Zephaniah 1

1 The word of the  Lord that came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, a in the days of b Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.

The Coming Judgment on Judah

2  c “I will utterly sweep away everything
from the face of the earth,” declares the  Lord.
 3 “I will sweep away d man and beast;
I will sweep away the birds of the heavens
and e the fish of the sea,
and f the rubble ▼
▼ Or stumbling blocks (that is, idols)
 with the wicked.
I will h cut off mankind
from the face of the earth,” declares the  Lord.
 4 “I will stretch out my hand against Judah
and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem;
i and I will cut off from this place the remnant of Baal
and the name of the idolatrous priests along with the priests,
 5  j those who bow down on the roofs
to the host of the heavens,
k those who bow down and swear to the  Lord
and yet swear by l Milcom,
 6  m those who have turned back from following the  Lord,
n who do not seek the  Lord or inquire of him.”

The Day of the  Lord Is Near

7  o Be silent before the Lord  God!
For p the day of the  Lord is near;
q the  Lord has prepared a sacrifice
and r consecrated his guests.
 8 And on the day of the  Lord’s sacrifice—
s “I will punish the officials and the king’s sons
and t all who array themselves in foreign attire.
 9 On that day I will punish
everyone u who leaps over the threshold,
and those who fill their master’s ▼
▼ Or  their Lord’s
 house
with violence and fraud.
 10  “On that day,” declares the  Lord,
“a cry will be heard from w the Fish Gate,
x a wail from y the Second Quarter,
a loud crash from the hills.
 11  z Wail, O inhabitants of the Mortar!
For all the traders ▼
▼ Or  all the people of Canaan
 are no more;
all who weigh out silver are cut off.
 12 At that time ab I will search Jerusalem with lamps,
and I will punish the men
ac who are complacent ▼
▼ Hebrew  are thickening on the dregs [of their wine]

ae those who say in their hearts,
‘The  Lord will not do good,
nor will he do ill.’
 13 Their goods shall be af plundered,
and their houses laid waste.
ag Though they build houses,
they shall not inhabit them;
ah though they plant vineyards,
they shall not drink wine from them.”
 14  ai The great day of the  Lord is near,
near and hastening fast;
the sound of the day of the  Lord is bitter;
aj the mighty man cries aloud there.
 15  ak A day of wrath is that day,
a day of distress and anguish,
a day of al ruin and devastation,
am a day of darkness and gloom,
an a day of clouds and thick darkness,
 16  ao a day of trumpet blast and battle cry
ap against the fortified cities
and against the lofty battlements.
 17  aq I will bring distress on mankind,
so that they shall walk ar like the blind,
because they have sinned against the  Lord;
as their blood shall be poured out like dust,
and their flesh at like dung.
 18  au Neither their silver nor their gold
shall be able to deliver them
on the day of the wrath of the  Lord.
av In the fire of his jealousy,
aw all the earth shall be consumed;
ax for a full and sudden end
he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth.
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