Zephaniah 1
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
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 King Josiah son of Amon of Judah.(A)
The Coming Judgment on Judah
2 I will utterly sweep away everything
from the face of the earth, says the Lord.(B)
3 I will sweep away humans and animals;
I will sweep away the birds of the air
and the fish of the sea.
I will make the wicked stumble.[a]
I will cut off humanity
from the face of the earth, says the Lord.(C)
4 I will stretch out my hand against Judah
and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
and I will cut off from this place every remnant of Baal
and the name of the idolatrous priests,[b](D)
5 those who bow down on the roofs
to the host of the heavens,
those who bow down and swear to the Lord
but also swear by Milcom,[c](E)
6 those who have turned back from following the Lord,
who have not sought the Lord or inquired of him.(F)
7 Be silent before the Lord God,
for the day of the Lord is at hand!
The Lord has prepared a sacrifice;
he has consecrated his guests.(G)
8 And on the day of the Lord’s sacrifice
I will punish the officials and the king’s sons
and all who dress themselves in foreign attire.(H)
9 On that day I will punish
all who leap over the threshold,
who fill their master’s house
with violence and fraud.(I)
10 On that day, says the Lord,
a cry will be heard from the Fish Gate,
a wail from the Second Quarter,
a loud crash from the hills.(J)
11 The inhabitants of the Mortar wail,
for all the traders have perished;
all who weigh out silver are cut off.
12 At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps,
and I will punish the people
who settle like dregs in wine,
those who say in their hearts,
“The Lord will not do good,
nor will he do harm.”(K)
13 Their wealth shall be plundered
and their houses laid waste.
Though they build houses,
they shall not inhabit them;
though they plant vineyards,
they shall not drink wine from them.(L)
The Great Day of the Lord
14 The great day of the Lord is near,
near and hastening fast;
the sound of the day of the Lord is bitter;
the warrior cries aloud there.(M)
15 That day will be a day of wrath,
a day of distress and anguish,
a day of ruin and devastation,
a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and thick darkness,(N)
16 a day of trumpet blast and battle cry
against the fortified cities
and against the lofty battlements.
17 I will bring such distress upon people
that they shall walk like the blind;
because they have sinned against the Lord,
their blood shall be poured out like dust
and their flesh like dung.(O)
18 Neither their silver nor their gold
will be able to save them
on the day of the Lord’s wrath;
in the fire of his passion
the whole earth shall be consumed,
for a full, a terrible end
he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth.(P)
Zephaniah 1
Lexham English Bible
Judah’s Impending Judgment
1 The word of Yahweh that came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah.
2 “I will surely destroy everything
from the face of the earth”—a declaration of Yahweh.
3 “I will destroy humanity and beast;
I will destroy the birds of the sky
and the fish of the sea,
and the stumbling blocks[a] with the wicked.
And I will cut off humankind
from the face of the earth”—a declaration of Yahweh.
4 “And I will stretch out my hand against Judah
and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
And I will cut off from this place
the remnant of Baal,
and the name of idolatrous priests with the priests,[b]
5 and those who bow down on the rooftops
to the host of heaven,
and those who bow down, swearing to Yahweh
but also swearing by Milkom,[c]
6 and those who turned back from following[d] Yahweh,
and who did not seek Yahweh,
and did not inquire of him.”
7 Be silent before the Lord Yahweh,
for the day of Yahweh draws near,
for Yahweh has provided a sacrifice
and has consecrated his guests.
8 And it shall be that on the day of the sacrifice of Yahweh,
I will punish the officials
and the sons of the king
and those who dress in foreign clothing.
9 And on that day I will punish
all who leap over the threshold,
who fill up the house of their master
with violence and deceit.
10 “And there shall be on that day”—a declaration of Yahweh—
“a loud outcry[e] from the Fish Gate,
and a wailing from the Second District,
and a loud[f] crashing from the hills.
11 The inhabitants of the Mortar shall wail,
for all the traders have perished;
all who trade with silver have been cut off.
12 And it shall be that at that time
I will search Jerusalem with lamps,
and I will punish the men
whose senses are dulled from drinking,[g]
who say in their hearts,
‘Yahweh will not do good, nor will he do evil.’
13 Then their wealth shall be as plunder,
and their homes as desolation.
And they shall build their houses and not inhabit them,
and they shall plant vineyards and not drink their wine.”
14 The great day of Yahweh draws near;
it is near and coming very swiftly.
The sound of the day of Yahweh is bitterness;
there, a warrior cries out!
15 That day will be a day of wrath,
a day of trouble and distress,
a day of disaster and ruination,
a day of darkness and deep gloom,
a day of clouds[h] and thick clouds,[i]
16 a day of trumpet and trumpet blast
against the fortified cities
and against the high corner towers.
17 And I will bring distress to all humankind,
and they shall walk about like the blind,
for they sinned against Yahweh;
their blood shall be poured out like dust
and their entrails like dung.
18 Moreover, their silver and their gold
will not be able to save them
on the day of the wrath of Yahweh.
And in the fire of his zeal,
the whole land shall be consumed,
for a terrifying end he shall make
for all the inhabitants of the land.
Footnotes
- Zephaniah 1:3 A reference to idols
- Zephaniah 1:4 The last phrase, “with the priests,” may be a later explanatory gloss
- Zephaniah 1:5 Or “their king”
- Zephaniah 1:6 Literally “after”
- Zephaniah 1:10 Literally “voice of a cry of distress”
- Zephaniah 1:10 Or “great”
- Zephaniah 1:12 Literally “who are thickened with their dregs”
- Zephaniah 1:15 Hebrew “cloud”
- Zephaniah 1:15 Hebrew “cloud”
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
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