Zephaniah 3
Lexham English Bible
Judgment of Jerusalem and the Nations
3 Woe to you, O rebellious and defiled one!
The oppressing city!
2 She listens to no voice;
she does not accept correction.
In Yahweh she does not trust;
to her God she does not draw near.
3 Her officials in her midst are roaring lions;
her judges are evening wolves;
they leave nothing until the morning.
4 Her prophets are arrogant men of treachery;
her priests have defiled that which is holy;
they do violence to the law.
5 Yahweh is righteous in her midst;
he does not do wickedness.
Morning by morning[a] he renders his judgment;
at dawn he does not fail,
but an evil one knows no shame.
6 “I have cut off nations;
their strongholds are deserted.
I have laid waste their streets,
so that none pass through.
Their cities have been destroyed
and are without a man, without an inhabitant.
7 I have said, ‘Surely she will fear me;
she will accept discipline.
Then her dwelling place will not be cut down,
nor all that I have brought upon her.’
Surely they rise early;
they make all their deeds corrupt.
8 “Therefore, wait for me”—a declaration of Yahweh—
“for the day of my rising as a witness.
For my decision is to gather nations,
to assemble[b] kingdoms,
to pour out my wrath upon them, all my burning anger.
For by the fire of my anger all the land shall be consumed.
9 Because then I will make the speech of the nations pure;[c]
that all of them might call on the name of Yahweh,
to serve him in unison.[d]
10 From beyond the rivers of Cush
my worshipers and the daughter of my scattered ones
shall bring my offering.
11 On that day you shall not be humiliated
on account of all your deeds
by which you have rebelled against me.
For then I shall remove from your midst
those exulting in your pride,
and you shall no longer be haughty
in my holy mountain.[e]
12 And I will leave in your midst
a people afflicted and poor,
and they shall take refuge
in the name of Yahweh.
13 The remnant of Israel
shall not do wickedness;
they shall not speak deception,
nor shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth.
For they shall graze and lie down,
and none shall frighten them.”
14 Shout for joy, O daughter of Zion!
Cry aloud, O Israel!
Rejoice and be jubilant with all your heart,
O daughter of Jerusalem!
15 Yahweh has annulled your judgments;
he has turned away your enemies.
The king of Israel, Yahweh, is in your midst;
you shall no longer fear misfortune.
16 On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem,
“Fear not, O Zion;
your hands shall not hang limp.
17 Yahweh your God is in your midst;
a mighty warrior who saves.
He shall rejoice over you with joy;
he renews[f] you in his love;
he will exult over you with singing.
18 I will gather those of you grieving on account of the feast;
they were raising against her a reproach.
19 Behold, at that time I will deal with all your oppressors;
I will save the lame and gather the outcast.
I will change[g] them from shame
to glory and renown[h] throughout the whole world.
20 At that time I will bring you in;
at the time of my gathering you together.
For I will make you renowned[i] and praised
among all the nations of the earth
when I restore your fortunes before your eyes,”
says Yahweh.
Footnotes
- Zephaniah 3:5 Literally “In the morning, in the morning”
- Zephaniah 3:8 The traditional Hebrew has “assemble me”; this translation follows LXX
- Zephaniah 3:9 Literally “I will turn to the nations a purged lip”
- Zephaniah 3:9 Literally “with one shoulder”
- Zephaniah 3:11 Literally “the mountain of my holiness”
- Zephaniah 3:17 The translation follows the LXX text; the traditional Hebrew text reads “he will silence you in his love”
- Zephaniah 3:19 Or “make”
- Zephaniah 3:19 Literally “a name”
- Zephaniah 3:20 Literally “a name”
Zephaniah 3
Common English Bible
Judgment against Jerusalem
3 Doom, obstinate one,
the defiled one,
the violent city.
2 She listened to no voice;
she accepted no discipline.
She didn’t trust in the Lord,
nor did she draw near to her God.
3 The princes in her midst are roaring lions.
Her judges are wolves of the evening;
they leave nothing for the morning.
4 Her prophets are reckless, men of treachery.
Her priests pollute that which is holy;
they do violence to the Instruction.
5 The Lord is righteous in her midst.
He does nothing unjust.
Morning by morning he renders justice,
but the unrighteous one knows no shame.
6 I will cut off nations;
their towers will be destroyed;
I will devastate their streets.
No one will pass through.
Their cities will be laid waste.
There will be no person, no inhabitant left.
7 I said, “Surely, she will fear me;
she will take instruction
so that her habitation won’t be cut off[a]
because of everything I did to her.”
However, they rose early to corrupt their deeds.
8 Therefore, wait for me, says the Lord,
wait for the day when I rise up as a witness,[b]
when I decide to gather nations,
to collect kingdoms,
to pour out my indignation upon them,
all the heat of my anger.
In the fire of my jealousy,
all the earth will be devoured.
Restoration of the nations and Jerusalem
9 Then I will change the speech of the peoples into pure speech,
that all of them will call on the name of the Lord
and will serve him as one.[c]
10 From beyond the rivers of Cush,
my daughter, my dispersed ones, will bring me offerings.
11 On that day, you won’t be ashamed of all your deeds
with which you sinned against me;
then I will remove from your midst those boasting with pride.
No longer will you be haughty on my holy mountain,
12 but I will cause a humble and powerless people to remain in your midst;
they will seek refuge in the name of the Lord.
13 The few remaining from Israel won’t commit injustice;
they won’t tell lies;
a deceitful tongue won’t be found on their lips.
They will graze and lie down;
no one will make them afraid.
14 Rejoice, Daughter Zion! Shout, Israel!
Rejoice and exult with all your heart, Daughter Jerusalem.
15 The Lord has removed your judgment;
he has turned away your enemy.
The Lord, the king of Israel, is in your midst;
you will no longer fear evil.
16 On that day, it will be said to Jerusalem:
Don’t fear, Zion.
Don’t let your hands fall.
17 The Lord your God is in your midst—a warrior bringing victory.
He will create calm with his love;
he will rejoice over you with singing.
18 I will remove from you those worried about the appointed feasts.[d]
They have been a burden for her, a reproach.
19 Watch what I am about to do to all your oppressors at that time.
I will deliver the lame;
I will gather the outcast.
I will change their shame into praise and fame throughout the earth.
20 At that time, I will bring all of you back,
at the time when I gather you.
I will give you fame and praise among all the neighboring peoples
when I restore your possessions and you can see them[e]—says the Lord.
Footnotes
- Zephaniah 3:7 Heb uncertain
- Zephaniah 3:8 LXX; MT it
- Zephaniah 3:9 Or with one shoulder
- Zephaniah 3:18 Heb uncertain
- Zephaniah 3:20 Or before your eyes
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