Zephaniah 3
English Standard Version
Judgment on Jerusalem and the Nations
3 Woe to her who is rebellious and defiled,
(A)the oppressing city!
2 She listens to no voice;
(B)she accepts no correction.
(C)She does not trust in the Lord;
she does not draw near to her God.
3 (D)Her officials within her
are roaring lions;
her judges are (E)evening wolves
that leave nothing till the morning.
4 (F)Her prophets are fickle, treacherous men;
(G)her priests (H)profane what is holy;
they do violence to the law.
5 The Lord within her (I)is righteous;
he does no injustice;
every morning he shows forth his justice;
each dawn he does not fail;
but (J)the unjust knows no shame.
6 (K)“I have cut off nations;
their battlements are in ruins;
I have laid waste their streets
(L)so that no one walks in them;
their cities have been made desolate,
without a man, without an inhabitant.
7 (M)I said, ‘Surely you will fear me;
(N)you will accept correction.
Then your[a] dwelling would not be cut off
according to all that I have appointed against you.’[b]
But (O)all the more they were eager
to make all their deeds corrupt.
8 “Therefore (P)wait for me,” declares the Lord,
“for the day when I rise up to seize the prey.
For my decision is (Q)to gather nations,
to assemble kingdoms,
to pour out upon them my indignation,
all my burning anger;
for in the fire of my jealousy
(R)all the earth shall be consumed.
The Conversion of the Nations
9 “For at that time I will change the speech of the peoples
to (S)a pure speech,
that all of them may call upon the name of the Lord
and serve him with one accord.
10 (T)From beyond the rivers (U)of Cush
my worshipers, the daughter of my dispersed ones,
shall bring my offering.
11 (V)“On that day (W)you shall not be put to shame
because of the deeds by which you have rebelled against me;
for then (X)I will remove from your midst
your proudly exultant ones,
and (Y)you shall no longer be haughty
in my holy mountain.
12 But I will leave in your midst
a people (Z)humble and lowly.
(AA)They shall seek refuge in the name of the Lord,
13 (AB)those who are left in Israel;
they (AC)shall do no injustice
and speak no lies,
(AD)nor shall there be found in their mouth
a deceitful tongue.
(AE)For they shall graze and lie down,
and none shall make them afraid.”
Israel's Joy and Restoration
14 (AF)Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion;
shout, O Israel!
Rejoice and exult with all your heart,
O daughter of Jerusalem!
15 The Lord has taken away the judgments against you;
he has cleared away your enemies.
(AG)The King of Israel, (AH)the Lord, is in your midst;
you shall never again fear evil.
16 (AI)On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:
“Fear not, O Zion;
(AJ)let not your hands grow weak.
17 (AK)The Lord your God is in your midst,
(AL)a mighty one who will save;
(AM)he will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will quiet you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing.
18 I will gather those of you who mourn (AN)for the festival,
so that you will no longer suffer reproach.[c]
19 Behold, at that time (AO)I will deal
with all your oppressors.
And (AP)I will save the lame
and gather the outcast,
and I will change (AQ)their shame into (AR)praise
and renown in all the earth.
20 (AS)At that time I will bring you in,
at the time when I gather you together;
for I will make you renowned and praised
among all the peoples of the earth,
(AT)when I restore your fortunes
before your eyes,” says the Lord.
Footnotes
- Zephaniah 3:7 Hebrew her
- Zephaniah 3:7 Hebrew her
- Zephaniah 3:18 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
Zephaniah 3
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Wickedness of Jerusalem
3 Woe, soiled, defiled,
oppressing city!(A)
2 It has listened to no voice;
it has accepted no correction.
It has not trusted in the Lord;
it has not drawn near to its God.(B)
3 The officials within it
are roaring lions;
its judges are evening wolves
that leave nothing until the morning.(C)
4 Its prophets are reckless,
faithless persons;
its priests have profaned what is sacred;
they have done violence to the law.(D)
5 The Lord within it is righteous;
he does no wrong.
Every morning he renders his judgment,
each dawn without fail,
but the unjust knows no shame.(E)
6 I have cut off nations;
their battlements are in ruins;
I have laid waste their streets
so that no one walks in them;
their cities have been made desolate,
without people, without inhabitants.(F)
7 I said, “Surely the city[a] will fear me;
it will accept correction;
it will not lose sight[b]
of all that I have brought upon it.”
But they were the more eager
to make all their deeds corrupt.(G)
Punishment and Conversion of the Nations
8 Therefore wait for me, says the Lord,
for the day when I arise as a witness.
For my decision is to gather nations,
to assemble kingdoms,
to pour out upon them my indignation,
all the heat of my anger,
for in the fire of my passion
all the earth shall be consumed.(H)
9 At that time I will change the speech of the peoples
to a pure speech,
that all of them may call on the name of the Lord
and serve him with one accord.(I)
10 From beyond the rivers of Cush
my suppliants, my scattered ones,
shall bring my offering.(J)
11 On that day you shall not be put to shame
because of all the deeds by which you have rebelled against me;
for then I will remove from your midst
your proudly exultant ones,
and you shall no longer be haughty
in my holy mountain.(K)
12 For I will leave in the midst of you
a people humble and lowly.
They shall seek refuge in the name of the Lord—(L)
13 the remnant of Israel;
they shall do no wrong
and utter no lies,
nor shall a deceitful tongue
be found in their mouths.
Then they will pasture and lie down,
and no one shall make them afraid.(M)
A Song of Joy
14 Sing aloud, O daughter Zion;
shout, O Israel!
Rejoice and exult with all your heart,
O daughter Jerusalem!(N)
15 The Lord has taken away the judgments against you;
he has turned away your enemies.
The king of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst;
you shall fear disaster no more.(O)
16 On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:
“Do not fear, O Zion;
do not let your hands grow weak.(P)
17 The Lord, your God, is in your midst,
a warrior who gives victory;
he will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will renew you[c] in his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing(Q)
18 as on a day of festival.”[d]
I will remove disaster from you,[e]
so that you will not bear reproach for it.
19 I will deal with all your oppressors
at that time.
And I will save the lame
and gather the outcast,
and I will change their shame into praise
and renown in all the earth.(R)
20 At that time I will bring you home,
at the time when I gather you;
for I will make you renowned and praised
among all the peoples of the earth,
when I restore your fortunes
before your eyes, says the Lord.(S)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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.