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Hand of Judgment Upon Idolaters

The word of Adonai that came to Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah:

I will totally sweep away everything
from the face of the earth,
declares Adonai.
I will sweep away man and beast,
I will sweep away the birds of the sky
    and the fish of the sea—
    also the stumbling blocks—the wicked.
I will cut off mankind from the face of the earth,
    declares Adonai.[a]
“I will stretch out my hand upon Judah
and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place
—the names of the idolatrous priests along with the kohanim,
those bowing down on the roofs
    to the host of the heavens.
those bowing down, swearing to Adonai
    and also swearing by Molech
those turning from following Adonai,
    not seeking Adonai or consulting Him.

The Day Is At Hand

Be silent before Adonai God.
For the day of Adonai is at hand![b]
Adonai has prepared a sacrifice,
    He has consecrated his guests.
On the day of Adonai’s sacrifice,
I will punish the princes,
the king’s sons
and all who dress in foreign attire.
In that day I will punish
all who skip over the threshold
while filling their master’s House
    with violence and deceit.
10 In that day—declares Adonai
there will be the sound of screaming from the Fish Gate,
wailing from the second district
and a loud crash from the heights.
11 Howl, inhabitants of Maktesh![c]
For all the people of Canaan[d] are destroyed.
All who weigh out silver are cut off.
12 At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps
and punish the men whose spirits have hardened,
who say in their hearts,
Adonai will do neither good nor evil.’
13 Their wealth will become plunder,
    their houses a ruin.
They will build houses
    but not live in them.
They will plant vineyards
    but not drink their wine.

14 The great day of Adonai is near—
    near and coming very quickly!
The sound of the day of Adonai is bitter—
    the shouting of the warrior is there.
15 That day is a day of wrath
a day of trouble and distress,
a day of devastating storm and desolation,
a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and thick darkness,
16 a day of shofar and alarm
    against the fortified cities
    and against the high corner towers.
17 I will bring such distress upon mankind
    that they will walk like the blind—
    for they have sinned against Adonai.
Their blood will be poured out like dust,
    and their flesh like dung.
18 Neither their silver nor their gold
will be able to rescue them
    on the day of Adonai’s wrath.
With the fire of His passion
    the entire earth will be consumed.
For He will make a total,
    dreadful annihilation of all the inhabitants of the earth.

Footnotes

  1. Zephaniah 1:3 Cf. Matt. 13:41.
  2. Zephaniah 1:7 cf. 2 Cor. 1:14; 1 Thes. 5:2; 2 Pet. 3:10; Rev. 1:7, 10.
  3. Zephaniah 1:11 A district of Jerusalem for beating mortar.
  4. Zephaniah 1:11 Or, merchant people.

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

“I will sweep away everything
    from the face of the earth,”(C)
declares the Lord.
“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)
“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)
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)
those who turn back from following(M) the Lord
    and neither seek(N) the Lord nor inquire(O) of him.”

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.

“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.
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