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Zephaniah 1
English Standard Version

1 The word of the Lord that came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, (A)in the days of (B)Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.

The Coming Judgment on Judah

2 (C)“I will utterly sweep away everything
    from the face of the earth,” declares the Lord.
3 “I will sweep away (D)man and beast;
    I will sweep away the birds of the heavens
    and (E)the fish of the sea,
and (F)the rubble[a] with the wicked.
    I will (G)cut off mankind
    from the face of the earth,” declares the Lord.
4 “I will stretch out my hand against Judah
    and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem;
(H)and I will cut off from this place the remnant of Baal
    and the name of the idolatrous priests along with the priests,
5 (I)those who bow down on the roofs
    to the host of the heavens,
(J)those who bow down and swear to the Lord
    and yet swear by (K)Milcom,[b]
6 (L)those who have turned back from following the Lord,
    (M)who do not seek the Lord or inquire of him.”

The Day of the Lord Is Near

7 (N)Be silent before the Lord God!
    For (O)the day of the Lord is near;
(P)the Lord has prepared a sacrifice
    and (Q)consecrated his guests.
8 And on the day of the Lord's sacrifice—
(R)“I will punish the officials and the king's sons
    and (S)all who array themselves in foreign attire.
9 On that day I will punish
    everyone (T)who leaps over the threshold,
and those who fill their master's[c] house
    with violence and fraud.

10 “On that day,” declares the Lord,
    “a cry will be heard from (U)the Fish Gate,
(V)a wail from (W)the Second Quarter,
    a loud crash from the hills.
11 (X)Wail, O inhabitants of the Mortar!
    For all the traders[d] are no more;
    all who weigh out silver are cut off.
12 At that time (Y)I will search Jerusalem with lamps,
    and I will punish the men
(Z)who are complacent,[e]
    (AA)those who say in their hearts,
‘The Lord will not do good,
    nor will he do ill.’
13 Their goods shall be (AB)plundered,
    and their houses laid waste.
(AC)Though they build houses,
    they shall not inhabit them;
(AD)though they plant vineyards,
    they shall not drink wine from them.”

14 (AE)The great day of the Lord is near,
    near and hastening fast;
the sound of the day of the Lord is bitter;
    (AF)the mighty man cries aloud there.
15 (AG)A day of wrath is that day,
    a day of distress and anguish,
a day of (AH)ruin and devastation,
    (AI)a day of darkness and gloom,
(AJ)a day of clouds and thick darkness,
16     (AK)a day of trumpet blast and battle cry
(AL)against the fortified cities
    and against the lofty battlements.

17 (AM)I will bring distress on mankind,
    so that they shall walk (AN)like the blind,
    because they have sinned against the Lord;
(AO)their blood shall be poured out like dust,
    and their flesh (AP)like dung.
18 (AQ)Neither their silver nor their gold
    shall be able to deliver them
    on the day of the wrath of the Lord.
(AR)In the fire of his jealousy,
    (AS)all the earth shall be consumed;
(AT)for a full and sudden end
    he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth.

Footnotes

  1. Zephaniah 1:3 Or stumbling blocks (that is, idols)
  2. Zephaniah 1:5 Or their king
  3. Zephaniah 1:9 Or their Lord's
  4. Zephaniah 1:11 Or all the people of Canaan
  5. Zephaniah 1:12 Hebrew are thickening on the dregs [of their wine]
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Zephaniah 1
Holman Christian Standard Bible

1 The word of the Lord that came to Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah(A) son of Amon, king of Judah.

The Great Day of the Lord

2 I will completely sweep away everything
from the face of the earth(B)—
this is the Lord’s declaration.
3 I will sweep away man and animal;(C)
I will sweep away the birds of the sky
and the fish of the sea,
and the ruins[a] along with the wicked.(D)
I will cut off mankind
from the face of the earth.
This is the Lord’s declaration.

4 I will stretch out My hand(E) against Judah
and against all the residents of Jerusalem.
I will cut off every vestige of Baal(F)
from this place,
the names of the pagan priests(G)
along with the priests;
5 those who bow in worship on the rooftops(H)
to the heavenly host;
those who bow and pledge loyalty to the Lord(I)
but also pledge loyalty to Milcom;[b](J)
6 and those who turn back from following the Lord,
who do not seek the Lord or inquire of Him.
7 Be silent in the presence of the Lord God,(K)
for the Day of the Lord is near.(L)
Indeed, the Lord has prepared a sacrifice;(M)
He has consecrated His guests.(N)

8 On the day of the Lord’s sacrifice
I will punish the officials, the king’s sons,
and all who are dressed in foreign clothing.
9 On that day(O) I will punish
all who skip over the threshold,[c](P)
who fill their master’s house
with violence and deceit.

10 On that day—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
there will be an outcry from the Fish Gate,(Q)
a wailing from the Second District,(R)
and a loud crashing from the hills.
11 Wail, you residents of the Hollow,[d]
for all the merchants[e] will be silenced;
all those loaded with silver will be cut off.

12 And at that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps
and punish the men who settle down comfortably,[f](S)
who say to themselves:
The Lord will not do good or evil.
13 Their wealth will become plunder
and their houses a ruin.
They will build houses but never live in them,
plant vineyards but never drink their wine.(T)

14 The great Day of the Lord is near,(U)
near and rapidly approaching.
Listen, the Day of the Lord—
then the warrior’s cry is bitter.
15 That day is a day of wrath,
a day of trouble and distress,
a day of destruction and desolation,
a day of darkness(V) and gloom,
a day of clouds and blackness,(W)
16 a day of trumpet blast and battle cry
against the fortified cities,
and against the high corner towers.
17 I will bring distress on mankind,
and they will walk like the blind(X)
because they have sinned against the Lord.
Their blood will be poured out like dust
and their flesh like dung.
18 Their silver and their gold
will not be able to rescue them
on the day of the Lord’s wrath.(Y)
The whole earth will be consumed
by the fire of His jealousy.(Z)
For He will make a complete,
yes, a horrifying end
of all the inhabitants of the earth.

Footnotes

  1. Zephaniah 1:3 Perhaps objects connected with idolatry
  2. Zephaniah 1:5 Some LXX mss, Syr, Vg; MT, other LXX mss read their king
  3. Zephaniah 1:9 Hb obscure
  4. Zephaniah 1:11 Or the market district
  5. Zephaniah 1:11 Or Canaanites
  6. Zephaniah 1:12 Lit who thicken on their dregs
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Habakkuk 3
Zephaniah 2
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