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Zephaniah 1
Names of God Bible

Zephaniah’s Prophecy

1 This is the word that Yahweh spoke to Zephaniah, who was the son of Cushi, the grandson of Gedaliah, and the great-grandson of Amariah, son of Hezekiah. The Lord spoke his word in the days of Judah’s King Josiah, son of Amon.

The Lord Will Judge the Earth

2 “I will gather everything on the face of the earth
    and put an end to it,” declares Yahweh.
3 “I will put an end to humans and animals.
    I will put an end to
    the birds in the sky,
        the fish in the sea,
            and the sins that make people fall, together with the sinners.
    I will remove all people from the face of the earth,” declares Yahweh.

The Lord Will Judge Judah

4 “I will use my power against Judah
    and against those who live in Jerusalem.
    I will remove the faithful few of Baal from this place
    and the names of the pagan priests along with my priests.
5 I will remove those who worship all the stars in the sky on their rooftops
    and those who worship by swearing loyalty to Yahweh
        while also swearing loyalty to the god Milcom.[a]
6 I will remove those who have turned away from following Yahweh
    and those who no longer seek Yahweh or ask him for help.”

7 Be silent in the presence of Adonay Yahweh,
    because the day of Yahweh is near.
    Yahweh has prepared a sacrifice.
    He has invited his special guests.

8 “On the day of Yahweh’s sacrifice I will punish the officials,
    the king’s sons, and all who dress in foreign clothing.[b]
9 On that day I will punish all who jump over the doorway
    and all who fill their master’s house with violence and deception.
10 On that day a loud cry will come from Fish Gate,
    a howling from the Second Part of the city,
        and a loud crashing sound from the hills,” declares Yahweh.
11 “Howl, inhabitants of the Mortar,[c]
    because all the merchants will be destroyed
        and all who handle money will be killed.

12 “At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps and punish those
    who are satisfied with their hardened lifestyle,
    who think that Yahweh won’t do anything—good or bad.
13 Their wealth will be looted.
    Their homes will be demolished.
        They will build houses, but they won’t live in them.
        They will plant vineyards, but they won’t drink their wine.”

The Day of the Lord

14 The frightening day of Yahweh is near.
    It is near and coming very quickly.
    Listen! Warriors will cry out bitterly on the day of Yahweh.
15 That day will be a day of overflowing fury,
    a day of trouble and distress,
    a day of devastation and desolation,
    a day of darkness and gloom,
    a day of clouds and overcast skies,
16 a day of rams’ horns and battle cries
    against the fortified cities
        and against the high corner towers.
17 “I will bring such distress on humans that they will walk like they are blind,
    because they have sinned against Yahweh.”
    Their blood will be poured out like dust
    and their intestines like manure.
18 Their silver and their gold will not be able to rescue them
    on the day of Yahweh’s overflowing fury.
    The whole earth will be consumed by his fiery anger,
    because he will put an end, a frightening end,
        to those who live on earth.

Footnotes

  1. Zephaniah 1:5 Or “to their king.”
  2. Zephaniah 1:8 Wearing foreign clothing was a sign of worshiping foreign gods.
  3. Zephaniah 1:11 The Mortar was in the northern part of Jerusalem, the Second Part of the city, which could be entered through the Fish Gate.
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Zephaniah 1
New International Version

1 The word of the Lord that came to Zephaniah son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, during the reign of Josiah(A) son of Amon(B) king of Judah:

Judgment on the Whole Earth in the Day of the Lord

2 “I will sweep away everything
    from the face of the earth,”(C)
declares the Lord.
3 “I will sweep away both man and beast;(D)
    I will sweep away the birds in the sky(E)
    and the fish in the sea—
    and the idols that cause the wicked to stumble.”[a]

“When I destroy all mankind
    on the face of the earth,”(F)
declares the Lord,(G)
4 “I will stretch out my hand(H) against Judah
    and against all who live in Jerusalem.
I will destroy every remnant of Baal worship in this place,(I)
    the very names of the idolatrous priests(J)—
5 those who bow down on the roofs
    to worship the starry host,(K)
those who bow down and swear by the Lord
    and who also swear by Molek,[b](L)
6 those who turn back from following(M) the Lord
    and neither seek(N) the Lord nor inquire(O) of him.”

7 Be silent(P) before the Sovereign Lord,
    for the day of the Lord(Q) is near.
The Lord has prepared a sacrifice;(R)
    he has consecrated those he has invited.

8 “On the day of the Lord’s sacrifice
    I will punish(S) the officials
    and the king’s sons(T)
and all those clad
    in foreign clothes.
9 On that day I will punish
    all who avoid stepping on the threshold,[c](U)
who fill the temple of their gods
    with violence and deceit.(V)

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

14 The great day of the Lord(AH) is near(AI)—
    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(AJ) and gloom,
        a day of clouds and blackness(AK)—
16     a day of trumpet and battle cry(AL)
against the fortified cities
    and against the corner towers.(AM)

17 “I will bring such distress(AN) on all people
    that they will grope about like those who are blind,(AO)
    because they have sinned against the Lord.
Their blood will be poured out(AP) like dust
    and their entrails like dung.(AQ)
18 Neither their silver nor their gold
    will be able to save them
    on the day of the Lord’s wrath.”(AR)

In the fire of his jealousy(AS)
    the whole earth will be consumed,(AT)
for he will make a sudden end
    of all who live on the earth.(AU)

Footnotes

  1. Zephaniah 1:3 The meaning of the Hebrew for this line is uncertain.
  2. Zephaniah 1:5 Hebrew Malkam
  3. Zephaniah 1:9 See 1 Samuel 5:5.
  4. Zephaniah 1:11 Or the Mortar
  5. Zephaniah 1:11 Or in
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Zephaniah 2
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