Zephaniah 3:1-7
New International Version
Jerusalem
3 Woe to the city of oppressors,(A)
rebellious(B) and defiled!(C)
2 She obeys(D) no one,
she accepts no correction.(E)
She does not trust(F) in the Lord,
she does not draw near(G) to her God.
3 Her officials within her
are roaring lions;(H)
her rulers are evening wolves,(I)
who leave nothing for the morning.(J)
4 Her prophets are unprincipled;
they are treacherous people.(K)
Her priests profane the sanctuary
and do violence to the law.(L)
5 The Lord within her is righteous;(M)
he does no wrong.(N)
Morning by morning(O) he dispenses his justice,
and every new day he does not fail,(P)
yet the unrighteous know no shame.(Q)
Jerusalem Remains Unrepentant
6 “I have destroyed nations;
their strongholds are demolished.
I have left their streets deserted,
with no one passing through.
Their cities are laid waste;(R)
they are deserted and empty.
7 Of Jerusalem I thought,
‘Surely you will fear me
and accept correction!’(S)
Then her place of refuge[a] would not be destroyed,
nor all my punishments come upon[b] her.
But they were still eager
to act corruptly(T) in all they did.
Footnotes
- Zephaniah 3:7 Or her sanctuary
- Zephaniah 3:7 Or all those I appointed over
Zephaniah 3:1-7
Christian Standard Bible
Woe to Oppressive Jerusalem
3 Woe to the city that is rebellious[a](A) and defiled,(B)
the oppressive city!
2 She has not obeyed;(C)
she has not accepted discipline.(D)
She has not trusted(E) in the Lord;
she has not drawn near to her God.
3 The[b] princes within her are roaring lions;(F)
her judges are wolves of the night,(G)
which leave nothing for[c] the morning.
4 Her prophets are reckless(H)—
treacherous men.
Her priests profane the sanctuary;
they do violence to instruction.(I)
5 The righteous Lord is in her;(J)
he does no wrong.(K)
He applies his justice morning by morning;
he does not fail at dawn,
yet the one who does wrong knows no shame.(L)
6 I have cut off nations;
their corner towers(M) are destroyed.
I have laid waste their streets,
with no one to pass through.
Their cities lie devastated,
without a person, without an inhabitant.(N)
7 I said: You will certainly fear me
and accept correction.
Then her dwelling place[d]
would not be cut off
based on all that I had allocated to her.
However, they became more corrupt
in all their actions.
Zephaniah 3:1-7
King James Version
3 Woe to her that is filthy and polluted, to the oppressing city!
2 She obeyed not the voice; she received not correction; she trusted not in the Lord; she drew not near to her God.
3 Her princes within her are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves; they gnaw not the bones till the morrow.
4 Her prophets are light and treacherous persons: her priests have polluted the sanctuary, they have done violence to the law.
5 The just Lord is in the midst thereof; he will not do iniquity: every morning doth he bring his judgment to light, he faileth not; but the unjust knoweth no shame.
6 I have cut off the nations: their towers are desolate; I made their streets waste, that none passeth by: their cities are destroyed, so that there is no man, that there is none inhabitant.
7 I said, Surely thou wilt fear me, thou wilt receive instruction; so their dwelling should not be cut off, howsoever I punished them: but they rose early, and corrupted all their doings.
Read full chapterHoly Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.