Sophonias 1

1 The word of the Lord which came to Sophonias the son of Chusi, the son of Godolias, the son of Amorias, the son of Ezekias, in the days of Josias son of Amon, king of Juda.

The word of Jehovah, 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.

2 Let there be an utter cutting off from the face of the land, says the Lord.

I will utterly consume all things from the face of the land, saith Jehovah;

3 Let man and cattle be cut off; let the birds of the air and the fishes of the sea be cut off; and the ungodly shall fail, and I will take away the transgressors from the face of the land, says the Lord.

I will consume man and beast; I will consume the birds of heaven, and the fishes of the sea, And the stumbling-blocks with the wicked; And I will cut off man from the face of the land, saith Jehovah.

4 And I will stretch out mine hand upon Juda, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will remove the names of Baal out of this place, and the names of the priests;

I will stretch out my hand over Judah, And over all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, And I will cut off from this place the residue of Baal, The name of the idol-sacrificers with the priests,

5 and them that worship the host of heaven upon the housetops; and them that worship and swear by the Lord, and them that swear by their king;

And those who bow themselves on the house-tops to the host of heaven, And those who bow themselves and swear by Jehovah, And also swear by their idol,

6 and them that turn aside from the Lord, and them that seek not the Lord, and them that cleave not to the Lord.

And those that turn back from Jehovah, And those that seek not Jehovah, nor inquire for him.

7 Fear you before the Lord God; for the day of the Lord is near; for the Lord has prepared his sacrifice, and has sanctified his guests.

Be silent before the Lord Jehovah! For the day of Jehovah is near; For Jehovah hath prepared a sacrifice; He hath appointed his guests.

8 And it shall come to pass in the day of the Lord's sacrifice, that I will take vengeance on the princes, and on the king's house, and upon all that wear strange apparel.

And in the day of the sacrifice of Jehovah it shall come to pass That I will punish the princes and the sons of the king, And all that are clothed with foreign apparel.

9 And I will openly take vengeance on the porches in that day, [on the men] that fill the house of the Lord their God with ungodliness and deceit.

In that day also will I punish all that leap over the threshold, That fill the houses of their master with violence and deceit.

10 And there shall be in that day, says the Lord, the sound of a cry from the gate of men slaying, and a howling from the second [gate], and a great crashing from the hills.

And it shall come to pass in that day, saith Jehovah, That there shall be the noise of a cry from the fish-gate, And of a howling from the other part of the city, And of great destruction from the hills.

11 Lament, you that inhabit the [city] that has been broken down, for all the people has become like Chanaan; and all that were exalted by silver have been utterly destroyed.

Howl, ye inhabitants of Maktesh! For all the trafficking people are cut down; All they that bear silver are destroyed.

12 And it shall come to pass in that day, [that] I will search Jerusalem with a candle, and will take vengeance on the men that despise the things committed to them; but they say in their hearts, The Lord will not do any good, neither will he do any 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 hearts, “Jehovah doeth neither good nor evil.”

13 And their power shall be for a spoil, and their houses for utter desolation; and they shall build houses, but shall not dwell in them; and they shall plant vineyards, but shall not drink the wine of them.

Their substance shall become a spoil, And their houses a desolation; They shall also build houses, but not inhabit them; And shall plant vineyards, but not drink the wine thereof.

14 For the great day of the Lord [is] near, [it is] near, and very speedy; the sound of the day of the Lord is made bitter and harsh.

The day of Jehovah is near, the great day; It is near, and hasteth greatly; The day of Jehovah shall resound; Bitterly shall the mighty man cry for help.

15 A mighty day of wrath is that day, a day of affliction and distress, a day of desolation and destruction, a day of gloominess and darkness, a day of cloud and vapor,

That day is a day of wrath, A day of distress and anguish, A day of destruction and desolation, A day of darkness and gloominess, A day of clouds and thick darkness,

16 a day of the trumpet and cry against the strong cities, and against the high towers.

A day of the trumpet and the war-shout, Against the fenced cities, And against the high towers.

17 And I will greatly afflict the men, and they shall walk as blind men, because they have sinned against the Lord; therefore he shall pour out their blood as dust, and their flesh as dung.

And I will distress the men, so that they shall walk like the blind, Because they have sinned against Jehovah. And their blood shall be poured out as dust, And their flesh as dung.

18 And their silver and their gold shall in nowise be able to rescue them in the day of the Lord's wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealously; for he will bring a speedy destruction on all them that inhabit the land.

Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of Jehovah, But by the fire of his indignation shall the whole land be devoured; For destruction, and that a speedy one, will he bring Upon all that dwell in the land.