Zephaniah 3
New American Standard Bible 1995
Woe to Jerusalem and the Nations
3 Woe to her who is (A)rebellious and (B)defiled,
The (C)tyrannical city!
2 She (D)heeded no voice,
She (E)accepted no instruction.
She did not (F)trust in the Lord,
She did not (G)draw near to her God.
3 Her (H)princes within her are roaring lions,
Her judges are (I)wolves at evening;
They leave nothing for the morning.
4 Her prophets are (J)reckless, treacherous men;
Her (K)priests have profaned the sanctuary.
They have done violence to the law.
5 The Lord is (L)righteous (M)within her;
He will (N)do no injustice.
(O)Every morning He brings His justice to light;
He does not fail.
But the unjust (P)knows no shame.
6 “I have cut off nations;
Their corner towers are in ruins.
I have made their streets (Q)desolate,
With no one passing by;
Their (R)cities are laid waste,
Without a man, (S)without an inhabitant.
7 “I said, ‘Surely you will revere Me,
(T)Accept instruction.’
So her dwelling will (U)not be cut off
According to all that I have appointed concerning her.
But they were eager to (V)corrupt all their deeds.
8 “Therefore (W)wait for Me,” declares the Lord,
“For the day when I rise up as a witness.
Indeed, My decision is to (X)gather nations,
To assemble kingdoms,
To pour out on them My indignation,
All My burning anger;
For (Y)all the earth will be devoured
By the fire of My zeal.
9 “For then I will [a]give to the peoples (Z)purified lips,
That all of them may (AA)call on the name of the Lord,
To serve Him [b]shoulder to shoulder.
10 “From beyond the rivers of (AB)Ethiopia
My [c]worshipers, [d]My dispersed ones,
Will (AC)bring My offerings.
11 “In that day you will (AD)feel no shame
Because of all your deeds
By which you have rebelled against Me;
For then I will remove from your midst
Your (AE)proud, exulting ones,
And you will never again be haughty
On My (AF)holy mountain.
A Remnant of Israel
12 “But I will leave among you
A (AG)humble and lowly people,
And they will (AH)take refuge in the name of the Lord.
13 “The (AI)remnant of Israel will (AJ)do no wrong
And (AK)tell no lies,
Nor will a deceitful tongue
Be found in their mouths;
For they will (AL)feed and lie down
With no one to make them tremble.”
14 Shout for joy, O daughter of Zion!
(AM)Shout in triumph, O Israel!
Rejoice and exult with all your heart,
O daughter of Jerusalem!
15 The Lord has taken away (AN)His judgments against you,
He has cleared away your enemies.
The King of Israel, the Lord, is (AO)in your midst;
You will (AP)fear disaster no more.
16 (AQ)In that day it will be said to Jerusalem:
“(AR)Do not be afraid, O Zion;
(AS)Do not let your hands fall limp.
17 “The Lord your God is (AT)in your midst,
A [e](AU)victorious warrior.
He will (AV)exult over you with joy,
He will [f]be quiet in His love,
He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.
18 “I will gather those who (AW)grieve about the appointed feasts—
They [g]came from you, O Zion;
The reproach of exile is a burden on [h]them.
19 “Behold, I am going to deal at that time
With all your (AX)oppressors,
I will save the (AY)lame
And gather the outcast,
And I will turn their (AZ)shame into (BA)praise and renown
In all the earth.
20 “At that time I will (BB)bring you in,
Even at the time when I gather you together;
Indeed, I will give you (BC)renown and praise
Among all the peoples of the earth,
When I (BD)restore your fortunes before your eyes,”
Says the Lord.
Footnotes
- Zephaniah 3:9 Lit change
- Zephaniah 3:9 Lit with one shoulder
- Zephaniah 3:10 Or suppliants
- Zephaniah 3:10 Lit the daughter of My dispersed ones
- Zephaniah 3:17 Lit A warrior who saves
- Zephaniah 3:17 Or with some ancient versions, renew you in
- Zephaniah 3:18 Lit were
- Zephaniah 3:18 Lit her
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.