The word of the Lord that came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, (A)in the days of (B)Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.

The Coming Judgment on Judah

(C)“I will utterly sweep away everything
    from the face of the earth,” declares the Lord.
“I will sweep away (D)man and beast;
    I will sweep away the birds of the heavens
    and (E)the fish of the sea,
and (F)the rubble[a] with the wicked.
    I will (G)cut off mankind
    from the face of the earth,” declares the Lord.
“I will stretch out my hand against Judah
    and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem;
(H)and I will cut off from this place the remnant of Baal
    and the name of the idolatrous priests along with the priests,
(I)those who bow down on the roofs
    to the host of the heavens,
(J)those who bow down and swear to the Lord
    and yet swear by (K)Milcom,[b]
(L)those who have turned back from following the Lord,
    (M)who do not seek the Lord or inquire of him.”

The Day of the Lord Is Near

(N)Be silent before the Lord God!
    For (O)the day of the Lord is near;
(P)the Lord has prepared a sacrifice
    and (Q)consecrated his guests.
And on the day of the Lord's sacrifice—
(R)“I will punish the officials and the king's sons
    and (S)all who array themselves in foreign attire.
On that day I will punish
    everyone (T)who leaps over the threshold,
and those who fill their master's[c] house
    with violence and fraud.

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

14 (AE)The great day of the Lord is near,
    near and hastening fast;
the sound of the day of the Lord is bitter;
    (AF)the mighty man cries aloud there.
15 (AG)A day of wrath is that day,
    a day of distress and anguish,
a day of (AH)ruin and devastation,
    (AI)a day of darkness and gloom,
(AJ)a day of clouds and thick darkness,
16     (AK)a day of trumpet blast and battle cry
(AL)against the fortified cities
    and against the lofty battlements.

17 (AM)I will bring distress on mankind,
    so that they shall walk (AN)like the blind,
    because they have sinned against the Lord;
(AO)their blood shall be poured out like dust,
    and their flesh (AP)like dung.
18 (AQ)Neither their silver nor their gold
    shall be able to deliver them
    on the day of the wrath of the Lord.
(AR)In the fire of his jealousy,
    (AS)all the earth shall be consumed;
(AT)for a full and sudden end
    he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth.

Footnotes

  1. Zephaniah 1:3 Or stumbling blocks (that is, idols)
  2. Zephaniah 1:5 Or their king
  3. Zephaniah 1:9 Or their Lord's
  4. Zephaniah 1:11 Or all the people of Canaan
  5. Zephaniah 1:12 Hebrew are thickening on the dregs [of their wine]

Day of Judgment on Judah

The word of the Lord which came to Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, in the days of (A)Josiah son of (B)Amon, king of Judah:

“I will completely (C)remove all things
From the face of the [a]earth,” declares the Lord.
“I will remove (D)human and animal life;
I will remove the (E)birds of the sky
And the fish of the sea,
And the [b](F)ruins along with the wicked;
And I will eliminate mankind from the face of the [c]earth,” declares the Lord.
“So I will (G)stretch out My hand against Judah
And against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
And I will (H)eliminate the remnant of Baal from this place,
And the names of the (I)idolatrous priests along with the other priests.
And those who bow down on the (J)housetops to the heavenly [d]lights,
And those who bow down and (K)swear to the Lord, but also swear by [e](L)Milcom,
And those who have (M)turned back from following the Lord,
And those who have (N)not sought the Lord nor inquired of Him.”

[f](O)Be silent before the Lord [g]God!
For the (P)day of the Lord is near,
Because the Lord has prepared a (Q)sacrifice,
He has (R)consecrated His guests.
“Then it will come about on the day of the Lords sacrifice
That I will (S)punish the princes, the king’s sons,
And all who clothe themselves with (T)foreign garments.
And on that day I will punish all who leap on the temple threshold,
Who fill the house of their [h]lord with (U)violence and deceit.
10 And on that day,” declares the Lord,
“There will be the sound of a cry from the (V)Fish Gate,
Wailing from the [i](W)Second Quarter,
And a loud crash from the (X)hills.
11 Wail, you inhabitants of the [j]Mortar,
Because all the [k]people of (Y)Canaan will be destroyed;
All who weigh out (Z)silver will be eliminated.
12 And it will come about at that time
That I will (AA)search Jerusalem with lamps,
And I will punish the people
Who are [l](AB)stagnant in spirit,
Who say in their hearts,
‘The Lord will (AC)not do good nor harm!’
13 Their wealth will become (AD)plunder,
And their houses desolate;
Yes, (AE)they will build houses but not inhabit them,
And plant vineyards but not drink their wine.”

14 The (AF)great (AG)day of the Lord is near,
Near and coming very quickly;
Listen, the day of the Lord!
[m]In it the warrior (AH)cries out bitterly.
15 That day is a day of anger,
A day of (AI)trouble and distress,
A day of destruction and desolation,
A day of (AJ)darkness and gloom,
A day of clouds and thick darkness,
16 A day of (AK)trumpet and battle cry
Against the (AL)fortified cities
And the high corner towers.
17 I will bring (AM)distress on mankind
So that they will walk (AN)like those who are blind,
Because they have sinned against the Lord;
And their (AO)blood will be poured out like dust,
And their (AP)flesh like dung.
18 Neither their (AQ)silver nor their gold
Will be able to save them
On the day of the Lords anger;
And (AR)all the earth will be devoured
By the fire of His jealousy,
For He will (AS)make a complete end,
Indeed a horrifying one,
Of all the inhabitants of the earth.

Footnotes

  1. Zephaniah 1:2 Lit ground
  2. Zephaniah 1:3 Or stumbling blocks
  3. Zephaniah 1:3 Lit ground
  4. Zephaniah 1:5 Lit host; i.e., sun, stars, etc.
  5. Zephaniah 1:5 Or their king; MT Malcam, prob. a variant spelling of Milcom, the Ammonite god
  6. Zephaniah 1:7 Lit Hush
  7. Zephaniah 1:7 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
  8. Zephaniah 1:9 Or Lord
  9. Zephaniah 1:10 I.e., a district of Jerusalem
  10. Zephaniah 1:11 I.e., a district of Jerusalem
  11. Zephaniah 1:11 Or merchant people will
  12. Zephaniah 1:12 Lit thickening on their dregs
  13. Zephaniah 1:14 Lit There

Este es el mensaje que Sofonías recibió del SEÑOR en tiempos de Josías hijo de Amón, rey de Judá. Sofonías era hijo de Cusí, nieto de Guedalías y bisnieto de Amarías, quien era hijo de Ezequías.

El día del castigo del Señor

El SEÑOR dice: «Destruiré todo lo que hay
    sobre la faz de la tierra.
Destruiré a seres humanos y animales,
    a las aves del cielo y a los peces del mar.
Haré tambalear a los perversos y a toda la gente,
    dice el SEÑOR.

»Amenazaré a Judá con la mano levantada
    y a todos los habitantes de Jerusalén.
Destruiré a los que adoran a Baal
    y a los sacerdotes que celebran su culto,
a los que se arrodillan en las azoteas
    a adorar las estrellas[a] del cielo,
a los que adoran al SEÑOR,
    pero también juran por el dios Moloc,
a quienes le dieron la espalda al SEÑOR,
    a los que no buscan al SEÑOR
    y a los que no le piden consejo.
Guarden silencio delante del Señor DIOS,
    porque el día del SEÑOR está cerca.
El SEÑOR tiene planeado un sacrificio;
    que se consagre cada uno de sus invitados.[b]
El día del juicio[c] del SEÑOR
    castigaré a los líderes, a los hijos del rey
    y a todos los que visten a la moda extranjera.
Ese día castigaré a todos los que saltan por encima
    de la línea de entrada del templo.[d]
Castigaré a todos los que llenan
    de mentiras y violencia la casa de su amo.[e]

10 »El SEÑOR dice: Ese día habrá gritos
    de lamentación y amargura
desde la puerta del Pescado
    hasta el otro extremo de la ciudad.
Faltará comida incluso
    en las afueras de la ciudad.
11 Laméntense, habitantes del Barrio del Mortero,
    porque todos los negociantes y los ricos comerciantes han sido destruidos.

12 »Ese día tomaré una lámpara y buscaré por todo Jerusalén
    a los que se sienten tan satisfechos que dicen:
“El SEÑOR no hace nada,
    ni bueno ni malo”.
13 Por lo tanto, se les arrebatarán sus riquezas
    y sus casas serán destruidas.
Construirán casas,
    pero no podrán vivir en ellas.
Plantarán cultivos de uvas,
    pero no podrán beber su vino».

14 El gran día del SEÑOR está cerca,
    viene rápidamente.
El día del SEÑOR se escucharán
    ruidos horribles, gritos de guerra.
15 Ese será un día lleno de ira,
    dificultades y angustia,
día de ruina, destrucción y oscuridad,
    día de nubes espesas y oscuras,
16     en el que sonarán trompetas y gritos de batalla
contra las ciudades fortificadas
    y sus torres de defensa.

17 «Le haré la vida tan difícil a esa gente
    que caerán por todos lados como ciegos.
Ellos pecaron contra el SEÑOR,
    por eso se derramará su sangre
    y esta cubrirá el suelo como polvo.
Sus cuerpos quedarán regados por el piso
    como excrementos de animal.
18 No podrán salvarse
    ni siquiera con todo su dinero.
El día en que el SEÑOR muestre su furia,
    el fuego de su ira quemará toda la tierra.
Sí, él destruirá por completo
    a todos los habitantes de este lugar».

Footnotes

  1. 1:5 estrellas Textualmente ejército del cielo. Esto puede significar las estrellas y planetas, o los ángeles.
  2. 1:7 planeado […] sus invitados Textualmente preparado un sacrificio. Él ha santificado a sus elegidos. Aquí el momento del juicio es comparado con una cena de amistad en la que los sacerdotes ofrecían un sacrificio a Dios y hacían que sus invitados se prepararan para esa cena con Dios.
  3. 1:8 juicio Textualmente sacrificio.
  4. 1:8-9 los que visten […] del templo Probablemente esto se refiere a los sacerdotes y a la gente que adoraba a dioses como Dagón. También puede hacer referencia a la gente que imitaba la manera en que ellos realizaban la adoración. Ver 1 S 5:5.
  5. 1:9 la casa de su amo o la casa de sus dioses.