Be silent(A) before the Sovereign Lord,
    for the day of the Lord(B) is near.
The Lord has prepared a sacrifice;(C)
    he has consecrated those he has invited.

“On the day of the Lord’s sacrifice
    I will punish(D) the officials
    and the king’s sons(E)
and all those clad
    in foreign clothes.
On that day I will punish
    all who avoid stepping on the threshold,[a](F)
who fill the temple of their gods
    with violence and deceit.(G)

10 “On that day,(H)
    declares the Lord,
“a cry will go up from the Fish Gate,(I)
    wailing(J) from the New Quarter,
    and a loud crash from the hills.
11 Wail,(K) you who live in the market district[b];
    all your merchants will be wiped out,
    all who trade with[c] silver will be destroyed.(L)
12 At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps
    and punish those who are complacent,(M)
    who are like wine left on its dregs,(N)
who think, ‘The Lord will do nothing,(O)
    either good or bad.’(P)
13 Their wealth will be plundered,(Q)
    their houses demolished.
Though they build houses,
    they will not live in them;
though they plant vineyards,
    they will not drink the wine.”(R)

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Footnotes

  1. Zephaniah 1:9 See 1 Samuel 5:5.
  2. Zephaniah 1:11 Or the Mortar
  3. Zephaniah 1:11 Or in

Be silent before the Lord God,
    for the day of the Lord is at hand!
The Lord has prepared a sacrifice;
    he has consecrated his guests.(A)
And on the day of the Lord’s sacrifice
I will punish the officials and the king’s sons
    and all who dress themselves in foreign attire.(B)
On that day I will punish
    all who leap over the threshold,
who fill their master’s house
    with violence and fraud.(C)

10 On that day, says the Lord,
    a cry will be heard from the Fish Gate,
a wail from the Second Quarter,
    a loud crash from the hills.(D)
11 The inhabitants of the Mortar wail,
    for all the traders have perished;
    all who weigh out silver are cut off.
12 At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps,
    and I will punish the people
who settle like dregs in wine,
    those who say in their hearts,
“The Lord will not do good,
    nor will he do harm.”(E)
13 Their wealth shall be plundered
    and their houses laid waste.
Though they build houses,
    they shall not inhabit them;
though they plant vineyards,
    they shall not drink wine from them.(F)

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