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

Judgment on Jerusalem and the Nations

Woe to her who is rebellious and defiled,
    (A)the oppressing city!
She listens to no voice;
    (B)she accepts no correction.
(C)She does not trust in the Lord;
    she does not draw near to her God.

(D)Her officials within her
    are roaring lions;
her judges are (E)evening wolves
    that leave nothing till the morning.
(F)Her prophets are fickle, treacherous men;
(G)her priests (H)profane what is holy;
    they do violence to the law.
The Lord within her (I)is righteous;
    he does no injustice;
every morning he shows forth his justice;
    each dawn he does not fail;
    but (J)the unjust knows no shame.

(K)“I have cut off nations;
    their battlements are in ruins;
I have laid waste their streets
    (L)so that no one walks in them;
their cities have been made desolate,
    without a man, without an inhabitant.
(M)I said, ‘Surely you will fear me;
    (N)you will accept correction.
Then your[a] dwelling would not be cut off
    according to all that I have appointed against you.’[b]
But (O)all the more they were eager
    to make all their deeds corrupt.

“Therefore (P)wait for me,” declares the Lord,
    “for the day when I rise up to seize the prey.
For my decision is (Q)to gather nations,
    to assemble kingdoms,
to pour out upon them my indignation,
    all my burning anger;
for in the fire of my jealousy
    (R)all the earth shall be consumed.

The Conversion of the Nations

“For at that time I will change the speech of the peoples
    to (S)a pure speech,
that all of them may call upon the name of the Lord
    and serve him with one accord.
10 (T)From beyond the rivers (U)of Cush
    my worshipers, the daughter of my dispersed ones,
    shall bring my offering.

11 (V)“On that day (W)you shall not be put to shame
    because of the deeds by which you have rebelled against me;
for then (X)I will remove from your midst
    your proudly exultant ones,
and (Y)you shall no longer be haughty
    in my holy mountain.
12 But I will leave in your midst
    a people (Z)humble and lowly.
(AA)They shall seek refuge in the name of the Lord,
13     (AB)those who are left in Israel;
they (AC)shall do no injustice
    and speak no lies,
(AD)nor shall there be found in their mouth
    a deceitful tongue.
(AE)For they shall graze and lie down,
    and none shall make them afraid.”

Israel's Joy and Restoration

14 (AF)Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion;
    shout, O Israel!
Rejoice and exult with all your heart,
    O daughter of Jerusalem!
15 The Lord has taken away the judgments against you;
    he has cleared away your enemies.
(AG)The King of Israel, (AH)the Lord, is in your midst;
    you shall never again fear evil.
16 (AI)On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:
“Fear not, O Zion;
    (AJ)let not your hands grow weak.
17 (AK)The Lord your God is in your midst,
    (AL)a mighty one who will save;
(AM)he will rejoice over you with gladness;
    he will quiet you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing.
18 I will gather those of you who mourn (AN)for the festival,
    so that you will no longer suffer reproach.[c]
19 Behold, at that time (AO)I will deal
    with all your oppressors.
And (AP)I will save the lame
    and gather the outcast,
and I will change (AQ)their shame into (AR)praise
    and renown in all the earth.
20 (AS)At that time I will bring you in,
    at the time when I gather you together;
for I will make you renowned and praised
    among all the peoples of the earth,
(AT)when I restore your fortunes
    before your eyes,” says the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. Zephaniah 3:7 Hebrew her
  2. Zephaniah 3:7 Hebrew her
  3. Zephaniah 3:18 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain

El pecado de Jerusalén, y su redención

¡Ay de la ciudad rebelde y contaminada y opresora! No escuchó la voz, ni recibió la corrección; no confió en Jehová, no se acercó a su Dios. Sus príncipes en medio de ella son leones rugientes; sus jueces, lobos nocturnos que no dejan hueso para la mañana. Sus profetas son livianos, hombres prevaricadores; sus sacerdotes contaminaron el santuario, falsearon la ley. Jehová en medio de ella es justo, no hará iniquidad; de mañana sacará a luz su juicio, nunca faltará; pero el perverso no conoce la vergüenza.

Hice destruir naciones; sus habitaciones están asoladas; hice desiertas sus calles, hasta no quedar quien pase; sus ciudades están asoladas hasta no quedar hombre, hasta no quedar habitante. Dije: Ciertamente me temerá; recibirá corrección, y no será destruida su morada según todo aquello por lo cual la castigué. Mas ellos se apresuraron a corromper todos sus hechos.

Por tanto, esperadme, dice Jehová, hasta el día que me levante para juzgaros; porque mi determinación es reunir las naciones, juntar los reinos, para derramar sobre ellos mi enojo, todo el ardor de mi ira; por el fuego de mi celo será consumida toda la tierra.

En aquel tiempo devolveré yo a los pueblos pureza de labios, para que todos invoquen el nombre de Jehová, para que le sirvan de común consentimiento. 10 De la región más allá de los ríos de Etiopía me suplicarán; la hija de mis esparcidos traerá mi ofrenda.

11 En aquel día no serás avergonzada por ninguna de tus obras con que te rebelaste contra mí; porque entonces quitaré de en medio de ti a los que se alegran en tu soberbia, y nunca más te ensoberbecerás en mi santo monte. 12 Y dejaré en medio de ti un pueblo humilde y pobre, el cual confiará en el nombre de Jehová. 13 El remanente de Israel no hará injusticia ni dirá mentira, ni en boca de ellos se hallará lengua engañosa;(A) porque ellos serán apacentados, y dormirán, y no habrá quien los atemorice.

14 Canta, oh hija de Sion; da voces de júbilo, oh Israel; gózate y regocíjate de todo corazón, hija de Jerusalén. 15 Jehová ha apartado tus juicios, ha echado fuera tus enemigos; Jehová es Rey de Israel en medio de ti; nunca más verás el mal. 16 En aquel tiempo se dirá a Jerusalén: No temas; Sion, no se debiliten tus manos. 17 Jehová está en medio de ti, poderoso, él salvará; se gozará sobre ti con alegría, callará de amor, se regocijará sobre ti con cánticos. 18 Reuniré a los fastidiados por causa del largo tiempo; tuyos fueron, para quienes el oprobio de ella era una carga. 19 He aquí, en aquel tiempo yo apremiaré a todos tus opresores; y salvaré a la que cojea, y recogeré la descarriada; y os pondré por alabanza y por renombre en toda la tierra. 20 En aquel tiempo yo os traeré, en aquel tiempo os reuniré yo; pues os pondré para renombre y para alabanza entre todos los pueblos de la tierra, cuando levante vuestro cautiverio delante de vuestros ojos, dice Jehová.