Zephaniah 3:1-10

New International Version

Jerusalem

3 Woe to the city of oppressors,^(A)
    rebellious^(B) and defiled!^(C)
²She obeys^(D) no one,
    she accepts no correction.^(E)
She does not trust^(F) in the Lord,
    she does not draw near^(G) to her God.
³Her officials within her
    are roaring lions;^(H)
her rulers are evening wolves,^(I)
    who leave nothing for the morning.^(J)
⁴Her prophets are unprincipled;
    they are treacherous people.^(K)
Her priests profane the sanctuary
    and do violence to the law.^(L)
⁵The Lord within her is righteous;^(M)
    he does no wrong.^(N)
Morning by morning^(O) he dispenses his justice,
    and every new day he does not fail,^(P)
    yet the unrighteous know no shame.^(Q)

Jerusalem Remains Unrepentant

⁶“I have destroyed nations;
    their strongholds are demolished.
I have left their streets deserted,
    with no one passing through.
Their cities are laid waste;^(R)
    they are deserted and empty.
⁷Of Jerusalem I thought,
    ‘Surely you will fear me
    and accept correction!’^(S)
Then her place of refuge^[a] would not be destroyed,
    nor all my punishments come upon^[b] her.
But they were still eager
    to act corruptly^(T) in all they did.
⁸Therefore wait^(U) for me,”
    declares the Lord,
    “for the day I will stand up to testify.^[c]
I have decided to assemble^(V) the nations,^(W)
    to gather the kingdoms
and to pour out my wrath^(X) on them—
    all my fierce anger.^(Y)
The whole world will be consumed^(Z)
    by the fire of my jealous anger.

Restoration of Israel’s Remnant

⁹“Then I will purify the lips of the peoples,
    that all of them may call^(AA) on the name of the Lord^(AB)
    and serve^(AC) him shoulder to shoulder.
¹⁰From beyond the rivers of Cush^[d]^(AD)
    my worshipers, my scattered people,
    will bring me offerings.^(AE)

Read full chapter

Footnotes

Zephaniah 3:7 Or her sanctuary
Zephaniah 3:7 Or all those I appointed over
Zephaniah 3:8 Septuagint and Syriac; Hebrew will rise up to plunder
Zephaniah 3:10 That is, the upper Nile region

1 Corinthians 7:1-20

New International Version

Concerning Married Life

7 Now for the matters you wrote about: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.”^(A) ²But since sexual immorality is occurring, each man should have sexual relations with his own wife, and each woman with her own husband. ³The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife,^(B) and likewise the wife to her husband. ⁴The wife does not have authority over her own body but yields it to her husband. In the same way, the husband does not have authority over his own body but yields it to his wife. ⁵Do not deprive each other except perhaps by mutual consent and for a time,^(C) so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan^(D) will not tempt you^(E) because of your lack of self-control. ⁶I say this as a concession, not as a command.^(F) ⁷I wish that all of you were as I am.^(G) But each of you has your own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that.^(H)

⁸Now to the unmarried^[a] and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I do.^(I) ⁹But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry,^(J) for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.

¹⁰To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband.^(K) ¹¹But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband.^(L) And a husband must not divorce his wife.

¹²To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord):^(M) If any brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. ¹³And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him. ¹⁴For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.^(N)

¹⁵But if the unbeliever leaves, let it be so. The brother or the sister is not bound in such circumstances; God has called us to live in peace.^(O) ¹⁶How do you know, wife, whether you will save^(P) your husband?^(Q) Or, how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?

Concerning Change of Status

¹⁷Nevertheless, each person should live as a believer in whatever situation the Lord has assigned to them, just as God has called them.^(R) This is the rule I lay down in all the churches.^(S) ¹⁸Was a man already circumcised when he was called? He should not become uncircumcised. Was a man uncircumcised when he was called? He should not be circumcised.^(T) ¹⁹Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing.^(U) Keeping God’s commands is what counts. ²⁰Each person should remain in the situation they were in when God called them.^(V)