Zephaniah

Old Testament · 3 chapters · 53 verses.

Chapter 1

1:1The word of the LORD 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:
1:2“I will utterly consume all things from the face of the ground,” declares the LORD.
1:3“I will consume man and beast; I will consume the birds of heaven and the fish of the sea, and the stumbling blocks with the wicked; and I will cut off man from the face of the ground,” declares the LORD.
1:4“And I will stretch out My hand against Judah and against all who dwell in Jerusalem; and I will cut off from this place the remnant of Baal, and the name of the idolatrous priests together with the priests;
1:5and those who bow down upon the roofs to the host of heaven; and those who bow down and swear to the LORD, yet swear by Milcom;
1:6and those who turn back from following the LORD, and who have neither sought the LORD nor inquired of Him.”
1:7Be silent before the Lord, the LORD, for the Day of the LORD is near; the LORD has prepared a sacrifice and consecrated His invited guests.
1:8“And on the day of the sacrifice of the LORD, I will punish the rulers, the sons of the king, and all who put on foreign clothing.
1:9And on that day I will punish everyone who leaps over the threshold, who fills the house of his masters with violence and deceit.
1:10And on that day,” declares the LORD, “there will be the sound of a cry from the Fish Gate, a wailing from the Second Quarter, and a great crashing from the hills.
1:11Wail, you inhabitants of the Mortar district, for all the merchants have been cut off; all who weigh out silver have been cut off.
1:12And at that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and punish the men who are settled on their dregs, who say in their hearts, ‘The LORD does no good, nor does He do evil.’
1:13And their wealth will become spoil, and their houses a desolation. They will build houses but will not dwell in them; and they will plant vineyards but will not drink their wine.”
1:14The Great Day of the LORD is near—near and coming swiftly. The sound of the Day of the LORD! There the warrior cries out bitterly.
1:15That day is a day of wrath, a day of distress and anguish, a day of devastation and desolation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of cloud and thick darkness,
1:16a day of the horn blast and the battle cry against fortified cities and against high corner towers.
1:17“And I will bring distress upon men, and they will walk like the blind, because they have sinned against the LORD; and their blood will be poured out like dust, and their flesh like dung.”
1:18Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them on the day of the wrath of the LORD. In the fire of His jealousy the whole land will be consumed, for He will make a sudden end of all the inhabitants of the land.

Chapter 2

2:1Gather yourselves together; indeed, gather, O shameless nation,
2:2before the decree gives birth, before the day passes away like chaff, before the burning anger of the LORD comes upon you, before the Day of the anger of the LORD comes upon you.
2:3Seek the LORD, all you humble ones of the land who carry out His judgment. Seek righteousness; seek humility. Perhaps you will be hidden on the Day of the anger of the LORD.
2:4For Gaza will be forsaken, and Ashkelon a desolation; Ashdod will be driven out at noon, and Ekron will be uprooted.
2:5Woe to the inhabitants of the seacoast, O nation of the Cherethites! The word of the LORD is against you, Canaan, land of the Philistines: “I will destroy you, and no inhabitant will remain.”
2:6And the seacoast will become pastures, with shelters for shepherds and folds for flocks.
2:7And the coast will belong to the remnant of the house of Judah; there they will pasture their flocks. In the houses of Ashkelon they will lie down at evening, for the LORD their God will take notice of them and restore their fortunes.
2:8“I have heard the reproach of Moab and the revilings of the Ammonites, with which they reproached My people and boasted against their border.
2:9Therefore, as I live,” declares the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, “surely Moab will become like Sodom, and the Ammonites like Gomorrah: an overgrowth of nettles, salt pits, and a desolation forever. The remnant of My people will plunder them, and the remnant of My nation will inherit them.”
2:10This will be theirs because of their arrogance, for they taunted and boasted against the people of the LORD of Hosts.
2:11The LORD will be fearsome to them, for He will make all the gods of the land waste away; and all the coastlands of the nations will bow down to Him, each from his own place.
2:12“You also, O Cushites, will be slain by My sword.”
2:13And He will stretch out His hand against the north and destroy Assyria; and He will make Nineveh a desolation, a dry land like the wilderness.
2:14And herds will lie down in her midst, every kind of beast. Both pelican and hedgehog will lodge upon her capitals; a voice will sing at the window. Desolation will lie at the threshold, for the cedarwork will be laid bare.
2:15This is the exulting city that dwelt securely, that said in her heart, “I am, and there is none besides me.” How she has become a desolation, a resting place for beasts! Everyone who passes by her hisses and waves his hand at her.

Chapter 3

3:1Woe to the rebellious and defiled, the oppressive city!
3:2She has not listened to the voice; she has not accepted correction. She has not trusted in the LORD; she has not drawn near to her God.
3:3Her rulers in her midst are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves that leave nothing for the morning.
3:4Her prophets are reckless, treacherous men; her priests have defiled the sanctuary and violated the Law.
3:5The LORD is righteous in her midst; He does no wrong. Morning by morning He brings His judgment to light; He never fails, but the perverse know no shame.
3:6“I have cut off nations; their corner towers lie desolate. I have laid waste their streets, with no one passing by; their cities are destroyed, without anyone, without inhabitant.
3:7I said, ‘Surely you will fear Me; you will receive instruction.’ Then her dwelling would not be cut off, despite all that I had appointed against her. But they were eager to corrupt all their deeds.
3:8Therefore wait for Me,” declares the LORD, “until the day when I rise to seize the prey. For My judgment is to gather nations, to assemble kingdoms, to pour out upon them My indignation, all the burning heat of My anger; for by the fire of My jealousy all the earth will be consumed.
3:9For then I will give the peoples pure speech, that they may all call upon the Name of the LORD and serve Him shoulder to shoulder.
3:10From beyond the rivers of Cush, My worshipers, the daughter of My scattered people, will bring My offering.
3:11On that day you will not be ashamed because of any of your deeds by which you transgressed against Me; for then I will remove from your midst those who exult in pride, and you will no longer be haughty on My holy mountain.
3:12And I will leave in your midst a humble and poor people, and they will take refuge in the Name of the LORD.
3:13The remnant of Israel will do no wrong, nor speak lies, nor will a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth; for they will feed and lie down, with no one to trouble them.”
3:14Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem.
3:15The LORD has removed the judgments against you; He has cleared away your enemy. The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; you will see evil no more.
3:16On that day it will be said to Jerusalem, “Do not fear, O Zion; do not let your hands grow feeble.
3:17The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty One who saves. He rejoices over you with joy; He is silent in His love; He exults over you with singing.”
3:18“I will gather those among you who grieve over the appointed feast—those from you who bore the burden of reproach.
3:19Behold, at that time I will deal with all who afflict you; and I will save the one who limps, and gather those who were driven away. I will make them a praise and a name in every land where they were put to shame.
3:20At that time I will bring you in, even at the time when I gather you; for I will make you a name and a praise among all the peoples of the earth, when I restore your fortunes before your eyes,” says the LORD.