< Zephaniah 1 >
1 The word of Jehovah which came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.
2 I will utterly consume all things from off the face of the ground, says Jehovah.
3 I will consume man and beast. I will consume the birds of the heavens, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumbling blocks with the wicked. And I will cut off man from off the face of the ground, says Jehovah.
4 And I will stretch out my 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 Chemarim with the priests,
5 and those who worship the host of heaven upon the housetops, and those who worship, who swear to Jehovah and swear by Malcam,
6 and those who are turned back from following Jehovah, and those who have not sought Jehovah, nor inquired after him.
7 Hold thy peace at the presence of the lord Jehovah, for the day of Jehovah is at hand. For Jehovah has prepared a sacrifice. He has consecrated his guests.
8 And it shall come to pass in the day of Jehovah's sacrifice, that I will punish the rulers, and the king's sons, and all such as are clothed with foreign apparel.
9 And in that day I will punish all those who leap over the threshold, who fill their master's house with violence and deceit.
10 And in that day, says Jehovah, there shall be the noise of a cry from the fish gate, and a wailing from the second quarter, and a great crashing from the hills.
11 Wail, ye inhabitants of Maktesh, for all the people of Canaan are undone. All those who were laden with silver are cut off.
12 And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the men who are settled on their lees, who say in their heart, Jehovah will not do good, nor will he do evil.
13 And their wealth shall become a spoil, and their houses a desolation. Yea, they shall build houses, but shall not inhabit them, and they shall plant vineyards, but shall not drink the wine of it.
14 The great day of Jehovah is near. It is near and hastens greatly, the voice of the day of Jehovah. The mighty man cries 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,
16 a day of the trumpet and alarm, against the fortified cities, and against the high battlements.
17 And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against Jehovah, and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as dung.
18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of Jehovah's wrath, but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy. For he will make an end, yea, a terrible end, of all those who dwell in the land.
