
I’ll search through every closet and alley in Jerusalem.
I’ll find and punish those who are sitting it out, fat and lazy,
amusing themselves and taking it easy,
Who think, ‘God doesn’t do anything, good or bad.
He isn’t involved, so neither are we.’
But just wait. They’ll lose everything they have,
money and house and land.
They’ll build a house and never move in.
They’ll plant vineyards and never taste the wine.
A Day of Darkness at Noon
14-18 “The Great Judgment Day of God is almost here.
It’s countdown time: . . . seven, six, five, four . . .
Bitter and noisy cries on my Judgment Day,
even strong men screaming for help.
Judgment Day is payday—my anger paid out:
a day of distress and anguish,
a day of catastrophic doom,
a day of darkness at noon,
a day of black storm clouds,
a day of bloodcurdling war cries,
as forts are assaulted,
as defenses are smashed.
I’ll make things so bad they won’t know what hit them.
They’ll walk around groping like the blind.
They’ve sinned against God!
Their blood will be poured out like old dishwater,
their guts shoveled into slop buckets.
Don’t plan on buying your way out.
Your money is worthless for this.
This is the Day of God’s Judgment—my wrath!
I care about sin with fiery passion—
A fire to burn up the corrupted world,
a wildfire finish to the corrupting people.”
Seek God
2 1-2 So get yourselves together. Shape up!
You’re a nation without a clue about what it wants.
Do it before you’re blown away
like leaves in a windstorm,
Before God’s Judgment-anger
sweeps down on you,
Before God’s Judgment Day wrath
descends with full force.
* * *
3 Seek God, all you quietly disciplined people
who live by God’s justice.
Seek God’s right ways. Seek a quiet and disciplined life.
Perhaps you’ll be hidden on the Day of God’s anger.
All Earth-Made Gods Will Blow Away
4-5 Gaza is scheduled for demolition,
Ashdod will be cleaned out by high noon,
Ekron pulled out by the roots.
Doom to the seaside people,
the seafaring people from Crete!
The Word of God is bad news for you
who settled Canaan, the Philistine country:
“You’re slated for destruction—
no survivors!”
* * *
6-7 The lands of the seafarers
will become pastureland,
A country for shepherds and sheep.
What’s left of the family of Judah will get it.
Day after day they’ll pasture by the sea,
and go home in the evening to Ashkelon to sleep.
Their very own God will look out for them.
He’ll make things as good as before.
* * *
8-12 “I’ve heard the crude taunts of Moab,
the mockeries flung by Ammon,
The cruel talk they’ve used to put down my people,
their self-important strutting along Israel’s borders.
Therefore, as sure as I am the living God,” says
God-of-the-Angel-Armies,
Israel’s personal God,
“Moab will become a ruin like Sodom,
Ammon a ghost town like Gomorrah,
One a field of rocks, the other a sterile salt flat,
a moonscape forever.
What’s left of my people will finish them off,
will pick them clean and take over.
This is what they get for their bloated pride,
their taunts and mockeries of the people
of God-of-the-Angel-Armies.
God will be seen as truly terrible—a Holy Terror.
All earth-made gods will shrivel up and blow away;
And everyone, wherever they are, far or near,
will fall to the ground and worship him.
Also you Ethiopians,
you, too, will die—I’ll see to it.”
* * *
13-15 Then God will reach into the north
and destroy Assyria.
He will waste Nineveh,
leave her dry and treeless as a desert.
The ghost town of a city,
the haunt of wild animals,
Nineveh will be home to raccoons and coyotes—
they’ll bed down in its ruins.
Owls will hoot in the windows, ravens will croak in the doorways—
all that fancy woodwork now a perch for birds.
Can this be the famous Fun City
that had it made,
That boasted, “I’m the Number-One City!
I’m King of the Mountain!”
So why is the place deserted,
a lair for wild animals?
Passersby hardly give it a look;
they dismiss it with a gesture.
Sewer City
3 1-5 Doom to the rebellious city,
the home of oppressors—Sewer City!
The city that wouldn’t take advice,
wouldn’t accept correction,
Wouldn’t trust God,
wouldn’t even get close to her own god!
Her very own leaders
are rapacious lions,
Her judges are rapacious timber wolves
out every morning prowling for a fresh kill.
Her prophets are out for what they can get.
They’re opportunists—you can’t trust them.
Her priests desecrate the Sanctuary.
They use God’s law as a weapon to maim and kill souls.
Yet God remains righteous in her midst,
untouched by the evil.
He stays at it, day after day, meting out justice.
At evening he’s still at it, strong as ever.
But evil men and women, without conscience
and without shame, persist in evil.
* * *
6 “So I cut off the godless nations.
I knocked down their defense posts,
Filled her roads with rubble
so no one could get through.
Her cities were bombed-out ruins,
unlivable and unlived in.
7 “I thought, ‘Surely she’ll honor me now,
accept my discipline and correction,
Find a way of escape from the trouble she’s in,
find relief from the punishment I’m bringing.’
But it didn’t faze her. Bright and early
she was up at it again, doing the same old things.
8 “Well, if that’s what you want, stick around.”
God’s Decree.
“Your day in court is coming,
but remember I’ll be there to bring evidence.
I’ll bring all the nations to the courtroom,
round up all the kingdoms,
And let them feel the brunt of my anger,
my raging wrath.
My zeal is a fire
that will purge and purify the earth.
God Is in Charge at the Center
9-13 “In the end I will turn things around for the people.
I’ll give them a language undistorted, unpolluted,
Words to address God in worship
and, united, to serve me with their shoulders to the wheel.
They’ll come from beyond the Ethiopian rivers,
they’ll come praying—
All my scattered, exiled people
will come home with offerings for worship.
You’ll no longer have to be ashamed
of all those acts of rebellion.
I’ll have gotten rid of your arrogant leaders.
No more pious strutting on my holy hill!
I’ll leave a core of people among you
who are poor in spirit—
What’s left of Israel that’s really Israel.
They’ll make their home in God.
This core holy people
will not do wrong.
They won’t lie,
won’t use words to flatter or seduce.
Content with who they are and where they are,
unanxious, they’ll live at peace.”
* * *
14-15 So sing, Daughter Zion!
Raise your voices, Israel!
Daughter Jerusalem,
be happy! celebrate!
God has reversed his judgments against you
and sent your enemies off chasing their tails.
From now on, God is Israel’s king,
in charge at the center.
There’s nothing to fear from evil
ever again!
God Is Present Among You
16-17 Jerusalem will be told:
“Don’t be afraid.
Dear Zion,
don’t despair.
Your God is present among you,
a strong Warrior there to save you.
Happy to have you back, he’ll calm you with his love
and delight you with his songs.
* * *
18-20 “The accumulated sorrows of your exile
will dissipate.
I, your God, will get rid of them for you.
You’ve carried those burdens long enough.
At the same time, I’ll get rid of all those
who’ve made your life miserable.
I’ll heal the maimed;
I’ll bring home the homeless.
In the very countries where they were hated
they will be venerated.
On Judgment Day
I’ll bring you back home—a great family gathering!
You’ll be famous and honored
all over the world.
You’ll see it with your own eyes—
all those painful partings turned into reunions!”
God’s Promise.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) 
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson