Day of Judgment on Judah

The word of the Lord which came to Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah:

“I will remove human and animal life; I will remove the birds of the sky And the fish of the sea, And the ruins along with the wicked; And I will eliminate mankind from the face of the earth,” declares the Lord.

“So I will stretch out My hand against Judah And against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And I will eliminate the remnant of Baal from this place, And the names of the idolatrous priests along with the other priests.

And those who bow down on the housetops to the heavenly lights, And those who bow down and swear to the Lord, but also swear by Milcom,

And those who have turned back from following the Lord, And those who have not sought the Lord nor inquired of Him.”

Be silent before the Lord God! For the day of the Lord is near, Because the Lord has prepared a sacrifice, He has consecrated His guests.

“Then it will come about on the day of the Lord’s sacrifice That I will punish the princes, the king’s sons, And all who clothe themselves with foreign garments.

And on that day,” declares the Lord, “There will be the sound of a cry from the Fish Gate, Wailing from the Second Quarter, And a loud crash from the hills.

Wail, you inhabitants of the Mortar, Because all the people of Canaan will be destroyed; All who weigh out silver will be eliminated.

And it will come about at that time That I will search Jerusalem with lamps, And I will punish the people Who are stagnant in spirit, Who say in their hearts, ‘The Lord will not do good nor harm!’

I will bring distress on mankind So that they will walk like those who are blind, Because they have sinned against the Lord; And their blood will be poured out like dust, And their flesh like dung.

Neither their silver nor their gold Will be able to save them On the day of the Lord’s anger; And all the earth will be devoured By the fire of His jealousy, For He will make a complete end, Indeed a horrifying one, Of all the inhabitants of the earth.

Judgments on Judah’s Enemies

Gather yourselves together, yes, join together, You nation without shame,

Seek the Lord, All you humble of the earth Who have practiced His ordinances; Seek righteousness, seek humility. Perhaps you will remain hidden On the day of the Lord’s anger.

Woe to the inhabitants of the seacoast, The nation of the Cherethites! The word of the Lord is against you, Canaan, land of the Philistines; And I will eliminate you So that there will be no inhabitant.

So the seacoast will become grazing places, With pastures for shepherds and folds for flocks.

And the coast will be For the remnant of the house of Judah, They will drive sheep to pasture on it. In the houses of Ashkelon they will lie down at evening; For the Lord their God will care for them And restore their fortunes.

“I have heard the taunting of Moab And the abusive speech of the sons of Ammon, With which they have taunted My people And boasted against their territory.

Therefore, as I live,” declares the Lord of armies, The God of Israel, “Moab will assuredly be like Sodom, And the sons of Ammon like Gomorrah— Ground overgrown with weeds and full of salt mines, And a permanent desolation. The remnant of My people will plunder them, And the remainder of My nation will inherit them.”

The Lord will be terrifying to them, for He will starve all the gods of the earth; and all the coastlands of the nations will bow down to Him, everyone from his own place.

“You also, Ethiopians, will be slain by My sword.”

And He will stretch out His hand against the north And eliminate Assyria, And He will make Nineveh a desolation, Parched like the wilderness.

Flocks will lie down in her midst, All animals that range in herds; Both the pelican and the hedgehog Will spend their nights in the tops of her pillars; Birds will sing in the window, Devastation will be on the threshold; For He has uncovered the cedar work.

This is the presumptuous city That dwells securely, Who says in her heart, “I am, and there is no one besides me.” How she has become a desolation, A resting place for animals! Everyone who passes by her will hiss And wave his hand in contempt.

She obeyed no voice, She accepted no discipline. She did not trust in the Lord, She did not approach her God.