The Day of the Lord Is Near

(A)Be silent before the Lord God!
    For (B)the day of the Lord is near;
(C)the Lord has prepared a sacrifice
    and (D)consecrated his guests.
And on the day of the Lord's sacrifice—
(E)“I will punish the officials and the king's sons
    and (F)all who array themselves in foreign attire.
On that day I will punish
    everyone (G)who leaps over the threshold,
and those who fill their master's[a] house
    with violence and fraud.

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

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Footnotes

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

Be silent before the Lord Yahweh,
    for the day of Yahweh draws near,
for Yahweh has provided a sacrifice
    and has consecrated his guests.
And it shall be that on the day of the sacrifice of Yahweh,
I will punish the officials
    and the sons of the king
    and those who dress in foreign clothing.
And on that day I will punish
    all who leap over the threshold,
who fill up the house of their master
    with violence and deceit.
10 “And there shall be on that day”—a declaration of Yahweh—
    “a loud outcry[a] from the Fish Gate,
and a wailing from the Second District,
    and a loud[b] crashing from the hills.
11 The inhabitants of the Mortar shall wail,
    for all the traders have perished;
    all who trade with silver have been cut off.
12 And it shall be that at that time
I will search Jerusalem with lamps,
and I will punish the men
    whose senses are dulled from drinking,[c]
who say in their hearts,
    ‘Yahweh will not do good, nor will he do evil.’
13 Then their wealth shall be as plunder,
    and their homes as desolation.
And they shall build their houses and not inhabit them,
    and they shall plant vineyards and not drink their wine.”

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Footnotes

  1. Zephaniah 1:10 Literally “voice of a cry of distress”
  2. Zephaniah 1:10 Or “great”
  3. Zephaniah 1:12 Literally “who are thickened with their dregs”