Zephaniah 1

1 The word of the Lord 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.

The word of the Lord which came to Sophonias the son of Chusi, the son of Godolias, the son of Amorias, the son of Ezekias, in the days of Josias son of Amon, king of Juda.

2 I will take away everything from the face of the earth, says the Lord.

Let there be an utter cutting off from the face of the land, says the Lord.

3 I will take away man and beast; I will take away the birds of the heaven and the fishes of the sea; causing the downfall of the evil-doers, and cutting man off from the face of the earth, says the Lord.

Let man and cattle be cut off; let the birds of the air and the fishes of the sea be cut off; and the ungodly shall fail, and I will take away the transgressors from the face of the land, says the Lord.

4 And my hand will be stretched out on Judah and on all the people of Jerusalem, cutting off the name of the Baal from this place, and the name of the false priests,

And I will stretch out mine hand upon Juda, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will remove the names of Baal out of this place, and the names of the priests;

5 And the worshippers of the army of heaven on the house-tops, and the Lord's worshippers who take oaths by Milcom,

and them that worship the host of heaven upon the housetops; and them that worship and swear by the Lord, and them that swear by their king;

6 And those who are turned back from going after the Lord, and those who have not made prayer to the Lord or got directions from him.

and them that turn aside from the Lord, and them that seek not the Lord, and them that cleave not to the Lord.

7 Let there be no sound before the Lord God: for the day of the Lord is near: for the Lord has made ready an offering, he has made his guests holy.

Fear you before the Lord God; for the day of the Lord is near; for the Lord has prepared his sacrifice, and has sanctified his guests.

8 And it will come about in the day of the Lord's offering, that I will send punishment on the rulers and the king's sons and all who are clothed in robes from strange lands.

And it shall come to pass in the day of the Lord's sacrifice, that I will take vengeance on the princes, and on the king's house, and upon all that wear strange apparel.

9 And in that day I will send punishment on all those who come jumping over the doorstep and make their master's house full of violent behaviour and deceit.

And I will openly take vengeance on the porches in that day, [on the men] that fill the house of the Lord their God with ungodliness and deceit.

10 And in that day, says the Lord, there will be the sound of a cry from the fish doorway, and an outcry from the new town, and a great thundering from the hills, and cries of grief from the people of the Hollow;

And there shall be in that day, says the Lord, the sound of a cry from the gate of men slaying, and a howling from the second [gate], and a great crashing from the hills.

11 Because of the downfall of all the people of Canaan: all those who were weighted down with silver have been cut off.

Lament, you that inhabit the [city] that has been broken down, for all the people has become like Chanaan; and all that were exalted by silver have been utterly destroyed.

12 And it will come about at that time, that I will go searching through Jerusalem with lights; and I will send punishment on the men who have become like wine stored over-long, who say to themselves, The Lord will not do good and will not do evil.

And it shall come to pass in that day, [that] I will search Jerusalem with a candle, and will take vengeance on the men that despise the things committed to them; but they say in their hearts, The Lord will not do any good, neither will he do any evil.

13 And their wealth will be violently taken away, and their houses will be made waste: they will go on building houses and never living in them, and planting vine-gardens but not drinking the wine from them.

And their power shall be for a spoil, and their houses for utter desolation; and they shall build houses, but shall not dwell in them; and they shall plant vineyards, but shall not drink the wine of them.

14 The great day of the Lord is near, it is near and coming very quickly; the bitter day of the Lord is near, coming on more quickly than a man of war.

For the great day of the Lord [is] near, [it is] near, and very speedy; the sound of the day of the Lord is made bitter and harsh.

15 That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and sorrow, a day of wasting and destruction, a day of dark night and deep shade, a day of cloud and thick dark.

A mighty day of wrath is that day, a day of affliction and distress, a day of desolation and destruction, a day of gloominess and darkness, a day of cloud and vapour,

16 A day of sounding the horn and the war-cry against the walled towns and the high towers.

a day of the trumpet and cry against the strong cities, and against the high towers.

17 And I will send trouble on men so that they will go about like the blind, because they have done evil against the Lord: and their blood will be drained out like dust, and their strength like waste.

And I will greatly afflict the men, and they shall walk as blind men, because they have sinned against the Lord; therefore he shall pour out their blood as dust, and their flesh as dung.

18 Even their silver and their gold will not be able to keep them safe in the day of the Lord's wrath; but all the land will be burned up in the fire of his bitter wrath: for he will put an end, even suddenly, to all who are living in the land.

And their silver and their gold shall in nowise be able to rescue them in the day of the Lord's wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealously; for he will bring a speedy destruction on all them that inhabit the land.