Jerusalem

Woe to the city of oppressors,(A)
    rebellious(B) and defiled!(C)
She 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.
Her officials within her
    are roaring lions;(H)
her rulers are evening wolves,(I)
    who leave nothing for the morning.(J)
Her prophets are unprincipled;
    they are treacherous people.(K)
Her priests profane the sanctuary
    and do violence to the law.(L)
The 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

“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.
Of 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.

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Footnotes

  1. Zephaniah 3:7 Or her sanctuary
  2. Zephaniah 3:7 Or all those I appointed over

The Wickedness of Jerusalem

Woe, soiled, defiled,
    oppressing city!(A)
It has listened to no voice;
    it has accepted no correction.
It has not trusted in the Lord;
    it has not drawn near to its God.(B)

The officials within it
    are roaring lions;
its judges are evening wolves
    that leave nothing until the morning.(C)
Its prophets are reckless,
    faithless persons;
its priests have profaned what is sacred;
    they have done violence to the law.(D)
The Lord within it is righteous;
    he does no wrong.
Every morning he renders his judgment,
    each dawn without fail,
    but the unjust knows no shame.(E)

I have cut off nations;
    their battlements are in ruins;
I have laid waste their streets
    so that no one walks in them;
their cities have been made desolate,
    without people, without inhabitants.(F)
I said, “Surely the city[a] will fear me;
    it will accept correction;
it will not lose sight[b]
    of all that I have brought upon it.”
But they were the more eager
    to make all their deeds corrupt.(G)

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Footnotes

  1. 3.7 Heb it
  2. 3.7 Gk Syr: Heb its dwelling will not be cut off