Zephaniah 1

1 This is the message that the Lord gave to Zephaniah. He was the son of Cushti, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah. This happened when Josiah, son of Amon, was king of Judah.

The word of the Lord which came unto Zephanyah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedalyah, the son of Amaryah, the son of Chizkiyah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon the king of Judah.

2 I will completely sweep away everything from the face of the earth, declares the Lord.

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

3 I will sweep away people and animals, I will sweep away the birds of the air and the fish of the sea. I will overthrow the wicked; I will destroy human beings from the face of the earth.

I will remove man and beast; I will remove the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumbling blocks together with the wicked; and I will cut off man from off the face of the earth, saith the Lord.

4 I will strike Judah and everyone who lives in Jerusalem. I will destroy all that remains of their Baal worship along with their pagan priests so that even their names will be forgotten.

And I will stretch out my hand over Judah, and over all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off the remnant of Ba'al from this place, the name of his ministers with his priests;

5 I will destroy those who go up to the rooftops to bow down before the sun, moon, and stars. They also bow down and swear allegiance to the Lord, but then they do the same to Milcom.

And those that bow themselves down on the roofs of houses to the host of heaven; and those that bow themselves down that are sworn [to be true] to the Lord and still swear by Malkom;

6 I will destroy those who once worshiped the Lord but don't anymore. They don't seek the Lord or ask for my help.

And those that are turned away from following the Lord; and those that have not sought for the Lord, and have not inquired of him.

7 Be silent before the Lord God! For the day of the Lord is near: the Lord has prepared a sacrifice and consecrated his guests.

Be silent in the presence of the Lord Eternal; for nigh is the day of the Lord; for the Lord hath prepared a slaughter, he hath bidden his invited guests.

8 Then on the day of the Lord's sacrifice I will punish the officials and the king's sons, and those who follow pagan ways.

And it shall come to pass on the day of the Lord's slaughter, that I will inflict punishment on the princes, and on the king's sons, and on all such as are clothed in garments of a foreign land.

9 I will also punish those who jump over the threshold. On that day I will punish those who fill up their masters' houses using violence and deception.

And I will inflict punishment on all those that leap over the threshold on that day, who fill the house of their master with violence and deceit.

10 On that day, declares the Lord, a cry of grief will come from the Fish Gate, a wailing from the Second Quarter, and a loud crash from the hills.

And it shall come to pass on that day, saith the Lord, that there shall be a loud cry of lamentation from the fish-gate, and a wailing from the second, and [that of] a great breach from the hills.

11 Those who live in the Market District will wail in sorrow, for all the merchants are destroyed, along with those who trade in silver.

Wail, ye inhabitants of the mortar-street, for destroyed are all the trading people; cut off are all that were laden with silver.

12 At that time I will search through Jerusalem with lamps and I will punish those self-satisfied people, who are like wine left on its dregs, who say to themselves, “The Lord will not do good, nor will he do evil.”

And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem through with lights; and I will inflict punishment on the men that are at rest on their lees, that say in their heart, The Lord will not do good, nor will he do evil.

13 Their possessions will be looted; their houses will be demolished. They will build houses, but not live in them; they will plant vineyards, but not drink the wine.

And their wealth shall become a booty, and their houses shall be made desolate; and they will build houses, but they shall not inhabit them; and they will plant vineyards, but they shall not drink their wine.

14 The great day of the Lord is near and approaching rapidly. It will be a bitter day—even warriors will cry out loud.

Nigh is the great day of the Lord, it is nigh, and hasteneth greatly, [there is] the noise of the day of the Lord: bitterly crieth there the mighty man.

15 It will be a day of anger, a day of trouble and distress, a day of disaster and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness,

A day of wrath is that day, a day of distress and anxiety, a day of wasting and desolation, a day of darkness and obscurity, a day of clouds and tempestuous gloom,

16 a day of trumpet calls and battle cries against fortified cities and watchtowers.

A day of the cornet and alarm, against the fenced cities, and against the high battlements.

17 I will bring trouble on humanity, making them walk like blind people because they have sinned against the Lord. Their blood will be spilled like so much dust; their intestines like dung.

And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk about like the blind, because against the Lord have they sinned: and their blood shall be poured out like the dust, and their flesh like the dung.

18 Their silver and their gold won't help to save them on the day of the Lord's anger. The whole earth will be burned up by the fire of his jealous anger. He will make sure the end of the people of the world is sudden and complete.

Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them on the day of the Lord's wrath; through the fire of whose zeal the whole land shall be devoured; for destruction, yea, quite sudden, will he prepare for all the inhabitants of the land.