18 Neither their silver nor their gold
    will be able to save them
    on the day of the Lord’s wrath.”(A)

In the fire of his jealousy(B)
    the whole earth will be consumed,(C)
for he will make a sudden end
    of all who live on the earth.(D)

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Therefore wait(A) for me,”
    declares the Lord,
    “for the day I will stand up to testify.[a]
I have decided to assemble(B) the nations,(C)
    to gather the kingdoms
and to pour out my wrath(D) on them—
    all my fierce anger.(E)
The whole world will be consumed(F)
    by the fire of my jealous anger.

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Footnotes

  1. Zephaniah 3:8 Septuagint and Syriac; Hebrew will rise up to plunder

19 “‘They will throw their silver into the streets,(A)
    and their gold will be treated as a thing unclean.
Their silver and gold
    will not be able to deliver them
    in the day of the Lord’s wrath.(B)
It will not satisfy(C) their hunger
    or fill their stomachs,
    for it has caused them to stumble(D) into sin.(E)

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Judgment on the Whole Earth in the Day of the Lord

“I will sweep away everything
    from the face of the earth,”(A)
declares the Lord.
“I will sweep away both man and beast;(B)
    I will sweep away the birds in the sky(C)
    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,”(D)
declares the Lord,(E)

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Footnotes

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

Wealth(A) is worthless in the day of wrath,(B)
    but righteousness delivers from death.(C)

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26 What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?

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23 This is what the Lord says:

“Let not the wise boast of their wisdom(A)
    or the strong boast of their strength(B)
    or the rich boast of their riches,(C)
24 but let the one who boasts boast(D) about this:
    that they have the understanding to know(E) me,
that I am the Lord,(F) who exercises kindness,(G)
    justice and righteousness(H) on earth,
    for in these I delight,”
declares the Lord.

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The Lord’s Devastation of the Earth

24 See, the Lord is going to lay waste the earth(A)
    and devastate(B) it;
he will ruin its face
    and scatter(C) its inhabitants—
it will be the same
    for priest as for people,(D)
    for the master as for his servant,
    for the mistress as for her servant,
    for seller as for buyer,(E)
    for borrower as for lender,
    for debtor as for creditor.(F)
The earth will be completely laid waste(G)
    and totally plundered.(H)
The Lord has spoken(I) this word.

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

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So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth(A) the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.(B)

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22 “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.

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19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’

20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool!(A) This very night your life will be demanded from you.(B) Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’(C)

21 “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”(D)

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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(A) and gloom,
        a day of clouds and blackness(B)

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11 Wail,(A) you who live in the market district[a];
    all your merchants will be wiped out,
    all who trade with[b] silver will be destroyed.(B)

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Footnotes

  1. Zephaniah 1:11 Or the Mortar
  2. Zephaniah 1:11 Or in

this is what the Sovereign Lord says: In my burning(A) zeal I have spoken against the rest of the nations, and against all Edom, for with glee and with malice in their hearts they made my land their own possession so that they might plunder its pastureland.’(B) Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel and say to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I speak in my jealous wrath because you have suffered the scorn of the nations.(C)

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38 I will sentence you to the punishment of women who commit adultery and who shed blood;(A) I will bring on you the blood vengeance of my wrath and jealous anger.(B)

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He stretched out what looked like a hand(A) and took me by the hair of my head. The Spirit lifted me up(B) between earth and heaven and in visions(C) of God he took me to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the north gate of the inner court,(D) where the idol that provokes to jealousy(E) stood. And there before me was the glory(F) of the God of Israel, as in the vision I had seen in the plain.(G)

Then he said to me, “Son of man, look toward the north.” So I looked, and in the entrance north of the gate of the altar I saw this idol(H) of jealousy.

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11 “I will make Jerusalem a heap(A) of ruins,
    a haunt of jackals;(B)
and I will lay waste the towns of Judah(C)
    so no one can live there.”(D)

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20 “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign(A) Lord says: My anger(B) and my wrath will be poured(C) out on this place—on man and beast, on the trees of the field and on the crops of your land—and it will burn and not be quenched.(D)

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26 I looked, and the fruitful land was a desert;(A)
    all its towns lay in ruins(B)
    before the Lord, before his fierce anger.(C)

27 This is what the Lord says:

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

29 At the sound of horsemen and archers(J)
    every town takes to flight.(K)
Some go into the thickets;
    some climb up among the rocks.(L)
All the towns are deserted;(M)
    no one lives in them.

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20 In that day(A) people will throw away
    to the moles and bats(B)
their idols of silver and idols of gold,(C)
    which they made to worship.(D)
21 They will flee to caverns in the rocks(E)
    and to the overhanging crags
from the fearful presence of the Lord
    and the splendor of his majesty,(F)
    when he rises(G) to shake the earth.(H)

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24 Therefore the Lord, the Lord Almighty,
    the Mighty One(A) of Israel, declares:
“Ah! I will vent my wrath on my foes
    and avenge(B) myself on my enemies.(C)

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11 The wealth of the rich is their fortified city;(A)
    they imagine it a wall too high to scale.

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How long,(A) Lord? Will you be angry(B) forever?
    How long will your jealousy burn like fire?(C)

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58 They angered him(A) with their high places;(B)
    they aroused his jealousy with their idols.(C)

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Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin:
    He will snatch you up and pluck(A) you from your tent;
    he will uproot(B) you from the land of the living.(C)
The righteous will see and fear;
    they will laugh(D) at you, saying,
“Here now is the man
    who did not make God his stronghold(E)
but trusted in his great wealth(F)
    and grew strong by destroying others!”

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