Zephaniah 1

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.
⁵And 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,
⁶And 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.
⁹And 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.
¹⁰And 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.
¹¹Wail, 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.
¹²And 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!’
¹³Their 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.”

¹⁴The ^(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.
¹⁵That 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,
¹⁶A day of ^(AK)trumpet and battle cry
Against the ^(AL)fortified cities
And the high corner towers.
¹⁷I 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.
¹⁸Neither 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.

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

Matthew 13:24-43

New American Standard Bible

Weeds among Wheat

²⁴Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, “^(A)The kingdom of heaven ^[a]is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. ²⁵But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed ^[b]weeds among the wheat, and left. ²⁶And when the ^[c]wheat sprouted and produced grain, then the weeds also became evident. ²⁷And the slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? ^[d]How then does it have weeds?’ ²⁸And he said to them, ‘^[e]An enemy has done this!’ The slaves *said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’ ²⁹But he *said, ‘No; while you are gathering up the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. ³⁰Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and at the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the weeds and bind them in bundles to burn them; but ^(B)gather the wheat into my barn.”’”

The Mustard Seed

³¹He presented another parable to them, saying, “^(C)The kingdom of heaven is like ^(D)a mustard seed, which a person took and sowed in his field; ³²and this is smaller than all the other seeds, but when it is fully grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that ^(E)the birds of the sky come and nest in its branches.”

The Leaven

³³He spoke another parable to them: “^(F)The kingdom of heaven is like ^[f]leaven, which a woman took and hid in ^(G)three ^[g]sata of flour until it was all leavened.”

³⁴All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables, and He did not speak anything to them ^(H)without a parable. ³⁵This was so that what was spoken through the prophet would be ^[h]fulfilled:

“^(I)I will open My mouth in parables;
I will proclaim things hidden since the foundation of the world.”

The Weeds Explained

³⁶Then He left the crowds and went into ^(J)the house. And His disciples came to Him and said, “^(K)Explain to us the parable of the ^[i]weeds of the field.” ³⁷And He said, “The one who sows the good seed is ^(L)the Son of Man, ³⁸and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are ^(M)the sons of the kingdom; and the weeds are ^(N)the sons of ^(O)the evil one; ³⁹and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is ^(P)the ^[j]end of the age; and the reapers are angels. ⁴⁰So just as the weeds are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at ^(Q)the ^[k]end of the age. ⁴¹^(R)The Son of Man ^(S)will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom ^[l]all ^(T)stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, ⁴²and they ^(U)will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place ^(V)there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³^(W)Then the righteous will shine forth like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. ^(X)The one who has ears, ^[m]let him hear.

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Footnotes

Matthew 13:24 Lit has been compared to
Matthew 13:25 Prob. darnel, a weed resembling wheat
Matthew 13:26 Lit grass
Matthew 13:27 Lit From where
Matthew 13:28 Lit A hostile person
Matthew 13:33 I.e., fermented dough
Matthew 13:33 A Gr term for a Heb measure, totaling about 48 lb. or 22 kg of flour
Matthew 13:35 Lit fulfilled, saying
Matthew 13:36 Prob. darnel, a weed resembling wheat
Matthew 13:39 Or consummation
Matthew 13:40 Or consummation
Matthew 13:41 Or everything that is offensive
Matthew 13:43 Or hear! Or listen!

Zephaniah 2

New American Standard Bible

Judgments on Judah’s Enemies

2 Gather yourselves together, yes, ^(A)join together,
You nation ^(B)without ^[a]shame,
²Before the decree ^[b]takes effect—
The day passes ^(C)like chaff—
Before the ^(D)burning anger of the Lord comes upon you,
Before the ^(E)day of the Lord’s anger comes upon you.
³^(F)Seek the Lord,
All you ^(G)humble of the ^[c]earth
Who have practiced His ^[d]ordinances;
^(H)Seek righteousness, seek humility.
Perhaps you will ^(I)remain hidden
On the day of the Lord’s anger.

⁴For ^(J)Gaza will be abandoned,
And Ashkelon will become a desolation;
The inhabitants of ^(K)Ashdod will be driven out at noon,
And ^(L)Ekron will be uprooted.
⁵Woe to the inhabitants of the seacoast,
The nation of the ^[e]^(M)Cherethites!
The word of the Lord is ^(N)against you,
^(O)Canaan, land of the Philistines;
And I will ^(P)eliminate you
So that there will be ^(Q)no inhabitant.
⁶So the seacoast will become ^(R)grazing places,
With pastures for shepherds and folds for flocks.
⁷And the coast will be
For the ^(S)remnant of the house of Judah,
They will ^(T)drive sheep to pasture on it.
In the houses of Ashkelon they will lie down at evening;
For the Lord their God will ^(U)care for them
And ^(V)restore their fortunes.

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

¹⁰This they will have in return for their ^(AE)arrogance, because they have ^(AF)taunted and boasted against the people of the Lord of armies. ¹¹The Lord will be ^(AG)terrifying to them, for He will ^[f]starve ^(AH)all the gods of the earth; and all the ^(AI)coastlands of the nations will ^(AJ)bow down to Him, everyone from his own place.

¹²“You also, ^(AK)Ethiopians, will be slain by My sword.”
¹³And He will ^(AL)stretch out His hand against the north
And eliminate ^(AM)Assyria,
And He will make ^(AN)Nineveh a desolation,
Parched like the wilderness.
¹⁴Flocks will lie down in her midst,
^[g]All animals that range in herds;
Both the ^[h]^(AO)pelican and the hedgehog
Will spend their nights in ^[i]the tops of her pillars;
^[j]Birds will sing in the window,
Devastation will be on the threshold;
For He has uncovered the cedar work.
¹⁵This is the ^(AP)presumptuous city
That ^(AQ)dwells securely,
Who says in her heart,
“^(AR)I am, and there is no one besides me.”
How she has become a ^(AS)desolation,
A resting place for animals!
^(AT)Everyone who passes by her will ^[k]hiss
And wave his hand in contempt.

Footnotes

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

1 Corinthians 3

New American Standard Bible

Foundations for Living

3 And I, brothers and sisters, could not speak to you as ^(A)spiritual people, but only as ^(B)fleshly, as to ^(C)infants in Christ. ²I gave you ^(D)milk to drink, not solid food; for you ^(E)were not yet able to consume it. But even now you are not yet able, ³for you are still fleshly. For since there is ^(F)jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking ^(G)like ordinary people? ⁴For when ^(H)one person says, “I am ^[a]with Paul,” and another, “I am ^[b]with Apollos,” are you not ordinary ^(I)people?

⁵What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? ^(J)Servants through whom you believed, even ^(K)as the Lord gave opportunity to each one. ⁶^(L)I planted, ^(M)Apollos watered, but ^(N)God was causing the growth. ⁷So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. ⁸Now the one who plants and the one who waters are one; but each will ^(O)receive his own ^[c]reward according to his own labor. ⁹For we are God’s ^(P)fellow workers; you are God’s ^[d]^(Q)field, God’s ^(R)building.

¹⁰According to ^(S)the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder ^(T)I laid a foundation, and ^(U)another is building on it. But each person must be careful how he builds on it. ¹¹For no one can lay a ^(V)foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. ¹²Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, ¹³^(W)each one’s work will become evident; for ^(X)the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test ^[e]the quality of each one’s work. ¹⁴If anyone’s work which he has built on it remains, he will ^(Y)receive a reward. ¹⁵If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet only ^(Z)so as through fire.

¹⁶^(AA)Do you not know that ^(AB)you are a ^[f]temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? ¹⁷If anyone destroys the ^[g]temple of God, God will destroy ^[h]that person; for the ^[i]temple of God is holy, ^[j]and that is what you are.

¹⁸^(AC)Take care that no one deceives himself. ^(AD)If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in ^(AE)this age, he must become foolish, so that he may become wise. ¹⁹For ^(AF)the wisdom of this world is foolishness in the sight of God. For it is written: “He is ^(AG)the one who catches the wise by their craftiness”; ²⁰and again, “^(AH)The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are useless.” ²¹So then, ^(AI)no one is to be boasting in people. For ^(AJ)all things belong to you, ²²^(AK)whether Paul or Apollos or ^[k]Cephas, or the world or ^(AL)life or death, or things present or things to come; all things belong to you, ²³and ^(AM)you belong to Christ, and ^(AN)Christ belongs to God.