[a](A)Be silent before the Lord [b]God!
For the (B)day of the Lord is near,
Because the Lord has prepared a (C)sacrifice,
He has (D)consecrated His guests.
“Then it will come about on the day of the Lords sacrifice
That I will (E)punish the princes, the king’s sons,
And all who clothe themselves with (F)foreign garments.
And on that day I will punish all who leap on the temple threshold,
Who fill the house of their [c]lord with (G)violence and deceit.
10 And on that day,” declares the Lord,
“There will be the sound of a cry from the (H)Fish Gate,
Wailing from the [d](I)Second Quarter,
And a loud crash from the (J)hills.
11 Wail, you inhabitants of the [e]Mortar,
Because all the [f]people of (K)Canaan will be destroyed;
All who weigh out (L)silver will be eliminated.
12 And it will come about at that time
That I will (M)search Jerusalem with lamps,
And I will punish the people
Who are [g](N)stagnant in spirit,
Who say in their hearts,
‘The Lord will (O)not do good nor harm!’
13 Their wealth will become (P)plunder,
And their houses desolate;
Yes, (Q)they will build houses but not inhabit them,
And plant vineyards but not drink their wine.”

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Footnotes

  1. Zephaniah 1:7 Lit Hush
  2. Zephaniah 1:7 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
  3. Zephaniah 1:9 Or Lord
  4. Zephaniah 1:10 I.e., a district of Jerusalem
  5. Zephaniah 1:11 I.e., a district of Jerusalem
  6. Zephaniah 1:11 Or merchant people will
  7. Zephaniah 1:12 Lit thickening on their dregs

Stand in silence in the presence of the Sovereign Lord,
    for the awesome day of the Lord’s judgment is near.
The Lord has prepared his people for a great slaughter
    and has chosen their executioners.[a]
“On that day of judgment,”
    says the Lord,
“I will punish the leaders and princes of Judah
    and all those following pagan customs.
Yes, I will punish those who participate in pagan worship ceremonies,
    and those who fill their masters’ houses with violence and deceit.

10 “On that day,” says the Lord,
    “a cry of alarm will come from the Fish Gate
and echo throughout the New Quarter of the city.[b]
    And a great crash will sound from the hills.
11 Wail in sorrow, all you who live in the market area,[c]
    for all the merchants and traders will be destroyed.

12 “I will search with lanterns in Jerusalem’s darkest corners
    to punish those who sit complacent in their sins.
They think the Lord will do nothing to them,
    either good or bad.
13 So their property will be plundered,
    their homes will be ransacked.
They will build new homes
    but never live in them.
They will plant vineyards
    but never drink wine from them.

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Footnotes

  1. 1:7 Hebrew has prepared a sacrifice and sanctified his guests.
  2. 1:10 Or the Second Quarter, a newer section of Jerusalem. Hebrew reads the Mishneh.
  3. 1:11 Or in the valley, a lower section of Jerusalem. Hebrew reads the Maktesh.