The Wickedness of Jerusalem

Woe to her who is rebellious and polluted,
To the oppressing city!
She has not obeyed His voice,
She has not received correction;
She has not trusted in the Lord,
She has not drawn near to her God.

(A)Her princes in her midst are roaring lions;
Her judges are (B)evening wolves
That leave not a bone till morning.
Her (C)prophets are insolent, treacherous people;
Her priests have [a]polluted the sanctuary,
They have done (D)violence to the law.
The Lord is righteous in her midst,
He will do no unrighteousness.
[b]Every morning He brings His justice to light;
He never fails,
But (E)the unjust knows no shame.

“I have cut off nations,
Their fortresses are devastated;
I have made their streets desolate,
With none passing by.
Their cities are destroyed;
There is no one, no inhabitant.
(F)I said, ‘Surely you will fear Me,
You will receive instruction’—
So that her dwelling would not be cut off,
Despite everything for which I punished her.
But [c]they rose early and (G)corrupted all their deeds.

A Faithful Remnant(H)

“Therefore (I)wait for Me,” says the Lord,
“Until the day I rise up [d]for plunder;
My determination is to (J)gather the nations
To My assembly of kingdoms,
To pour on them My indignation,
All My fierce anger;
All the earth (K)shall be devoured
With the fire of My jealousy.

“For then I will restore to the peoples (L)a pure [e]language,
That they all may call on the name of the Lord,
To serve Him with one accord.
10 (M)From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia
My worshipers,
The daughter of My dispersed ones,
Shall bring My offering.
11 In that day you shall not be shamed for any of your deeds
In which you transgress against Me;
For then I will take away from your midst
Those who (N)rejoice in your pride,
And you shall no longer be haughty
In My holy mountain.
12 I will leave in your midst
(O)A meek and humble people,
And they shall trust in the name of the Lord.
13 (P)The remnant of Israel (Q)shall do no unrighteousness
(R)And speak no lies,
Nor shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth;
For (S)they shall feed their flocks and lie down,
And no one shall make them afraid.”

Joy in God’s Faithfulness

14 (T)Sing, O daughter of Zion!
Shout, O Israel!
Be glad and rejoice with all your heart,
O daughter of Jerusalem!
15 The Lord has taken away your judgments,
He has cast out your enemy.
(U)The King of Israel, the Lord, (V)is in your midst;
You shall [f]see disaster no more.

16 In that day (W)it shall be said to Jerusalem:
“Do not fear;
Zion, (X)let not your hands be weak.
17 The Lord your God (Y)in your midst,
The Mighty One, will save;
(Z)He will rejoice over you with gladness,
He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing.”

18 “I will gather those who (AA)sorrow over the appointed assembly,
Who are among you,
To whom its reproach is a burden.
19 Behold, at that time
I will deal with all who afflict you;
I will save the (AB)lame,
And gather those who were driven out;
I will appoint them for praise and fame
In every land where they were put to shame.
20 At that time (AC)I will bring you back,
Even at the time I gather you;
For I will give you [g]fame and praise
Among all the peoples of the earth,
When I return your captives before your eyes,”
Says the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. Zephaniah 3:4 Or profaned
  2. Zephaniah 3:5 Lit. Morning by morning
  3. Zephaniah 3:7 They were eager
  4. Zephaniah 3:8 LXX, Syr. for witness; Tg. for the day of My revelation for judgment; Vg. for the day of My resurrection that is to come
  5. Zephaniah 3:9 Lit. lip
  6. Zephaniah 3:15 So with Heb. mss., LXX, Bg.; MT, Vg. fear
  7. Zephaniah 3:20 Lit. a name

Woe to her that is rebellious and polluted! to the oppressing city! She obeyed not the voice; she received not [a]correction; she trusted not in Jehovah; she drew not near to her God. Her princes in the midst of her are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves; they [b]leave nothing till the morrow. Her prophets are light and treacherous persons; her priests have profaned the sanctuary, they have done violence to the law. Jehovah in the midst of her is righteous; he will not do iniquity; [c]every morning doth he bring his justice to light, he faileth not; but the unjust knoweth no shame. I have cut off nations; their [d]battlements are desolate; I have made their streets waste, so that none passeth by; their cities are destroyed, so that there is no man, so that there is no inhabitant. I said, Only fear thou me; receive [e]correction; so her dwelling shall not be cut off, [f]according to all that I have appointed concerning her: but they rose early and corrupted all their doings.

Therefore wait ye for me, saith Jehovah, until the day that I rise up to the prey; for my [g]determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger; for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy.

For then will I turn to the peoples of a pure [h]language, that they may all call upon the name of Jehovah, to serve him with one [i]consent. 10 From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia [j]my suppliants, even the daughter of my dispersed, shall bring mine offering. 11 In that day shalt thou not be put to shame for all thy doings, wherein thou hast transgressed against me; for then I will take away out of the midst of thee [k]thy proudly exulting ones, and thou shalt no more be haughty in my holy mountain. 12 But I will leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall take refuge in the name of Jehovah. 13 The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth; for they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid.

14 Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. 15 Jehovah hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy: the King of Israel, even Jehovah, is in the midst of thee; thou shalt not [l]fear evil any more. 16 In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear thou not; [m]O Zion, let not thy hands be slack. 17 Jehovah thy God is in the midst of thee, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will [n]rest in his love; he will joy over thee with singing. 18 [o]I will gather them that sorrow for the solemn assembly, who were of thee; to whom the burden upon [p]her was a reproach. 19 Behold, at that time I will deal with all them that afflict thee; and I will save that which is lame, and gather that which was driven away; and I will make them a praise and a name, whose shame hath been in all the earth. 20 At that time will I bring you in, and at that time will I gather you; for I will make you a name and a praise among all the peoples of the earth, when I [q]bring back your captivity before your eyes, saith Jehovah.

Footnotes

  1. Zephaniah 3:2 Or, instruction
  2. Zephaniah 3:3 Or, gnaw not the bones on the morrow
  3. Zephaniah 3:5 Hebrew morning by morning.
  4. Zephaniah 3:6 Or, corner towers
  5. Zephaniah 3:7 Or, instruction
  6. Zephaniah 3:7 Or, howsoever I have punished her
  7. Zephaniah 3:8 Hebrew judgment.
  8. Zephaniah 3:9 Hebrew lip.
  9. Zephaniah 3:9 Hebrew shoulder.
  10. Zephaniah 3:10 Or, shall they bring my suppliants, even the daughter of my dispersed, for an offering unto me
  11. Zephaniah 3:11 Or, them that exult in thy majesty
  12. Zephaniah 3:15 Another reading is, see.
  13. Zephaniah 3:16 Or, and to Zion
  14. Zephaniah 3:17 Hebrew be silent.
  15. Zephaniah 3:18 Or, They have been sorrowful for the solemn assembly which I took away from thee, for the lifting up of reproach against her
  16. Zephaniah 3:18 According to another reading, thee.
  17. Zephaniah 3:20 Or, return to