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.

A word of YHWH that has been to Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezikiah, in the days of Josiah son of Amoz, king of Judah:

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

“I utterly consume all from off the face of the ground,” A declaration of YHWH.

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 consume man and beast, I consume bird of the heavens, and fishes of the sea, And the stumbling-blocks—the wicked, And I have cut off man from the face of the ground,” A declaration of YHWH,

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 have stretched out My hand against Judah, And against all inhabiting Jerusalem, And cut off from this place the remnant of Ba‘al, 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 those bowing themselves On the roofs to the host of the heavens, And those bowing themselves, Swearing to YHWH, and swearing by Malcham,

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 those removing from after YHWH, And who have not sought YHWH, nor implored 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.

Hush! Because of Lord YHWH, For near [is the] Day of YHWH, For YHWH has prepared a sacrifice, He has sanctified His invited ones.

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 has come to pass, In the day of the sacrifice of YHWH, That I have laid a charge on the heads, And on sons of the king, And on all putting on strange clothing.

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 have laid a charge on everyone Who is leaping over the threshold in that day, Who are filling the house of their masters [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 there has been in that day,” A declaration of YHWH, “The noise of a cry from the Fish Gate, And of a howling from the Second [Quarter], And of great destruction 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.

Howl, you inhabitants of the hollow place, For all the merchant people have been cut off, All carrying silver have been 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 has come to pass at that time, I search Jerusalem with lights, And I have laid a charge on the men Who are hardened on their preserved things, Who are saying in their heart: YHWH does no good, nor does 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.

And their wealth has been for a spoil, And their houses for desolation, And they have built houses, and do not inhabit, And they have planted vineyards, And they do not drink their wine.”

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.

Near [is] the Great Day of YHWH, Near, and hastening exceedingly, The noise of the Day of YHWH, There a mighty one bitterly shrieks.

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 day of wrath [is] that day, A day of adversity and distress, A day of devastation and desolation, A day of darkness and gloominess, A day of cloud 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 horn and shouting against the fortified cities, And against the high corners.

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 have sent distress to men, And they have walked as the blind, For against YHWH they have sinned, And poured out is their blood as dust, And their flesh [is] 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.

Even their silver, even their gold, is not able to deliver them in a day of the wrath of YHWH, and in the fire of His jealousy is the whole land consumed, for He makes only a hurried end of all the inhabitants of the land!