Historical
Yahweh Will End All Things
1 The word of [a]Yahweh which came to Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, in the days of (A)Josiah son of (B)Amon, king of Judah:
2 “I will completely (C)end all things
From the face of the ground,” declares Yahweh.
3 “I will end (D)man and beast;
I will end the (E)birds of the sky
And the fish of the sea
And the [b](F)ruins along with the wicked;
And I will cut off man from the face of the ground,” declares Yahweh.
4 “So I will (G)stretch out My hand against Judah
And against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
And I will (H)cut off the remnant of Baal from this place,
And the names of the (I)idolatrous priests along with the priests,
5 And those who worship on the (J)housetops the host of heaven,
And those who worship and (K)swear to Yahweh and yet swear by [c](L)Milcom,
6 And those who have (M)turned back from following Yahweh,
And those who have (N)not sought Yahweh or inquired of Him.”
The Day of Yahweh Is Near
7 [d](O)Be silent before Lord Yahweh!
For the (P)day of Yahweh is near,
For Yahweh has prepared a (Q)sacrifice;
He has (R)set apart His guests.
8 “Then it will be on the day of Yahweh’s sacrifice
That I will (S)punish the princes, the king’s sons,
And all who clothe themselves with (T)foreign garments.
9 And I will punish on that day all who leap on the temple threshold,
Who fill the house of their [e]Lord with (U)violence and deceit.
10 And it will be in that day,” declares Yahweh,
“That there will be the sound of a cry from the (V)Fish Gate
And a wail from the [f](W)Second Quarter
And a great destruction from the (X)hills.
11 Wail, O inhabitants of the [g]Mortar,
For all the [h]people of (Y)Canaan will be silenced;
All who weigh out (Z)silver will be cut off.
12 And it will be at that time
That I will (AA)search Jerusalem with lamps,
And I will punish the men
Who are [i](AB)stagnant in spirit,
Who say in their hearts,
‘Yahweh will (AC)not do good or evil!’
13 And it will be that their wealth will become (AD)spoil
And their houses desolate;
Indeed, (AE)they will build houses but not inhabit them,
And plant vineyards but not drink their wine.”
14 Near is the (AF)great (AG)day of Yahweh,
Near and coming very quickly;
O the sound, the day of Yahweh!
[j]In it the mighty man (AH)cries out bitterly.
15 A day of fury is that day,
A day of (AI)trouble and distress,
A day of destruction and desolation,
A day of (AJ)darkness and thick darkness,
A day of clouds and dense gloom,
16 A day of (AK)trumpet and loud shouting
Against the (AL)fortified cities
And the high corner towers.
17 I will bring (AM)distress on men
So that they will walk (AN)like the blind
Because they have sinned against Yahweh;
And their (AO)blood will be poured out like dust
And their (AP)flesh like dung.
18 Neither their (AQ)silver nor their gold
Will be able to deliver them
On the day of the fury of Yahweh;
And (AR)all the earth will be devoured
In the fire of His jealousy,
For He will (AS)make a complete destruction,
Indeed a terrifying one,
Of all the inhabitants of the earth.
Seek Yahweh Before His Day of Anger
2 Gather yourselves together, indeed, (AT)gather,
O nation (AU)without [k]shame,
2 Before the decree [l]takes effect—
The day passes (AV)like the chaff—
Before the (AW)burning anger of Yahweh comes upon you,
Before the (AX)day of Yahweh’s anger comes upon you.
3 (AY)Seek Yahweh,
All you (AZ)humble of the [m]earth
Who have worked His justice;
(BA)Seek righteousness, seek humility.
Perhaps you will be (BB)hidden
In the day of Yahweh’s anger.
4 For (BC)Gaza will be [n]forsaken
And Ashkelon a desolation;
(BD)Ashdod will be driven out at noon,
And (BE)Ekron will be uprooted.
5 Woe to the inhabitants of the seacoast,
The nation of the [o](BF)Cherethites!
The word of Yahweh is (BG)against you,
O (BH)Canaan, land of the Philistines;
And I will (BI)make you perish
So that there will be (BJ)no inhabitant.
6 So the seacoast will be (BK)pastures,
With [p]caves for shepherds and folds for flocks.
7 And the coast will be
For the (BL)remnant of the house of Judah;
They will (BM)feed upon it.
In the houses of Ashkelon they will lie down at evening;
For Yahweh their God will (BN)care for them
And (BO)restore their fortune.
8 “I have heard the (BP)reproach of Moab
And the (BQ)revilings of the sons of Ammon,
With which they have reproached My people
And (BR)magnified themselves against their territory.
9 Therefore, as I live,” declares Yahweh of hosts,
The God of Israel,
“Surely (BS)Moab will be like (BT)Sodom
And the sons of (BU)Ammon like (BV)Gomorrah—
A place possessed by nettles and salt pits,
And a perpetual desolation.
The remnant of My people will (BW)plunder them,
And the remainder of My nation will inherit them.”
10 This they will have in return for their (BX)pride because they have (BY)reproached and magnified themselves against the people of Yahweh of hosts. 11 Yahweh will be (BZ)fearsome to them, for He will [q]starve (CA)all the gods of the earth; and all the (CB)coastlands of the nations will (CC)bow down to Him, everyone from his own place.
12 “You also, O (CD)Ethiopians, will be slain by My sword.”
13 And He will (CE)stretch out His hand against the north
And cause (CF)Assyria to perish,
And He will make (CG)Nineveh a desolation,
Parched like the wilderness.
14 Flocks will lie down in her midst,
All the beasts of the nation;
Both the [r](CH)pelican and the hedgehog
Will lodge in [s]the tops of her pillars;
Their voice will sing in the window,
Ruin will be on the threshold;
For He has laid bare the cedar work.
15 This is the (CI)exultant city
Which (CJ)inhabits securely,
Who says in her heart,
“(CK)I am, and there is no one besides me.”
How she has become an object of (CL)horror,
A resting place for beasts!
(CM)Everyone who passes by her will hiss
And wave his hand in contempt.
The Unjust Knows No Shame
3 Woe to her who is (CN)rebellious and (CO)defiled,
The oppressive (CP)city!
2 She (CQ)did not listen to any voice;
She (CR)did not receive discipline.
She did not (CS)trust in Yahweh;
She did not (CT)draw near to her God.
3 Her (CU)princes in her midst are roaring lions;
Her judges are (CV)wolves at evening;
They leave nothing to gnaw for the morning.
4 Her prophets are (CW)reckless, treacherous men;
Her (CX)priests have profaned the sanctuary.
They have done violence to the law.
5 Yahweh is (CY)righteous (CZ)in her midst;
He will (DA)do no injustice.
(DB)Every morning He brings His justice to light;
[t]He does not fail.
But the unjust (DC)knows no shame.
6 “I have cut off nations;
Their corner towers are desolate.
I have made their streets (DD)a waste,
With no one passing by;
Their (DE)cities are laid waste,
Without a man, (DF)without an inhabitant.
7 I said, ‘Surely you will fear Me,
(DG)Receive discipline.’
So her abode will (DH)not be cut off
According to all that I have appointed concerning her.
But they were eager to (DI)corrupt all their deeds.
Yahweh Will Pour Out His Anger
8 “Therefore (DJ)wait for Me,” declares Yahweh,
“For the day when I rise up as a witness.
Indeed, My judgment is to (DK)assemble nations,
To gather kingdoms,
To pour out on them My indignation,
All My burning anger;
For (DL)all the earth will be devoured
By the fire of My zeal.
9 For then I will change them to peoples with (DM)purified lips,
That all of them may (DN)call on the name of Yahweh,
To serve Him [u]shoulder to shoulder.
10 From beyond the rivers of [v](DO)Ethiopia
My [w]worshipers, [x]My scattered ones,
Will (DP)bring My offerings.
11 In that day you will (DQ)feel no shame
Because of all your deeds
By which you have transgressed against Me;
For then I will remove from your midst
Your (DR)proud, exulting ones,
And you will never again be haughty
On My (DS)holy mountain.
12 But I will cause to remain in your midst
A [y](DT)lowly and poor people,
And they will (DU)take refuge in the name of Yahweh.
13 The (DV)remnant of Israel will (DW)do no injustice
And (DX)not speak falsehood,
Nor will a deceitful tongue
Be found in their mouths;
For they will (DY)feed and lie down
With no one to make them tremble.”
Yahweh’s Joy in Restoring Israel
14 Sing for joy, O daughter of Zion!
(DZ)Make a loud shout, O Israel!
Be glad and exult with all your heart,
O daughter of Jerusalem!
15 Yahweh has taken away (EA)His judgments against you;
He has cleared away your enemies.
The King of Israel, Yahweh, is (EB)in your midst;
You will (EC)fear evil no more.
16 (ED)In that day it will be said to Jerusalem:
“(EE)Do not fear, O Zion;
(EF)Do not let your hands fall limp.
17 Yahweh your God is (EG)in your midst,
A (EH)mighty one who will save.
He will (EI)be joyful over you with gladness;
He will [z]be quiet in His love;
He will rejoice over you with joyful singing.
18 I will assemble those who (EJ)grieve about the appointed feasts—
They were from you, O Zion;
The reproach of exile is a burden on [aa]them.
19 Behold, I am going to deal at that time
With all those who (EK)afflict you,
And I will save the (EL)lame
And gather the banished,
And I will turn them—in their (EM)shame—into (EN)praise and a name
In all the earth.
20 At that time I will (EO)bring you in,
Even at the time when I gather you together;
Indeed, I will give you to be a (EP)name and praise
Among all the peoples of the earth,
When I (EQ)restore your fortunes before your eyes,”
Says Yahweh.
The Commission to Rebuild the Temple
1 In the (A)second year of Darius the king, on the first day of the sixth month, the word of [a]Yahweh came by the hand of (B)Haggai the prophet to (C)Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, (D)governor of Judah, and to (E)Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, saying, 2 “Thus says Yahweh of [b]hosts, ‘This people says, “The time has not come, even the time for the house of Yahweh to be rebuilt.”’” 3 Then the word of Yahweh came by the hand of Haggai the prophet, saying, 4 “Is it time for you yourselves to live in your paneled houses while this house (F)lies waste?” 5 So now, thus says Yahweh of hosts, “Set your heart to consider your ways! 6 You have (G)sown much, but bring in little; you eat, but there is not enough to be satisfied; you drink, but there is [c]not enough to become drunk; you put on clothing, but no one is warm enough; and he who earns, earns wages to put into a bag with holes.”
7 Thus says Yahweh of hosts, “Set your heart to consider your ways! 8 Go up to the [d]mountains and bring wood and (H)rebuild the house of God, that I may be (I)pleased with it and be (J)glorified,” says Yahweh. 9 “(K)You look for much, but behold, it comes to little; and you bring it home, and I (L)blow it away. Why?” declares Yahweh of hosts, “Because of My house which (M)lies waste, while each of you runs to his own house. 10 Therefore, because of you the (N)sky has restrained [e]its dew and the earth has restrained its produce. 11 And I called for a [f](O)drought on the land, on the mountains, on the grain, on the new wine, on the oil, on what the ground brings forth, on (P)men, on cattle, and on (Q)all the labor of [g]your hands.”
12 Then (R)Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and (S)Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, (T)listened to the voice of Yahweh their God and the words of Haggai the prophet, as Yahweh their God had sent him. And the people (U)feared Yahweh. 13 Then Haggai, the (V)messenger of Yahweh, spoke by the commissioned message of Yahweh to the people saying, “‘(W)I am with you,’ declares Yahweh.” 14 So Yahweh stirred up the spirit of (X)Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, (Y)governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the (Z)remnant of the people; and they came and (AA)did work on the house of Yahweh of hosts, their God, 15 on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month in the second year of Darius the king.
The Glory of Yahweh Will Fill the Temple
2 On the twenty-first of the seventh month, the word of Yahweh came by the hand of (AB)Haggai the prophet saying, 2 “Speak now to (AC)Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, (AD)governor of Judah, and to (AE)Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the (AF)remnant of the people saying, 3 ‘Who among you (AG)remains who saw this house in its (AH)former glory? And how do you see it now? Does it not seem like nothing in your eyes? 4 But now, (AI)be strong, Zerubbabel,’ declares Yahweh, ‘be strong also, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and all you people of the land, be strong,’ declares Yahweh, ‘and work; for (AJ)I am with you,’ declares Yahweh of hosts. 5 ‘As for the [h](AK)promise which I cut with you when you came out of Egypt, [i]My (AL)Spirit is standing in your midst; (AM)do not fear!’ 6 For thus says Yahweh of hosts, ‘(AN)Once more—[j]in a (AO)little while—I am going to (AP)shake the heavens and the earth, the sea also and the dry land. 7 And I will shake (AQ)all the nations; and [k]they will come with the (AR)desirable things of all nations, and I will (AS)fill this house with glory,’ says Yahweh of hosts. 8 ‘The (AT)silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,’ declares Yahweh of hosts. 9 ‘The latter (AU)glory of this house will be greater than the (AV)former,’ says Yahweh of hosts, ‘and in this place I will give (AW)peace,’ declares Yahweh of hosts.”
10 On the (AX)twenty-fourth of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of Yahweh came to Haggai the prophet, saying, 11 “Thus says Yahweh of hosts, ‘(AY)Ask now the priests about the law: 12 If a man carries (AZ)holy meat in the [l]fold of his garment and touches bread with [m]this fold or cooked food, wine, oil, or any other food, will it become holy?’” And the priests answered, “No.” 13 Then Haggai said, “(BA)If one who is unclean from a [n]corpse touches any of these, will the latter become unclean?” And the priests answered, “It will become unclean.” 14 Then Haggai answered and said, “‘(BB)So is this people. And so is this nation before Me,’ declares Yahweh, ‘and so is every work of their hands; and what they bring near to Me there is unclean. 15 But now, (BC)oh set your heart to consider from this day [o]onward: from before one (BD)stone was set on another in the temple of Yahweh, 16 [p]from when it was that one came to a grain heap of twenty measures, then there would be only ten; and from when one came to the wine vat to draw fifty troughs full, then there would be only twenty. 17 I struck you and every work of your hands with (BE)scorching wind, mildew, and hail; [q]yet you did not come back to Me,’ declares Yahweh. 18 ‘(BF)Oh set your heart to consider from this day [r]onward, from the (BG)twenty-fourth day of the ninth month; from the day when the temple of Yahweh was (BH)founded, set your heart to consider: 19 Is the seed still in the barn? Even including the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree, it has not borne fruit. Yet from this day on I will (BI)bless you.’”
Yahweh Chooses Zerubbabel
20 Then the word of Yahweh came a second time to Haggai on the (BJ)twenty-fourth day of the month, saying, 21 “Speak to (BK)Zerubbabel governor of Judah, saying, ‘I am going to (BL)shake the heavens and the earth. 22 I will (BM)overthrow the thrones of kingdoms and destroy the (BN)strength of the kingdoms of the [s]nations; and I will (BO)overthrow the chariots and their riders, and the (BP)horses and their riders will go down, (BQ)everyone by the sword of another.’ 23 ‘On that day,’ declares Yahweh of hosts, ‘I will take you, Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, My servant,’ declares Yahweh, ‘and I will make you like a [t](BR)signet ring, for (BS)I have chosen you,’” declares Yahweh of hosts.
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