Be silent(A) before the Sovereign Lord,
    for the day of the Lord(B) is near.
The Lord has prepared a sacrifice;(C)
    he has consecrated those he has invited.

“On the day of the Lord’s sacrifice
    I will punish(D) the officials
    and the king’s sons(E)
and all those clad
    in foreign clothes.
On that day I will punish
    all who avoid stepping on the threshold,[a](F)
who fill the temple of their gods
    with violence and deceit.(G)

10 “On that day,(H)
    declares the Lord,
“a cry will go up from the Fish Gate,(I)
    wailing(J) from the New Quarter,
    and a loud crash from the hills.
11 Wail,(K) you who live in the market district[b];
    all your merchants will be wiped out,
    all who trade with[c] silver will be destroyed.(L)
12 At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps
    and punish those who are complacent,(M)
    who are like wine left on its dregs,(N)
who think, ‘The Lord will do nothing,(O)
    either good or bad.’(P)
13 Their wealth will be plundered,(Q)
    their houses demolished.
Though they build houses,
    they will not live in them;
though they plant vineyards,
    they will not drink the wine.”(R)

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Footnotes

  1. Zephaniah 1:9 See 1 Samuel 5:5.
  2. Zephaniah 1:11 Or the Mortar
  3. Zephaniah 1:11 Or in

Be silent in the presence of the Lord God,(A)
for the day of the Lord is near.(B)
Indeed, the Lord has prepared a sacrifice;(C)
he has consecrated his guests.(D)

On the day of the Lord’s sacrifice
I will punish the officials, the king’s sons,
and all who are dressed in foreign clothing.
On that day(E) I will punish
all who skip over the threshold,[a](F)
who fill their master’s house
with violence and deceit.

10 On that day—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
there will be an outcry from the Fish Gate,(G)
a wailing from the Second District,(H)
and a loud crashing from the hills.
11 Wail, you residents of the Hollow,[b]
for all the merchants[c] will be silenced;
all those loaded with silver will be cut off.

12 And at that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps
and punish those who settle down comfortably,[d](I)
who say to themselves:
The Lord will do nothing—good or bad.(J)
13 Their wealth will become plunder
and their houses a ruin.
They will build houses but never live in them,
plant vineyards but never drink their wine.(K)

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Footnotes

  1. 1:9 Hb obscure
  2. 1:11 Or the market district
  3. 1:11 Or Canaanites
  4. 1:12 Lit who thicken on their dregs