Zephaniah 2:8-3:20

New American Standard Bible

⁸“I have heard the ^(A)taunting of Moab
And the ^(B)abusive speech of the sons of Ammon,
With which they have taunted My people
And ^(C)boasted against their territory.
⁹Therefore, as I live,” declares the Lord of armies,
The God of Israel,
“^(D)Moab will assuredly be like ^(E)Sodom,
And the sons of ^(F)Ammon like ^(G)Gomorrah—
Ground overgrown with weeds and full of salt mines,
And a permanent desolation.
The remnant of My people will ^(H)plunder them,
And the remainder of My nation will inherit them.”

¹⁰This they will have in return for their ^(I)arrogance, because they have ^(J)taunted and boasted against the people of the Lord of armies. ¹¹The Lord will be ^(K)terrifying to them, for He will ^[a]starve ^(L)all the gods of the earth; and all the ^(M)coastlands of the nations will ^(N)bow down to Him, everyone from his own place.

¹²“You also, ^(O)Ethiopians, will be slain by My sword.”
¹³And He will ^(P)stretch out His hand against the north
And eliminate ^(Q)Assyria,
And He will make ^(R)Nineveh a desolation,
Parched like the wilderness.
¹⁴Flocks will lie down in her midst,
^[b]All animals that range in herds;
Both the ^[c]^(S)pelican and the hedgehog
Will spend their nights in ^[d]the tops of her pillars;
^[e]Birds will sing in the window,
Devastation will be on the threshold;
For He has uncovered the cedar work.
¹⁵This is the ^(T)presumptuous city
That ^(U)dwells securely,
Who says in her heart,
“^(V)I am, and there is no one besides me.”
How she has become a ^(W)desolation,
A resting place for animals!
^(X)Everyone who passes by her will ^[f]hiss
And wave his hand in contempt.

Woe to Jerusalem and the Nations

3 Woe to her who is ^(Y)rebellious and ^(Z)defiled,
The ^(AA)oppressive city!
²She ^(AB)obeyed no voice,
She ^(AC)accepted no discipline.
She did not ^(AD)trust in the Lord,
She did not ^(AE)approach her God.
³Her ^(AF)leaders within her are roaring lions,
Her judges are ^(AG)wolves at evening;
They have no bones to gnaw in the morning.
⁴Her prophets are ^(AH)insolent, treacherous men;
Her ^(AI)priests have profaned the sanctuary.
They have done violence to the Law.
⁵The Lord is ^(AJ)righteous ^(AK)within her;
He will ^(AL)do no injustice.
^(AM)Every morning He brings His justice to light;
He ^[g]does not fail.
But the ^[h]criminal ^(AN)knows no shame.
⁶“I have eliminated nations;
Their corner towers are deserted.
I have ^(AO)laid waste their streets,
With no one passing by;
Their ^(AP)cities have been laid waste,
Without a person, ^(AQ)without an inhabitant.
⁷I said, ‘You will certainly revere Me,
You will ^(AR)accept discipline.’
So her dwelling will ^(AS)not be eliminated
In accordance with everything that I have stipulated for her.
Instead, they were eager to ^(AT)corrupt all their deeds.

⁸“Therefore ^(AU)wait for Me,” declares the Lord,
“For the day when I rise up as a witness.
Indeed, My decision is to ^(AV)gather nations,
To assemble kingdoms,
To pour out on them My indignation,
All My burning anger;
For ^(AW)all the earth will be devoured
By the fire of My zeal.
⁹For then I will ^[i]restore to the peoples ^(AX)pure lips,
So that all of them may ^(AY)call on the name of the Lord,
To serve Him ^[j]shoulder to shoulder.
¹⁰From beyond the rivers of ^(AZ)Ethiopia
My worshipers, ^[k]My dispersed ones,
Will ^(BA)bring My offerings.
¹¹On that day you will ^(BB)feel no shame
Because of all your deeds
By which you have rebelled against Me;
For then I will remove from your midst
Your ^(BC)proud, arrogant ones,
And you will never again be haughty
On My ^(BD)holy mountain.

A Remnant of Israel

¹²But I will leave among you
A ^(BE)humble and lowly people,
And they will ^(BF)take refuge in the name of the Lord.
¹³The ^(BG)remnant of Israel will ^(BH)do no wrong
And ^(BI)tell no lies,
Nor will a deceitful tongue
Be found in their mouths;
For they will ^(BJ)feed and lie down
With no one to frighten them.”

¹⁴Shout for joy, daughter of Zion!
^(BK)Shout in triumph, Israel!
Rejoice and triumph with all your heart,
Daughter of Jerusalem!
¹⁵The Lord has taken away ^(BL)His judgments against you,
He has cleared away your enemies.
The King of Israel, the Lord, is ^(BM)in your midst;
You will no longer ^(BN)fear disaster.
¹⁶^(BO)On that day it will be said to Jerusalem:
“^(BP)Do not be afraid, Zion;
^(BQ)Do not let your hands fall limp.
¹⁷The Lord your God is ^(BR)in your midst,
A ^[l]^(BS)victorious warrior.
He will ^(BT)rejoice over you with joy,
He will ^[m]be quiet in His love,
He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.
¹⁸I will gather those who are ^(BU)worried about the appointed feasts—
They ^[n]came from you, Zion;
The disgrace of exile is a burden on ^[o]them.
¹⁹Behold, I am going to deal at that time
With all your ^(BV)oppressors;
I will save ^(BW)those who limp
And gather the scattered,
And I will turn their ^(BX)shame into ^(BY)praise and fame
In all the earth.
²⁰At that time I will ^(BZ)bring you in,
Even at the time when I gather you together;
Indeed, I will make you ^(CA)famous and praiseworthy
Among all the peoples of the earth,
When I ^(CB)restore your fortunes before your eyes,”
Says the Lord.

Footnotes

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