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 Hizkiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.

[I am] Zephaniah, the son of Cushi, the grandson of Gedaliah, and the great-grandson of Amariah, whose father was [King] Hezekiah. Yahweh gave this message to me during the time when [King] Amon’s son Josiah was the King of Judah.

2 I will utterly consume all things from off the land, says the LORD.

Yahweh says, “I will (sweep away/destroy) everything [HYP] that is on the earth.

3 I will consume man and beast; I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumbling blocks with the wicked: and I will cut off man from off the land, says the LORD.

I will sweep away people and animals. I will sweep away birds and fish. I will get rid of wicked people; there will be no more [wicked] [HYP] people on the earth.”

4 I will also stretch out my hand on Judah, and on all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, and the name of the Chemarims with the priests;

“[These are some of the things that I will do]: I will punish the people who live in Jerusalem and [other places in] Judah. I will destroy everything that has been used in the worship of Baal. I will cause [people] to no longer remember the names of the pagan priests or the [other] priests [who have turned away from me].

5 And them that worship the host of heaven on the housetops; and them that worship and that swear by the LORD, and that swear by Malcham;

[I will get rid of] those who go up on the roofs [of their houses] and worship the sun and moon and stars, those who claim that they worship me but [also] worship [their god] Molech.

6 And them that are turned back from the LORD; and those that have not sought the LORD, nor inquired for him.

I will get rid of all those who previously worshiped me but no longer do, those who no [longer] seek my [help or ask me to tell them what they should do.”]

7 Hold your peace at the presence of the Lord GOD: for the day of the LORD is at hand: for the LORD has prepared a sacrifice, he has bid his guests.

Be silent in front of Yahweh the Lord, because it will soon be the time/day when Yahweh [will judge and punish people]. Yahweh has prepared to get rid of [the people of Judah]; they will be like [MET] animals that are slaughtered for sacrifices, and he has chosen [their enemies] to be the ones who will get rid of them.

8 And it shall come to pass in the day of the LORD’s sacrifice, that I will punish the princes, and the king’s children, and all such as are clothed with strange apparel.

Yahweh says, “On that day when I will get rid of [the people of Judah], [I will punish] their officials and the king’s sons, and [I will punish] all those who worship foreign gods [MTY].

9 In the same day also will I punish all those that leap on the threshold, which fill their masters’ houses with violence and deceit.

I will punish those who [show that they revere their god Dagan] by avoiding stepping on the threshold [of his temple], and those who do violent things and tell lies in the temples of their gods.”

10 And it shall come to pass in that day, says the LORD, that there shall be the noise of a cry from the fish gate, and an howling from the second, and a great crashing from the hills.

Yahweh [also] says, “On that day, people will cry [out] at the Fish Gate [of Jerusalem]. People will wail in the newer part of the city, and [people will hear] a loud crash [of buildings collapsing] in the hills.

11 Howl, you inhabitants of Maktesh, for all the merchant people are cut down; all they that bear silver are cut off.

[So, all you] people who live in the market area [of Jerusalem] should wail, because all those who sell goods and weigh out silver will be slaughtered.

12 And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with candles, and 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.

[It will be as though] I will light lanterns to search in [dark places in] Jerusalem for those who have become very satisfied with their behavior and complacent [about their sins]. They think that [I], Yahweh, will do nothing to them, neither good things nor bad things.

13 Therefore their goods shall become a booty, and their houses a desolation: they shall also build houses, but not inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, but not drink the wine thereof.

[But I say that] their valuable possessions will be plundered/stolen [by their enemies], and their houses will be destroyed. They will build [new] homes, but they will not live in them; they will plant vineyards, but they will never drink [any] wine [made from grapes that grow there].”

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

It will soon be the day/time when Yahweh [will punish people]. It will be here quickly. It will be a time [when people cry] bitterly, a time when [even] brave soldiers will cry loudly.

15 That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of devastation and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness,

It will be a time when [God shows that he is] very angry, a time when [people experience much] distress/suffering and trouble. [It will be] a time [when many things are] ruined and destroyed [DOU]. It will be a time when it is very gloomy and dark [DOU], when the clouds are very black.

16 A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers.

It will be a time when [soldiers] will blow trumpets [to call other soldiers] to battle. [Your enemies] will tear down the walls around your cities and the high towers [at the corners of those walls].

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

Because you sinned against Yahweh, he will cause you to experience great distress; you will walk [around groping] like [SIM] blind people do. Your blood will flow [from your bodies] like [SIM] water, and your corpses will lie on the ground and rot [SIM].

18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD’s wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.

At the time that [Yahweh shows that he] is very angry [with you], you will not be able to save yourselves by [giving] silver or gold [to your enemies]. Because Yahweh (is very jealous/does not want people to worship any other god), he will send a fire to burn up the entire world, and he will suddenly get rid of all the [wicked] people who live on the earth.