Zephaniah 1:4-16

English Standard Version

⁴“I will stretch out my hand against Judah
    and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem;
^(A)and I will cut off from this place the remnant of Baal
    and the name of the idolatrous priests along with the priests,
⁵^(B)those who bow down on the roofs
    to the host of the heavens,
^(C)those who bow down and swear to the Lord
    and yet swear by ^(D)Milcom,^[a]
⁶^(E)those who have turned back from following the Lord,
    ^(F)who do not seek the Lord or inquire of him.”

The Day of the Lord Is Near

⁷^(G)Be silent before the Lord God!
    For ^(H)the day of the Lord is near;
^(I)the Lord has prepared a sacrifice
    and ^(J)consecrated his guests.
⁸And on the day of the Lord's sacrifice—
^(K)“I will punish the officials and the king's sons
    and ^(L)all who array themselves in foreign attire.
⁹On that day I will punish
    everyone ^(M)who leaps over the threshold,
and those who fill their master's^[b] house
    with violence and fraud.

¹⁰“On that day,” declares the Lord,
    “a cry will be heard from ^(N)the Fish Gate,
^(O)a wail from ^(P)the Second Quarter,
    a loud crash from the hills.
¹¹^(Q)Wail, O inhabitants of the Mortar!
    For all the traders^[c] are no more;
    all who weigh out silver are cut off.
¹²At that time ^(R)I will search Jerusalem with lamps,
    and I will punish the men
^(S)who are complacent,^[d]
    ^(T)those who say in their hearts,
‘The Lord will not do good,
    nor will he do ill.’
¹³Their goods shall be ^(U)plundered,
    and their houses laid waste.
^(V)Though they build houses,
    they shall not inhabit them;
^(W)though they plant vineyards,
    they shall not drink wine from them.”

¹⁴^(X)The great day of the Lord is near,
    near and hastening fast;
the sound of the day of the Lord is bitter;
    ^(Y)the mighty man cries aloud there.
¹⁵^(Z)A day of wrath is that day,
    a day of distress and anguish,
a day of ^(AA)ruin and devastation,
    ^(AB)a day of darkness and gloom,
^(AC)a day of clouds and thick darkness,
¹⁶    ^(AD)a day of trumpet blast and battle cry
^(AE)against the fortified cities
    and against the lofty battlements.

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Footnotes

Zephaniah 1:5 Or their king
Zephaniah 1:9 Or their Lord's
Zephaniah 1:11 Or all the people of Canaan
Zephaniah 1:12 Hebrew are thickening on the dregs [of their wine]

Zephaniah 3:1-7

English Standard Version

Judgment on Jerusalem and the Nations

3 Woe to her who is rebellious and defiled,
    ^(A)the oppressing city!
²She 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.
⁵The 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.