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Zephaniah 3
Legacy Standard Bible
Zephaniah 3
Legacy Standard Bible
The Unjust Knows No Shame
3 Woe to her who is (A)rebellious and (B)defiled,
The oppressive (C)city!
2 She (D)did not listen to any voice;
She (E)did not receive discipline.
She did not (F)trust in Yahweh;
She did not (G)draw near to her God.
3 Her (H)princes in her midst are roaring lions;
Her judges are (I)wolves at evening;
They leave nothing to gnaw for the morning.
4 Her prophets are (J)reckless, treacherous men;
Her (K)priests have profaned the sanctuary.
They have done violence to the law.
5 Yahweh is (L)righteous (M)in her midst;
He will (N)do no injustice.
(O)Every morning He brings His justice to light;
[a]He does not fail.
But the unjust (P)knows no shame.
6 “I have cut off nations;
Their corner towers are desolate.
I have made their streets (Q)a waste,
With no one passing by;
Their (R)cities are laid waste,
Without a man, (S)without an inhabitant.
7 I said, ‘Surely you will fear Me,
(T)Receive discipline.’
So her abode will (U)not be cut off
According to all that I have appointed concerning her.
But they were eager to (V)corrupt all their deeds.
Yahweh Will Pour Out His Anger
8 “Therefore (W)wait for Me,” declares Yahweh,
“For the day when I rise up as a witness.
Indeed, My judgment is to (X)assemble nations,
To gather kingdoms,
To pour out on them My indignation,
All My burning anger;
For (Y)all the earth will be devoured
By the fire of My zeal.
9 For then I will change them to peoples with (Z)purified lips,
That all of them may (AA)call on the name of Yahweh,
To serve Him [b]shoulder to shoulder.
10 From beyond the rivers of [c](AB)Ethiopia
My [d]worshipers, [e]My scattered ones,
Will (AC)bring My offerings.
11 In that day you will (AD)feel no shame
Because of all your deeds
By which you have transgressed against Me;
For then I will remove from your midst
Your (AE)proud, exulting ones,
And you will never again be haughty
On My (AF)holy mountain.
12 But I will cause to remain in your midst
A [f](AG)lowly and poor people,
And they will (AH)take refuge in the name of Yahweh.
13 The (AI)remnant of Israel will (AJ)do no injustice
And (AK)not speak falsehood,
Nor will a deceitful tongue
Be found in their mouths;
For they will (AL)feed and lie down
With no one to make them tremble.”
Yahweh’s Joy in Restoring Israel
14 Sing for joy, O daughter of Zion!
(AM)Make a loud shout, O Israel!
Be glad and exult with all your heart,
O daughter of Jerusalem!
15 Yahweh has taken away (AN)His judgments against you;
He has cleared away your enemies.
The King of Israel, Yahweh, is (AO)in your midst;
You will (AP)fear evil no more.
16 (AQ)In that day it will be said to Jerusalem:
“(AR)Do not fear, O Zion;
(AS)Do not let your hands fall limp.
17 Yahweh your God is (AT)in your midst,
A (AU)mighty one who will save.
He will (AV)be joyful over you with gladness;
He will [g]be quiet in His love;
He will rejoice over you with joyful singing.
18 I will assemble those who (AW)grieve about the appointed feasts—
They were from you, O Zion;
The reproach of exile is a burden on [h]them.
19 Behold, I am going to deal at that time
With all those who (AX)afflict you,
And I will save the (AY)lame
And gather the banished,
And I will turn them—in their (AZ)shame—into (BA)praise and a name
In all the earth.
20 At that time I will (BB)bring you in,
Even at the time when I gather you together;
Indeed, I will give you to be a (BC)name and praise
Among all the peoples of the earth,
When I (BD)restore your fortunes before your eyes,”
Says Yahweh.
Footnotes
- Zephaniah 3:5 Lit It is never missing
- Zephaniah 3:9 Lit with one shoulder
- Zephaniah 3:10 Or Cush, cf. Gen 10:6
- Zephaniah 3:10 Or suppliants
- Zephaniah 3:10 Lit the daughter of My scattered ones
- Zephaniah 3:12 Or humble, afflicted
- Zephaniah 3:17 Some ancient versions renew you in
- Zephaniah 3:18 Lit her
Zephaniah 3
Christian Standard Bible
Zephaniah 3
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.
8 Therefore, wait for me(O)—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
until the day I rise up for plunder.[e]
For my decision is to gather nations,
to assemble kingdoms,
in order to pour out my indignation(P) on them,
all my burning anger;
for the whole earth will be consumed
by the fire of my jealousy.(Q)
Final Restoration Promised
9 For I will then restore
pure(R) speech to the peoples
so that all of them may call
on the name of the Lord
and serve him with a single purpose.[f]
10 From beyond the rivers of Cush(S)
my supplicants, my dispersed people,
will bring an offering to me.
11 On that day you[g] will not be put to shame(T)
because of everything you have done
in rebelling(U) against me.
For then I will remove
from among you your jubilant,(V) arrogant people,
and you will never again be haughty
on my holy mountain.(W)
12 I will leave
a meek and humble people(X) among you,
and they will take refuge in the name of the Lord.
13 The remnant(Y) of Israel will no longer
do wrong or tell lies;
a deceitful tongue will not be found
in their mouths.
They will pasture and lie down,
with nothing to make them afraid.(Z)
14 Sing for joy, Daughter Zion;
shout loudly, Israel!
Be glad and celebrate with all your heart,
Daughter Jerusalem!
15 The Lord has removed your punishment;
he has turned back your enemy.
The King of Israel, the Lord, is among you;
you need no longer fear harm.
16 On that day it will be said to Jerusalem:
“Do not fear;
Zion, do not let your hands grow weak.(AA)
17 The Lord your God is among you,
a warrior(AB) who saves.
He will rejoice over you(AC) with gladness.
He will be quiet[h] in his love.
He will delight in you with singing.”(AD)
18 I will gather those who have been driven(AE)
from the appointed festivals;
they will be a tribute from you[i]
and a reproach on her.[j]
19 Yes, at that time
I will deal with all who oppress you.
I will save the lame(AF) and gather the outcasts;(AG)
I will make those who were disgraced
throughout the earth
receive praise and fame.
20 At that time I will bring you[k] back,
yes, at the time I will gather you.
I will give you fame and praise
among all the peoples of the earth,
when I restore your fortunes(AH) before your eyes.
The Lord has spoken.
Zephaniah 3
New International Version
Zephaniah 3
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.
8 Therefore wait(U) for me,”
declares the Lord,
“for the day I will stand up to testify.[c]
I have decided to assemble(V) the nations,(W)
to gather the kingdoms
and to pour out my wrath(X) on them—
all my fierce anger.(Y)
The whole world will be consumed(Z)
by the fire of my jealous anger.
Restoration of Israel’s Remnant
9 “Then I will purify the lips of the peoples,
that all of them may call(AA) on the name of the Lord(AB)
and serve(AC) him shoulder to shoulder.
10 From beyond the rivers of Cush[d](AD)
my worshipers, my scattered people,
will bring me offerings.(AE)
11 On that day you, Jerusalem, will not be put to shame(AF)
for all the wrongs you have done to me,(AG)
because I will remove from you
your arrogant boasters.(AH)
Never again will you be haughty
on my holy hill.(AI)
12 But I will leave within you
the meek(AJ) and humble.
The remnant of Israel
will trust(AK) in the name of the Lord.
13 They(AL) will do no wrong;(AM)
they will tell no lies.(AN)
A deceitful tongue
will not be found in their mouths.(AO)
They will eat and lie down(AP)
and no one will make them afraid.(AQ)”
14 Sing, Daughter Zion;(AR)
shout aloud,(AS) Israel!
Be glad and rejoice(AT) with all your heart,
Daughter Jerusalem!
15 The Lord has taken away your punishment,
he has turned back your enemy.
The Lord, the King of Israel, is with you;(AU)
never again will you fear(AV) any harm.(AW)
16 On that day
they will say to Jerusalem,
“Do not fear, Zion;
do not let your hands hang limp.(AX)
17 The Lord your God is with you,
the Mighty Warrior who saves.(AY)
He will take great delight(AZ) in you;
in his love he will no longer rebuke you,(BA)
but will rejoice over you with singing.”(BB)
18 “I will remove from you
all who mourn over the loss of your appointed festivals,
which is a burden and reproach for you.
19 At that time I will deal
with all who oppressed(BC) you.
I will rescue the lame;
I will gather the exiles.(BD)
I will give them praise(BE) and honor
in every land where they have suffered shame.
20 At that time I will gather you;
at that time I will bring(BF) you home.
I will give you honor(BG) and praise(BH)
among all the peoples of the earth
when I restore your fortunes[e](BI)
before your very eyes,”
says the Lord.
Footnotes
- Zephaniah 3:7 Or her sanctuary
- Zephaniah 3:7 Or all those I appointed over
- Zephaniah 3:8 Septuagint and Syriac; Hebrew will rise up to plunder
- Zephaniah 3:10 That is, the upper Nile region
- Zephaniah 3:20 Or I bring back your captives
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