Old/New Testament
The Imminent Destruction of Judah
1 This message from the Lord came to Cushi’s son Zephaniah,[a] the grandson of Gedaliah and great-grandson of Hezekiah’s son Amariah, during the reign[b] of Amon’s son Josiah, king of Judah:
2 “I’ll utterly sweep away everything from[c] the land,”
declares the Lord.
3 “I’ll consume both human beings and animals—
I’ll consume the birds of the sky,
the fish in the sea,
and the wicked along with their sin,[d]
when I eliminate human beings from the land,”
declares the Lord.
4 “I will also stretch out my hand against Judah,
and upon all inhabitants of Jerusalem.
I’ll wipe out every trace of Baal from this place,
and the name[e] of the pagan priests[f],
along with my own[g] priests.
5 I’ll wipe out[h] those who worship the stars
that they view[i] from their housetops,
those who bow down and swear to the Lord
and who also swear by Milcom,[j]
6 those who turn away from the Lord,
don’t seek the Lord,
and never ask for his help.[k]”
The Approaching Day of the Lord
7 Remain silent in the presence of the Lord God,
because the Day of the Lord approaches,
and because the Lord has prepared a sacrifice
for those whom he has invited to be consecrated.
8 “It will come about during[l] the Lord’s sacrifice
that I’ll punish the officials,[m] the royal descendants,
and all who wear foreign clothing.[n]
9 At the same time, I’ll punish every idol worshipper,[o]
especially those who are filling their master’s temple with violence and deceit.
10 When all of this happens,”[p] declares the Lord,
“a loud shriek will come[q] from the Fish Gate,
and howling from the Mishneh[r] Quarter,
along with great destruction from the hills.”
Divine Judgment on the Business Community
11 “Wail, you who live in the market district,
because all of the merchants will be crushed
and all of their customers[s] will be eliminated.[t]
12 And it will come about that I will search Jerusalem with candles,[u]
punishing the self-satisfied and complacent,
who say to themselves,
‘The Lord will do neither good nor evil.’
13 Therefore their possessions will be seized as plunder
and their homes left in ruins.
They may build houses,
but they won’t live in them.
They may plant vineyards,
but they won’t drink their wine.”
Zephaniah’s Description of the Day of the Lord
14 “The great Day of the Lord approaches—
How it comes, hurrying faster and faster!
The sound of the Day of the Lord there
includes the bitter cry of the mighty soldier.
15 That day will be filled with wrath,
a day of trouble and tribulation,
a day of desolation and devastation,
a day of doom and gloom,
a day of clouds and shadows,[v]
16 a day of trumpet and battle cry
against fortified cities and watch[w] towers.
17 “And I’ll bring so much distress to people
that they will walk around like the blind.
Because they have sinned against the Lord,
their blood will be poured out like dust
and their intestines will spill out[x] like manure.
18 Neither their silver nor their gold will deliver them
in the Day of the Lord’s wrath;
but the entire land will be consumed
by the fire of his jealousy,
for he will bring the inhabitants of the land to a sudden end.”
A Plea for Repentance to the People
2 “Gather together!
Yes, indeed, gather together,
you shameless nation!
2 Before the decree is carried out,
before the day flies away like chaff,
before the fierce anger of the Lord visits you,
before the Day of the Lord’s wrath surprises[y] you,
3 seek the Lord, all you humble people of the land,
who do what he commands.
Seek righteousness!
Seek humility!
Maybe you will be protected in the Day of the Lord’s anger.”
The Coming Destruction of Philistine Cities
4 “For Gaza will be forsaken,[z]
and Ashkelon deserted—
Ashdod will be emptied at high noon;
even Ekron will be uprooted.[aa]
5 Woe to those who live along the coast,
the people of Philistia![ab]
This message from the Lord is being spoken against you,
Canaan, land of the Philistines:
‘I’ll destroy you until no one lives there!’
6 The Philistine[ac] coast will become meadows
for shepherds and sheep pens.
7 The survivors of Judah will find pasture on it;
at twilight they will lie down in the houses of Ashkelon,
for the Lord their God will visit them,
restoring their prosperity.”[ad]
The Lord’s Rebuke to Moab and Ammon
8 “I’ve heard Moab’s insults
and the curses from those Ammonites[ae]
by which they defame my people
and boast about their territory.
9 Therefore as I’m alive and living,” declares the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel,
“Moab will surely become like Sodom,
and the Ammonites[af] like Gomorrah,
a place overrun by weeds and salty marshes,
unpopulated forever.
The survivors of my people will confiscate their property,
and those who remain of my nation will inherit what was theirs.[ag]
10 This they[ah] will have in lieu of their pride,
because they have insulted and mocked the people of the Lord of the Heavenly Armies.
11 The Lord will incite them to terror,
because he will cause all the gods of the earth to waste away.
They will worship him,
every person in his own home,
including even the coastlands of the nations.”
The Lord’s Rebuke to Cush and Nineveh
13 “And the Lord[ak] will attack[al] the north, destroying Assyria.
He will turn Nineveh into a desolate ruin,
as dry as a desert wilderness.
14 Flocks will lie down in her midst,
along with animals of every kind.
Desert owls and screeching owls will nest at the top of the pillars,
hooting through the vacant[am] windows,
‘Ruin sits at these doorsills,’
for he will expose even the cedar framework.
15 This is that carefree city that lived irresponsibly,
that told herself, ‘Me first!’[an]
and, ‘There will be no one else!’
How ruined she has become—
a habitat for wild animals!
Everyone who passes by her will sneer at her
and make obscene gestures!”[ao]
The Lord’s Rebuke to Jerusalem
3 Woe to this filthy, polluted, and oppressive city!
2 It won’t obey anyone.[ap]
It won’t accept discipline.
It does not trust in the Lord.
It does not approach God.
3 Its national officials[aq] are roaring lions;
its judges are like wolves of the night
that don’t leave the bones for the morning.
4 Its prophets are arrogant and treacherous.
Its priests have contaminated the sanctuary.
They give perverse interpretations of the Law.[ar]
5 The righteous Lord who lives[as] within her will do no wrong;
he will bring justice to light morning by morning.
He never fails,
but the unjust are shameless.
The Integrity of God’s Justice
6 “I have destroyed[at] nations—
their fortifications are deserted.
I have turned their main thoroughfares into wastelands
where no one will travel.
Their cities are desolate;
as a result, not one man remains—
no, not even a single resident.
7 I have said, ‘If only you would fear me,
if only you would take my instructions to heart.’
Then their houses would not have been torn down.
I have chastened them,
but they were eager to corrupt everything they were doing.”
The Future Deliverance of Israel
8 “Just you wait!” declares the Lord.
“The day will come when I stand up as a prosecutor,[au]
for I am determined to assemble the nations
and to gather the kingdoms,
in order to pour out my indignation upon them—
all of my fierce anger.
All the earth will be consumed by the fire of my jealousy.
9 Indeed, then I will return my people to a pure language[av]
so that they all may call upon the name of the Lord,
serving him with a united will.[aw]
10 “From beyond the rivers of Sudan[ax] my worshipers[ay]—
including my dispersed people—
will present offerings to me.
11 When this happens,[az] you will not be ashamed of your actions
by which you sinned against me,
because I will remove from among you those who revel in pride.
Arrogance will have no place in my holy mountain.
12 I will keep a humble and gentle people among you,
and they will trust in the name of the Lord.
13 The survivors of Israel will not practice lawlessness
nor tell lies,
nor will a deceitful message be found in their mouths,
because they will eat and rest,
with no one to cause fear.”
Israel’s Future Joys
14 “Sing aloud, daughter of Zion!
Shout out, Israel!
Rejoice with all of your heart, daughter of Jerusalem!
15 The Lord has acquitted you;[ba]
turning back your adversaries.
Israel’s king, the Lord, is among you;
you will not fear disaster anymore.
16 “When all of this happens,[bb] it will be told Jerusalem,
‘Don’t be afraid!”
and to Zion,
‘Don’t lose courage!”[bc]
17 The Lord your God among you is powerful—
he will save
and he will take joyful delight in you.
In his love he will renew you[bd] with his love;
he will celebrate with singing because of you.
18 I will gather the afflicted from the solemn assembly;
those who were with you,
who were bearing a burden of disgrace.
19 “Watch how I deal with everyone who oppresses you!
At that time I will rescue the one who is lame,
and I will draw to me[be] the one who has been driven away.
I will honor[bf] them with praise
and with a good reputation in every land
where they have been put to shame.
20 At that time I will gather you;
at that time I will bring you home.[bg]
Indeed, I will give you a good reputation,
making you praiseworthy among all of the people of the world,
when I restore your prosperity before your eyes,” says the Lord.
The Vision of the Seven Angels Pouring Out Their Bowls
16 Then I heard a loud voice from the Temple saying to the seven angels, “Go and pour the seven bowls of God’s wrath on the earth.” 2 So the first angel went and poured his bowl on the earth. A horrible, painful sore appeared on the people who had the mark of the beast and worshipped the image.
3 The second angel poured his bowl into the sea. It became like the blood of a dead body, and every living thing in the sea died.
4 The third angel poured his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water, and they turned into blood. 5 Then I heard the angel in charge[a] of the water say,
“You are just. You are the one who is
and who was, the Holy One,
because you have judged these things.
6 You have given them blood to drink
because they spilled the blood of saints and prophets.
This is what they deserve.”
7 Then I heard the altar reply,
“Yes, Lord God Almighty,
your judgments are true and just.”
8 The fourth angel poured his bowl on the sun, which then was allowed to burn people with fire, 9 and they were burned by the fierce heat. They cursed the name of God, who has the authority over these plagues. They did not repent and give him glory.
10 The fifth angel poured his bowl on the throne of the beast. Its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People[b] gnawed on their tongues in anguish 11 and cursed the God of heaven because of their pain-filled sores. But they did not repent of their behavior.
12 The sixth angel poured his bowl on the great Euphrates River. Its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the east. 13 Then I saw three disgusting spirits like frogs come 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 demonic spirits that perform signs. They go to the kings of the whole earth and gather them for the war of the great Day of God Almighty.
15 “See, I am coming like a thief.
How blessed is the person who remains alert
and keeps his clothes on!
He won’t have to go naked
and let others see his shame.”
16 The spirits[c] gathered the kings[d] to the place that is called Armageddon in Hebrew.
17 The seventh angel threw the contents of[e] his bowl across the sky. A loud voice came from the throne in the Temple and said, “It has happened!” 18 There were flashes of lightning, noises, peals of thunder, and a powerful earthquake. There has never been such a powerful earthquake since people have been on the earth. 19 The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. God remembered to give Babylon the Great the cup of wine filled with the fury of his wrath. 20 Every island vanished,[f] and the mountains could no longer be found. 21 Huge hailstones, each weighing about a talent,[g] fell from the sky on people, who cursed God because the plague of hail was so terrible.
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