Therefore (A)the land mourns,
    and all who dwell in it languish,
(B)and also the beasts of the field
    and the birds of the heavens,
    (C)and even the fish of the sea are taken away.

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Because of this the land dries up,(A)
    and all who live in it waste away;(B)
the beasts of the field, the birds in the sky
    and the fish in the sea are swept away.(C)

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“I will sweep away (A)man and beast;
    I will sweep away the birds of the heavens
    and (B)the fish of the sea,
and (C)the rubble[a] with the wicked.
    I will (D)cut off mankind
    from the face of the earth,” declares the Lord.

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Footnotes

  1. Zephaniah 1:3 Or stumbling blocks (that is, idols)

“I will sweep away both man and beast;(A)
    I will sweep away the birds in the sky(B)
    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,”(C)
declares the Lord,(D)

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Footnotes

  1. Zephaniah 1:3 The meaning of the Hebrew for this line is uncertain.

16 Therefore thus says the Lord, (A)the God of hosts, the Lord:

“In all the squares (B)there shall be wailing,
    and in all the streets they shall say, ‘Alas! Alas!’
They shall call the farmers to mourning
    and (C)to wailing those who are skilled in lamentation,

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16 Therefore this is what the Lord, the Lord God Almighty, says:

“There will be wailing(A) in all the streets(B)
    and cries of anguish in every public square.
The farmers(C) will be summoned to weep
    and the mourners to wail.

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20 (A)The fish of the sea and the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the field and all creeping things that creep on the ground, and all the people who are on the face of the earth, (B)shall quake at my presence. And (C)the mountains shall be thrown down, and the cliffs shall fall, and every wall shall tumble to the ground.

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20 The fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the beasts of the field, every creature that moves along the ground, and all the people on the face of the earth will tremble(A) at my presence. The mountains will be overturned,(B) the cliffs will crumble(C) and every wall will fall to the ground.(D)

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27 For thus says the Lord, “The whole land shall be a desolation; (A)yet I will not make a full end.

28 (B)“For this the earth shall mourn,
    (C)and the heavens above be dark;
for I have spoken; I have purposed;
    (D)I have not relented, nor will I turn back.”

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27 This is what the Lord says:

“The whole land will be ruined,(A)
    though I will not destroy(B) it completely.
28 Therefore the earth will mourn(C)
    and the heavens above grow dark,(D)
because I have spoken and will not relent,(E)
    I have decided and will not turn back.(F)

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25 (A)I looked, and behold, there was no man,
    and all the birds of the air had fled.

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25 I looked, and there were no people;
    every bird in the sky had flown away.(A)

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(A)He rebukes the sea and makes it dry;
    he dries up all the rivers;
(B)Bashan and (C)Carmel wither;
    the bloom of (D)Lebanon withers.

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He rebukes(A) the sea and dries it up;(B)
    he makes all the rivers run dry.
Bashan and Carmel(C) wither
    and the blossoms of Lebanon fade.

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(A)Shall not the land tremble on this account,
    and everyone mourn who dwells in it,
(B)and all of it rise like the Nile,
    and be tossed about (C)and sink again, like the Nile of Egypt?”

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“Will not the land tremble(A) for this,
    and all who live in it mourn?
The whole land will rise like the Nile;
    it will be stirred up and then sink
    like the river of Egypt.(B)

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Judgment on Israel's Neighbors

And he said:

(A)“The Lord roars from Zion
    and utters his voice from Jerusalem;
(B)the pastures of the shepherds mourn,
    and the (C)top of (D)Carmel withers.”

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He said:

“The Lord roars(A) from Zion
    and thunders(B) from Jerusalem;(C)
the pastures of the shepherds dry up,
    and the top of Carmel(D) withers.”(E)

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10 The fields are destroyed,
    (A)the ground mourns,
because (B)the grain is destroyed,
    (C)the wine dries up,
    the oil languishes.

11 (D)Be ashamed,[a] O tillers of the soil;
    wail, O vinedressers,
for the wheat and the barley,
    (E)because the harvest of the field has perished.
12 The vine dries up;
    (F)the fig tree languishes.
Pomegranate, palm, and apple,
    all the trees of the field are dried up,
and (G)gladness dries up
    from the children of man.

A Call to Repentance

13 (H)Put on sackcloth and lament, (I)O priests;
    (J)wail, O ministers of the altar.
Go in, (K)pass the night in sackcloth,
    (L)O ministers of my God!
(M)Because grain offering and drink offering
    are withheld from the house of your God.

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Footnotes

  1. Joel 1:11 The Hebrew words for dry up and be ashamed in verses 10–12, 17 sound alike

10 The fields are ruined,
    the ground is dried up;(A)
the grain is destroyed,
    the new wine(B) is dried up,
    the olive oil fails.(C)

11 Despair, you farmers,(D)
    wail, you vine growers;
grieve for the wheat and the barley,(E)
    because the harvest of the field is destroyed.(F)
12 The vine is dried up
    and the fig tree is withered;(G)
the pomegranate,(H) the palm and the apple[a] tree—
    all the trees of the field—are dried up.(I)
Surely the people’s joy
    is withered away.

A Call to Lamentation

13 Put on sackcloth,(J) you priests, and mourn;
    wail, you who minister(K) before the altar.
Come, spend the night in sackcloth,
    you who minister before my God;
for the grain offerings and drink offerings(L)
    are withheld from the house of your God.

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Footnotes

  1. Joel 1:12 Or possibly apricot

(A)How long will the land mourn
    and the grass of every field wither?
(B)For the evil of those who dwell in it
    (C)the beasts and the birds are swept away,
    because they said, “He will not see our latter end.”

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How long will the land lie parched(A)
    and the grass in every field be withered?(B)
Because those who live in it are wicked,
    the animals and birds have perished.(C)
Moreover, the people are saying,
    “He will not see what happens to us.”

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(A)The land mourns and languishes;
    Lebanon is confounded and withers away;
Sharon is like a desert,
    and Bashan and Carmel shake off their leaves.

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The land dries up(A) and wastes away,
    Lebanon(B) is ashamed and withers;(C)
Sharon(D) is like the Arabah,
    and Bashan(E) and Carmel(F) drop their leaves.

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(A)The earth mourns and withers;
    the world languishes and withers;
    the highest people of the earth languish.
The earth lies (B)defiled
    under its inhabitants;
for (C)they have transgressed the laws,
    violated the statutes,
    broken the everlasting covenant.
Therefore (D)a curse devours the earth,
    and its inhabitants (E)suffer for their guilt;
therefore the inhabitants of the earth are scorched,
    and few men are left.
(F)The wine mourns,
    the vine languishes,
    all the merry-hearted sigh.
(G)The mirth of the tambourines is stilled,
    the noise of the jubilant has ceased,
    the mirth of the lyre is stilled.
No more do they drink wine (H)with singing;
    strong drink is bitter to those who drink it.
10 (I)The wasted city is broken down;
    (J)every house is shut up so that none can enter.
11 (K)There is an outcry in the streets for lack of wine;
    (L)all joy has grown dark;
    the gladness of the earth is banished.
12 Desolation is left in the city;
    the gates are battered into ruins.

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The earth dries up(A) and withers,(B)
    the world languishes and withers,
    the heavens(C) languish with the earth.(D)
The earth is defiled(E) by its people;
    they have disobeyed(F) the laws,
violated the statutes
    and broken the everlasting covenant.(G)
Therefore a curse(H) consumes the earth;
    its people must bear their guilt.
Therefore earth’s inhabitants are burned up,(I)
    and very few are left.
The new wine dries up(J) and the vine withers;(K)
    all the merrymakers groan.(L)
The joyful timbrels(M) are stilled,
    the noise(N) of the revelers(O) has stopped,
    the joyful harp(P) is silent.(Q)
No longer do they drink wine(R) with a song;
    the beer is bitter(S) to its drinkers.
10 The ruined city(T) lies desolate;(U)
    the entrance to every house is barred.
11 In the streets they cry out(V) for wine;(W)
    all joy turns to gloom,(X)
    all joyful sounds are banished from the earth.
12 The city is left in ruins,(Y)
    its gate(Z) is battered to pieces.

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