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 unto 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 take away everything from the face of the earth, says the Lord.

I will utterly consume all things from off the face of the earth, saith 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.

I will consume man and beast, I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumblingblocks with the wicked; and I will cut off man from off the face of the earth, saith 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 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 idolatrous priests with 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, that swear to the LORD and swear by Malcam;

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.

Them also that are turned back from following the LORD; and those that have not sought the LORD, nor inquired after Him.

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.

Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord GOD; for the day of the LORD is at hand, for the LORD hath prepared a sacrifice, He hath consecrated 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 punish the princes, and the king's sons, and all such as are clothed with foreign 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.

In the same day also will I punish all those that leap over the threshold, that fill their master's house with violence 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 in that day, saith the LORD, Hark! a cry from the fish gate, and a wailing from the second quarter, 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.

Wail, ye inhabitants of Maktesh, for all the merchant people are undone; all they that were laden with silver are cut off.

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 at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with lamps; and I will punish the men that are settled on their lees, that say in their heart: 'The LORD will not do good, neither will He do 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.

Therefore their wealth shall become a booty, 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 thereof.

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.

The great day of the LORD is near, it is near and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD, wherein the mighty man crieth bitterly.

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.

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 sounding the horn and the war-cry against the walled towns and the high towers.

A day of the horn and alarm, against the fortified 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 bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like the blind, because they have sinned against the LORD; and their blood shall be poured out 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.

Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole earth shall be devoured by the fire of His jealousy; for He will make and end, yea, a terrible end, of all them that dwell in the earth.