14 Like a hunted(A) gazelle,
    like sheep without a shepherd,(B)
they will all return to their own people,
    they will flee(C) to their native land.(D)

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14 And it shall be as the chased roe, and as a sheep that no man taketh up: they shall every man turn to his own people, and flee every one into his own land.

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“I will stretch out my hand(A) against Judah
    and against all who live in Jerusalem.
I will destroy every remnant of Baal worship in this place,(B)
    the very names of the idolatrous priests(C)
those who bow down on the roofs
    to worship the starry host,(D)
those who bow down and swear by the Lord
    and who also swear by Molek,[a](E)
those who turn back from following(F) the Lord
    and neither seek(G) the Lord nor inquire(H) of him.”

Be silent(I) before the Sovereign Lord,
    for the day of the Lord(J) is near.
The Lord has prepared a sacrifice;(K)
    he has consecrated those he has invited.

“On the day of the Lord’s sacrifice
    I will punish(L) the officials
    and the king’s sons(M)
and all those clad
    in foreign clothes.
On that day I will punish
    all who avoid stepping on the threshold,[b](N)
who fill the temple of their gods
    with violence and deceit.(O)

10 “On that day,(P)
    declares the Lord,
“a cry will go up from the Fish Gate,(Q)
    wailing(R) from the New Quarter,
    and a loud crash from the hills.
11 Wail,(S) you who live in the market district[c];
    all your merchants will be wiped out,
    all who trade with[d] silver will be destroyed.(T)
12 At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps
    and punish those who are complacent,(U)
    who are like wine left on its dregs,(V)
who think, ‘The Lord will do nothing,(W)
    either good or bad.’(X)
13 Their wealth will be plundered,(Y)
    their houses demolished.
Though they build houses,
    they will not live in them;
though they plant vineyards,
    they will not drink the wine.”(Z)

14 The great day of the Lord(AA) is near(AB)
    near and coming quickly.
The cry on the day of the Lord is bitter;
    the Mighty Warrior shouts his battle cry.
15 That day will be a day of wrath—
    a day of distress and anguish,
        a day of trouble and ruin,
    a day of darkness(AC) and gloom,
        a day of clouds and blackness(AD)

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Footnotes

  1. Zephaniah 1:5 Hebrew Malkam
  2. Zephaniah 1:9 See 1 Samuel 5:5.
  3. Zephaniah 1:11 Or the Mortar
  4. Zephaniah 1:11 Or in

I will also stretch out mine hand upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, and the name of the Chemarims with the priests;

And them that worship the host of heaven upon the housetops; and them that worship and that swear by the Lord, and that swear by Malcham;

And them that are turned back from the Lord; and those that have not sought the Lord, nor enquired for him.

Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord God: for the day of the Lord is at hand: for the Lord hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath bid his guests.

And it shall come to pass in the day of the Lord's sacrifice, that I will punish the princes, and the king's children, and all such as are clothed with strange apparel.

In the same day also will I punish all those that leap on the threshold, which fill their masters' houses with violence and deceit.

10 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord, that there shall be the noise of a cry from the fish gate, and an howling from the second, and a great crashing from the hills.

11 Howl, ye inhabitants of Maktesh, for all the merchant people are cut down; all they that bear silver are cut off.

12 And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men that are settled on their lees: that say in their heart, The Lord will not do good, neither will he do evil.

13 Therefore their goods shall become a booty, and their houses a desolation: they shall also build houses, but not inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, but not drink the wine thereof.

14 The great day of the Lord is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the Lord: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly.

15 That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness,

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