Zephaniah 3

New King James Version

The Wickedness of Jerusalem

3 Woe to her who is rebellious and polluted,
To the oppressing city!
²She 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.

³^(A)Her princes in her midst are roaring lions;
Her judges are ^(B)evening wolves
That leave not a bone till morning.
⁴Her ^(C)prophets are insolent, treacherous people;
Her priests have ^[a]polluted the sanctuary,
They have done ^(D)violence to the law.
⁵The 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.

⁶“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.
⁷^(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)

⁸“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.

⁹“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.
¹¹In 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.
¹²I 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!
¹⁵The 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.

¹⁶In that day ^(W)it shall be said to Jerusalem:
“Do not fear;
Zion, ^(X)let not your hands be weak.
¹⁷The 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.
¹⁹Behold, 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.
²⁰At 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

Zephaniah 3:4 Or profaned
Zephaniah 3:5 Lit. Morning by morning
Zephaniah 3:7 They were eager
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
Zephaniah 3:9 Lit. lip
Zephaniah 3:15 So with Heb. mss., LXX, Bg.; MT, Vg. fear
Zephaniah 3:20 Lit. a name

Revelation 2:18-29

New King James Version

The Corrupt Church

¹⁸“And to the ^[a]angel of the church in Thyatira write,

‘These things says the Son of God, ^(A)who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet like fine brass: ¹⁹^(B)“I know your works, love, ^[b]service, faith, and your ^[c]patience; and as for your works, the last are more than the first. ²⁰Nevertheless I have ^[d]a few things against you, because you allow ^[e]that woman ^(C)Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, ^[f]to teach and seduce My servants ^(D)to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. ²¹And I gave her time ^(E)to ^[g]repent of her sexual immorality, and she did not repent. ²²Indeed I will cast her into a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of ^[h]their deeds. ²³I will kill her children with death, and all the churches shall know that I am He who ^(F)searches^[i] the minds and hearts. And I will give to each one of you according to your works.

²⁴“Now to you I say, ^[j]and to the rest in Thyatira, as many as do not have this doctrine, who have not known the ^(G)depths of Satan, as they say, ^(H)I ^[k]will put on you no other burden. ²⁵But hold fast ^(I)what you have till I come. ²⁶And he who overcomes, and keeps ^(J)My works until the end, ^(K)to him I will give power over the nations—

²⁷‘He^(L) shall rule them with a rod of iron;
They shall be dashed to pieces like the potter’s vessels’—

as I also have received from My Father; ²⁸and I will give him ^(M)the morning star.

²⁹“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” ’

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Footnotes

Revelation 2:18 Or messenger
Revelation 2:19 NU, M faith, service
Revelation 2:19 perseverance
Revelation 2:20 NU, M against you that you tolerate
Revelation 2:20 M your wife Jezebel
Revelation 2:20 NU, M and teaches and seduces
Revelation 2:21 NU, M repent, and she does not want to repent of her sexual immorality.
Revelation 2:22 NU, M her
Revelation 2:23 examines
Revelation 2:24 NU, M omit and
Revelation 2:24 NU, M omit will

Revelation 3:1-6

New King James Version

The Dead Church

3 “And to the ^[a]angel of the church in Sardis write,

‘These things says He who ^(A)has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. ²Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before ^[b]God. ³^(B)Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and ^(C)repent. ^(D)Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you ^(E)as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you. ⁴^[c]You have ^(F)a few names ^[d]even in Sardis who have not ^(G)defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me ^(H)in white, for they are worthy. ⁵He who overcomes ^(I)shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not ^(J)blot out his name from the ^(K)Book of Life; but ^(L)I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.