Old/New Testament
1 This is the word of the Lord which came to Zephaniah, the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.
The Day of Judgment Is Coming
2 I will completely sweep away everything from the face of the earth, declares the Lord. 3 I will take away man and beast. I will take away the birds of the sky and the fish of the sea and the stumbling blocks[a] of the wicked. I will cut off mankind from the face of the earth, declares the Lord.
Judgment Against Judah
4 I will stretch out my hand against Judah and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. I will cut off every trace of Baal from this place, as well as the name of the pagan priests, along with the regular priests.[b] 5 I will also cut off those who worship on their rooftops, bowing down to the armies in the heavens,[c] and those who worship by swearing to the Lord, and yet they also swear by Milcom.[d] 6 I will also cut off those who turn away from following the Lord, those who have not sought the Lord or inquired of him.
7 Keep silent before the Lord God, for the Day of the Lord is at hand. Yes, the Lord has prepared a sacrifice. He has consecrated those who will attend it. 8 This is what will take place on the day of the Lord’s sacrifice: I will deal with the officials and the king’s sons and with all those who wear foreign clothing. 9 In the same day I will also deal with all who leap over the threshold,[e] who fill their master’s house with violence and deceit.
10 On that day, declares the Lord, there will be crying from the Fish Gate and wailing from the Second Quarter and the sound of a great crashing from the hills. 11 Wail, you who sit in the marketplace,[f] for all the merchants are destroyed. All those who weigh out silver will be cut off.
12 At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps, to deal with the men who are complacent, like wine resting on its dregs, who say in their hearts, “The Lord will not do anything good. Neither will he do anything bad.” 13 Therefore their wealth will become plunder, and their houses a ruin. They will build houses but never live in them. They will plant vineyards, but they will not drink the wine.
Judgment Against the Nations
14 The great Day of the Lord is near. It is near and coming very quickly. Listen! The sound of the Day of the Lord! The cry of the warrior is bitter.[g] 15 That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of devastation and total destruction, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness, 16 a day for the ram’s horn and for the battle cry against the fortified cities and against the high towers.
17 I will bring distress upon all people, so that they walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the Lord. That is why their blood will be poured out like dust, and their bowels will be spread like manure. 18 Their silver and their gold will not be able to deliver them on the day of the Lord’s wrath. Instead, the whole earth will be consumed by the fire of his jealousy, because he will make an end—yes, a terrifying end of all who dwell on the earth.
2 Gather yourselves together; yes, gather together, you shameless[h] nation, 2 before the decree takes effect, before the day blows by like chaff, before the burning anger of the Lord comes upon you, before the day of the Lord’s anger comes upon you. 3 Seek the Lord, all you humble people of the earth who have carried out his commands. Seek righteousness. Seek humility. Maybe then you will be sheltered in the day of the Lord’s anger.
4 Yes, Gaza will be deserted, and Ashkelon will be desolate. Ashdod’s people will be driven out by noon, and Ekron will be uprooted. 5 Woe to the inhabitants of the seacoast, the nation of the Kerethites! The word of the Lord is against you, O Canaan, the land of the Philistines. I will destroy you so that no one is left alive! 6 The seacoast will become pastureland, with shelters for shepherds and sheep pens for flocks. 7 It will become the possession of those who remain from the house of Judah. Their flocks will pasture there. In the houses of Ashkelon they will lie down in the evening, because the Lord their God will take care of them. He will restore their fortunes.
8 I have heard the taunts from Moab and the insults from the Ammonites as they have taunted my people and made proud claims against their territory. 9 Therefore as I live, declares the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, Moab will become like Sodom, and the people of Ammon like Gomorrah, a patch of ground overgrown with weeds and a salt pit[i] that is desolate forever. The surviving remnant of my people will plunder them, and the remnant of my nation will take possession of their land. 10 This is what they will get for their pride, because they have taunted and talked arrogantly against the people of the Lord of Armies. 11 The Lord will be terrifying to them, when he will starve[j] all the gods of the earth. Then all the distant nations will bow down to him, each of them in their own country.
12 You Cushites,[k] you also will die by my sword.
13 Then he will stretch out his hand against the north and destroy Assyria. He will make Nineveh desolate, dry like the wilderness. 14 Flocks and herds will lie down there, with all sorts of other creatures. Screech owls and hedgehogs[l] will live among its columns. Owls will hoot through the windows. Rubble will cover the thresholds. Even the cedar beams will be exposed. 15 This was the smug city that lived securely, that said to herself, “I am all there is. There are none that compare to me.” What a heap of ruins she has become, a place for wild animals to lie down! Everyone who passes by taunts her and shakes his fist.
Judgment Against Jerusalem
3 Woe to the filthy,[m] foul city, the city of oppressors. 2 She does not listen. She does not accept correction. She does not even trust the Lord or draw near to her God. 3 The officials within her are like roaring lions. Her judges are like hungry wolves in the evening that completely devour their prey by morning. 4 Her prophets are reckless, treacherous men. Her priests have profaned what is holy. They have committed violence against the law.
5 The Lord in her midst is just. He does no wrong. Every morning he brings his justice to light. He does not fail. But those who are unjust are shameless.
The Final Proclamation of the Lord
6 I have cut off nations. Their corner towers are in ruins. I have made their streets desolate, with no one passing by. Their cities are laid waste, with no one living there. 7 I said, “Certainly you will fear me. You will accept correction so that your dwelling place will not be destroyed by everything I have threatened.” But they eagerly sinned in everything they did. 8 So wait for me, declares the Lord, until the day that I rise up to plunder. For I am determined to gather the nations, to assemble the kingdoms, and to pour out my indignation upon them and all my furious anger. All the earth will be consumed with the fire of my zeal.
9 I will purify the lips of the people so that they all call on the name of the Lord and serve him side by side. 10 From beyond the rivers of Cush,[n] my worshippers, my scattered people, will bring offerings to me. 11 In that day you will no longer bear the shame of your rebellions against me. Then I will remove the proud boasters from among you, and you will never again be arrogant on my holy hill. 12 But I will leave among you the people who are humble and weak. They will seek refuge in the name of the Lord. 13 The Israelites who remain will no longer act unjustly. They will not lie, and a deceitful tongue will not be found in their mouth. Instead, they will graze peacefully like sheep and lie down. No one will terrify them.
14 Sing out, daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, you daughter of Jerusalem. 15 The Lord has removed the judgment against you. He has turned back your enemy. Israel’s king, the Lord, is in your midst! You no longer need to fear disaster. 16 In that day Jerusalem will be told, “Do not be afraid, O Zion. Do not give up. 17 The Lord your God is with you as a hero who will save you. He takes great delight in you. He will quiet you with his love.[o] He will rejoice over you with singing.”
18 I will bring back those among you who grieve over the loss of the appointed feasts, those for whom the loss was a burden and a disgrace.[p] 19 Look, at that time I will deal with those who mistreated you. I will rescue the lame and gather together the scattered. I will give them praise and honor in every land where they were put to shame. 20 At that time I will bring you in. At that time I will gather you. I will give you a name and praise among all the peoples of the earth when I restore your fortunes before your eyes, declares the Lord.
The First Five Bowls
16 I heard a loud voice from the temple say to the seven angels, “Go and pour out the seven bowls of God’s wrath on the earth.”
2 The first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth, and horrible and painful sores came on the people who had the mark of the beast and who worshipped his image.
3 The second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it became blood like that of a dead man, and every living creature in the sea died.
4 The third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and the springs of water, and they[a] turned into blood. 5 And I heard the angel of the waters say:
You are righteous, the one who is and who was, the Holy One,[b]
because you have made these judgments.
6 Because they poured out the blood of saints and prophets,
you have given them blood to drink.
They deserve it.
7 And I heard the incense altar, saying,[c] “Yes, Lord God Almighty, true and just are your judgments.”
8 The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was allowed to burn people with fire. 9 People were scorched by the fierce heat. Then they blasphemed the name of God, who had authority over these plagues, but they did not repent and give him praise.
10 The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast. The beast’s kingdom was darkened. People gnawed their tongues in their torment. 11 They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their torments and their sores. But they did not repent of their deeds.
The Sixth Bowl: The Battle of Armageddon
12 The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river, the Euphrates. Its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings coming from the east. 13 I saw three unclean spirits, like frogs, which came out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14 They are, in fact, miracle-working, demonic spirits, which go out to the kings of the whole earth[d] to bring them together for the battle on the great day of the Almighty God.
15 “Look: I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his clothes on, so that he does not walk around naked and his shame is not seen.”
16 Then they brought them together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.
The Seventh Bowl: The End of the World
17 The seventh angel poured out his bowl on the air. And a loud voice came out of the temple[e] from the throne, saying, “It is done.” 18 There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, and crashes of thunder. There was also a great earthquake of a kind that has not occurred since mankind has been[f] on the earth.
19 And the great city split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. Babylon the Great was remembered by God, and he gave her the wine cup filled with his fierce wrath. 20 Every island vanished, and the mountains could no longer be found. 21 Massive hailstones, about one hundred pounds each, fell on people from the sky. And the people blasphemed God because of the plague of hail, because the plague was so severe.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.