Zephaniah 3:1-7
Modern English Version
Woe to Jerusalem
3 Woe to her who is rebellious and defiled,
the oppressing city.
2 She obeys no voice,
she receives no correction;
she does not trust in the Lord,
she does not draw near to her God.
3 Her princes within her are roaring lions;
her judges are evening wolves
who leave nothing until the morning.
4 Her prophets are reckless,
treacherous men;
her priests have profaned the sanctuary
and done violence to the law.
5 The Lord is righteous in her midst;
He does no unrighteousness.
Every morning He brings His justice to light;
He does not fail,
but the unjust knows no shame.
6 I have cut off nations,
their strongholds are devastated;
I have made their streets desolate,
with no one passing by.
Their cities are destroyed;
there is no man, no inhabitant.
7 I said,
“Surely you will fear Me;
and you will receive correction.”
So her dwelling will not be cut off,
according to all that I have appointed against her.
But they were more eager
to corrupt all their deeds.
Zephaniah 3:1-7
Authorized (King James) Version
3 Woe to her that is filthy and polluted,
to the oppressing city!
2 She obeyed not the voice;
she received not correction;
she trusted not in the Lord;
she drew not near to her God.
3 Her princes within her are roaring lions;
her judges are evening wolves;
they gnaw not the bones till the morrow.
4 Her prophets are light and treacherous persons:
her priests have polluted the sanctuary,
they have done violence to the law.
5 The just Lord is in the midst thereof;
he will not do iniquity:
every morning doth he bring his judgment to light,
he faileth not;
but the unjust knoweth no shame.
6 I have cut off the nations:
their towers are desolate;
I made their streets waste, that none passeth by:
their cities are destroyed, so that there is no man,
that there is none inhabitant.
7 I said, Surely thou wilt fear me,
thou wilt receive instruction;
so their dwelling should not be cut off,
howsoever I punished them:
but they rose early, and corrupted all their doings.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.
KJV reproduced by permission of Cambridge University Press, the Crown’s patentee in the UK.