耶路撒冷的败坏

这叛逆、污秽、充满压迫的城有祸了!
她不听命令,不受管教;
不倚靠耶和华,
不亲近她的上帝。
她的首领是咆哮的狮子,
她的审判官是夜间的豺狼,
不留一点猎物到天明。
她的先知是狂妄诡诈之徒,
她的祭司亵渎圣殿,违背律法。
但城中的耶和华是公义的,
祂绝不做不义之事。
祂每天早晨伸张正义,从不间断。
然而,不义之人却不知羞耻。

“我已消灭列国,
摧毁他们的城楼,
使他们的街道荒废,没有路人;
他们的城邑沦为废墟,杳无人迹,没有居民。
我以为这城一定会敬畏我,接受管教,
这样我就不必照所定的毁灭她。
然而,他们却更加热衷于犯罪作恶。

“因此,等着我吧,
等着我指控的那一天吧。
我已决定召集列国列邦,
向他们倾倒我的烈怒,
我的怒火必吞噬天下。
这是耶和华说的。

耶和华的拯救

“那时,我必洁净万民的口,
以便他们可以求告我的名,
同心合意地事奉我。
10 那些敬拜我的,
就是我那些分散的子民必从古实河对岸带着供物来献给我。
11 到那天,你必不再因背叛我而感到羞愧,
因为那时我必除掉你那里狂妄自大的人,
你在我的圣山上必不再高傲。
12 我必把谦卑贫苦的人留在你那里,
他们必投靠在我耶和华的名下。
13 以色列的余民必不再作恶,
撒谎或出诡诈之言。
他们吃喝躺卧,无人惊扰。”

欢乐之歌

14 锡安城[a]啊,歌唱吧!
以色列啊,欢呼吧!
耶路撒冷城啊,尽情地欢喜快乐吧!
15 耶和华已经撤销对你的刑罚,
赶走你的仇敌,
以色列的王耶和华与你同在,
你必不再惧怕灾祸。
16 到那天,耶路撒冷必听到这样的话:
“锡安啊,不要害怕!不要双手发软!
17 你的上帝耶和华与你同在,
祂是大能的拯救者,
祂必因你而欢喜快乐,欢然歌唱,
用祂的爱安慰你。”

18 “我必招聚你那里因不能守节期而忧愁的人,
使你不再蒙受羞辱。
19 看啊,那时我必惩罚所有欺压你的人,
拯救瘸腿的,召回分散的,
使他们的羞辱化为尊荣,声名远播。
20 那时,我必招聚你们,带你们回到故土。
你们回到故土后,
我必使你们在天下万民中声名远播,得到尊荣。”
这是耶和华说的。

Footnotes

  1. 3:14 ”希伯来文是“女子”,可能是对锡安的昵称。

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