Zephaniah 1

1 The word of Jehovah that 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.

For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments. This is the word of the LORD that came to Zephaniah son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah:

2 I will utterly take away everything from off the face of the ground, saith Jehovah:

“I will completely sweep away everything from the face of the earth,”

3 I will take away man and beast; I will take away the fowl of the heavens and the fishes of the sea, and the stumbling-blocks with the wicked, and I will cut off mankind from off the face of the ground, saith Jehovah.

“I will sweep away man and beast; I will sweep away the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, and the idols with their wicked worshipers. I will cut off mankind from the face of the earth,”

4 And I will stretch forth my hand upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, the name of the Chemarim with the priests;

“I will stretch out My hand against Judah and against all who dwell in Jerusalem. I will cut off from this place every remnant of Baal, the names of the idolatrous and pagan priests—

5 and them that bow down to the host of the heavens upon the housetops; and them that bow down to Jehovah, that swear by [him], and swear by Malcham;

those who bow on the rooftops to worship the host of heaven, those who bow down and swear by the LORD but also swear by Milcom,

6 and them that turn back from after Jehovah, and that do not seek Jehovah, nor inquire for him.

and those who turn back from following the LORD, neither seeking the LORD nor inquiring of Him.”

7 Be silent at the presence of the Lord Jehovah; for the day of Jehovah is at hand; for Jehovah hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath hallowed his guests.

Be silent in the presence of the Lord GOD, for the Day of the LORD is near. Indeed, the LORD 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 princes, and the king's sons, and all such as are clothed with foreign apparel.

“On the Day of the LORD’s sacrifice I will punish the princes, the sons of the king, and all who are dressed in foreign apparel.

9 And in that day will I punish all those that leap over the threshold, who fill their master's house with violence and deceit.

On that day I will punish all who leap over the threshold, who fill the house of their master with violence and deceit.

10 And in that day, saith Jehovah, there shall be the noise of a cry from the fish-gate, and a howling from the second [quarter], and a great crashing from the hills.

On that day,” declares the LORD, “a cry will go up from the Fish Gate, a wail from the Second District, and a loud crashing from the hills.

11 Howl, ye inhabitants of Maktesh; for all the people of Canaan are cut down, all they that are laden with silver are cut off.

Wail, O dwellers of the Hollow, for all your merchants will be silenced; all who weigh out silver will be cut off.

12 And it shall come to pass at that time, [that] I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and punish the men that are settled on their lees, that say in their heart, Jehovah will not do good, neither will he do evil.

And at that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps and punish the men settled in complacency, who say to themselves, ‘The LORD will do nothing, either good or bad.’

13 And their wealth shall become a booty, and their houses a desolation; and they shall build houses, and not inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and not drink the wine thereof.

Their wealth will be plundered and their houses laid waste. They will build houses but not inhabit them, and plant vineyards but never drink their wine.

14 The great day of Jehovah is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly. The voice of the day of Jehovah: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly.

The great Day of the LORD is near— near and coming quickly. Listen, the Day of the LORD! Then the cry of the mighty will be bitter.

15 That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of ruin and desolation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and gross darkness,

That day will be a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of destruction and desolation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness,

16 a day of the trumpet and alarm, against the fenced cities and against the high battlements.

a day of horn blast and battle cry against the fortified cities, and against the high corner towers.

17 And I will bring distress upon men, and they shall walk like blind men; for they have sinned against Jehovah; and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as dung:

I will bring such distress on mankind that they will walk like the blind, because they have sinned against the LORD. Their blood will be poured out like dust and their flesh like dung.

18 their silver and their gold shall not 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 a full end, yea, a sudden [end], shall he make of all them that dwell in the land.

Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them on the Day of the LORD’s wrath. The whole earth will be consumed by the fire of His jealousy.” For indeed, He will make a sudden end of all who dwell on the earth.