Zephaniah 1
King James Version
1 The word of the Lord which came unto Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hizkiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.
2 I will utterly consume all things from off the land, saith the Lord.
3 I will consume man and beast; I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumbling blocks with the wicked: and I will cut off man from off the land, saith the Lord.
4 I will also stretch out mine hand upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, and the name of the Chemarims with the priests;
5 And them that worship the host of heaven upon the housetops; and them that worship and that swear by the Lord, and that swear by Malcham;
6 And them that are turned back from the Lord; and those that have not sought the Lord, nor enquired for him.
7 Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord God: for the day of the Lord is at hand: for the Lord hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath bid his guests.
8 And it shall come to pass in the day of the Lord's sacrifice, that I will punish the princes, and the king's children, and all such as are clothed with strange apparel.
9 In the same day also will I punish all those that leap on the threshold, which fill their masters' houses with violence and deceit.
10 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord, that there shall be the noise of a cry from the fish gate, and an howling from the second, and a great crashing from the hills.
11 Howl, ye inhabitants of Maktesh, for all the merchant people are cut down; all they that bear silver are cut off.
12 And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men that are settled on their lees: that say in their heart, The Lord will not do good, neither will he do evil.
13 Therefore their goods shall become a booty, and their houses a desolation: they shall also build houses, but not inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, but not drink the wine thereof.
14 The great day of the Lord is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the Lord: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly.
15 That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness,
16 A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers.
17 And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the Lord: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung.
18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord's wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.
Zephaniah 1
New King James Version
The Great Day of the Lord(A)
1 The word of the Lord which came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, in the days of (B)Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.
The Great Day of the Lord
2 “I will [a]utterly consume everything
From the face of the land,”
Says the Lord;
3 “I(C) will consume man and beast;
I will consume the birds of the heavens,
The fish of the sea,
And the [b]stumbling blocks along with the wicked.
I will cut off man from the face of the [c]land,”
Says the Lord.
4 “I will stretch out My hand against Judah,
And against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
[d]I will cut off every trace of Baal from this place,
The names of the (D)idolatrous[e] priests with the pagan priests—
5 Those (E)who worship the host of heaven on the housetops;
Those who worship and swear oaths by the Lord,
But who also swear (F)by [f]Milcom;
6 (G)Those who have turned back from following the Lord,
And (H)have not sought the Lord, nor inquired of Him.”
7 (I)Be silent in the presence of the Lord God;
(J)For the day of the Lord is at hand,
For (K)the Lord has prepared a sacrifice;
He has [g]invited His guests.
8 “And it shall be,
In the day of the Lord’s sacrifice,
That I will punish (L)the princes and the king’s children,
And all such as are clothed with foreign apparel.
9 In the same day I will punish
All those who (M)leap over the threshold,
Who fill their masters’ houses with violence and deceit.
10 “And there shall be on that day,” says the Lord,
“The sound of a mournful cry from (N)the Fish Gate,
A wailing from the Second Quarter,
And a loud crashing from the hills.
11 (O)Wail, you inhabitants of [h]Maktesh!
For all the merchant people are cut down;
All those who handle money are cut off.
12 “And it shall come to pass at that time
That I will search Jerusalem with lamps,
And punish the men
Who are (P)settled[i] in complacency,
(Q)Who say in their heart,
‘The Lord will not do good,
Nor will He do evil.’
13 Therefore their goods shall become booty,
And their houses a desolation;
They shall build houses, but not inhabit them;
They shall plant vineyards, but (R)not drink their wine.”
14 (S)The great day of the Lord is near;
It is near and hastens quickly.
The noise of the day of the Lord is bitter;
There the mighty men shall cry out.
15 (T)That day is a day of wrath,
A day of trouble and distress,
A day of devastation and desolation,
A day of darkness and gloominess,
A day of clouds and thick darkness,
16 A day of (U)trumpet and alarm
Against the fortified cities
And against the high towers.
17 “I will bring distress upon men,
And they shall (V)walk like blind men,
Because they have sinned against the Lord;
Their blood shall be poured out like dust,
And their flesh like refuse.”
18 (W)Neither their silver nor their gold
Shall be able to deliver them
In the day of the Lord’s wrath;
But the whole land shall be devoured
By the fire of His jealousy,
For He will make speedy riddance
Of all those who dwell in the land.
Footnotes
- Zephaniah 1:2 Lit. make a complete end of, Jer. 8:13
- Zephaniah 1:3 Idols
- Zephaniah 1:3 ground
- Zephaniah 1:4 Fulfilled in 2 Kin. 23:4, 5
- Zephaniah 1:4 Heb. chemarim
- Zephaniah 1:5 Or Malcam, an Ammonite god, 1 Kin. 11:5; Jer. 49:1; Molech, Lev. 18:21
- Zephaniah 1:7 Lit. set apart, consecrated
- Zephaniah 1:11 A market district of Jerusalem, lit. Mortar
- Zephaniah 1:12 Lit. on their lees; like the dregs of wine
Zephaniah 1
New International Reader's Version
1 A message from the Lord came to Zephaniah, the son of Cushi. Cushi was the son of Gedaliah. Gedaliah was the son of Amariah. Amariah was the son of King Hezekiah. The Lord spoke to Zephaniah during the rule of Josiah. He was king of Judah and the son of Amon.
The Lord Will Judge the Whole World
2 “I will sweep away everything
from the face of the earth,”
announces the Lord.
3 “I will destroy people and animals alike.
I will wipe out the birds in the sky
and the fish in the waters.
I will destroy the statues of gods that cause evil people to sin.
That will happen when I destroy all human beings on the face of the earth,”
announces the Lord.
4 “I will reach out my powerful hand against Judah.
I will punish all those who live in Jerusalem.
I will destroy from this place
what is left of Baal worship.
The priests who serve other gods
will be removed.
5 I will destroy those who bow down on their roofs
to worship all the stars.
I will destroy those who make promises
not only in my name but also in the name of Molek.
6 I will destroy those who stop following the Lord.
They no longer look to him or ask him for advice.
7 Be silent in front of him.
He is the Lord and King.
The day of the Lord is near.
The Lord has prepared a sacrifice.
He has set apart for himself
the people he has invited.
8 When the Lord’s sacrifice is ready to be offered,
I will punish the officials and the king’s sons.
I will also judge all those who follow
the practices of other nations.
9 At that time I will punish
all those who worship other gods.
They fill the temples of their gods
with lies and other harmful things.
10 “At that time people at the Fish Gate in Jerusalem
will cry out,” announces the Lord.
“So will those at the New Quarter.
The buildings on the hills will come crashing down
with a loud noise.
11 Cry out, you who live in the market places.
All your merchants will be wiped out.
Those who trade in silver will be destroyed.
12 At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps.
I will punish those who are so contented.
They are like wine that has not been shaken up.
They think, ‘The Lord won’t do anything.
He won’t do anything good or bad.’
13 Their wealth will be stolen.
Their houses will be destroyed.
They will build houses.
But they will not live in them.
They will plant vineyards.
But they will not drink the wine they produce.
14 The great day of the Lord is near.
In fact, it is coming quickly.
The cries on that day are bitter.
The Mighty Warrior shouts his battle cry.
15 At that time I will pour out my anger.
There will be great suffering and pain.
It will be a day of horrible trouble.
It will be a time of darkness and gloom.
It will be filled with the blackest clouds.
16 Trumpet blasts and battle cries will be heard.
Soldiers will attack cities
that have forts and corner towers.
17 I will bring great trouble on all people.
So they will feel their way around like blind people.
They have sinned against the Lord.
Their blood will be poured out like dust.
Their bodies will lie rotting on the ground.
18 Their silver and gold
won’t save them
on the day the Lord pours out his anger.
The whole earth will be burned up
when his jealous anger blazes out.
Everyone who lives on earth
will come to a sudden end.”
Zephaniah 1
English Standard Version
1 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
2 (C)“I will utterly sweep away everything
from the face of the earth,” declares the Lord.
3 “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.
4 “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,
5 (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]
6 (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
7 (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.
8 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.
9 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
- Zephaniah 1:3 Or stumbling blocks (that is, idols)
- 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]
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.®. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
