Zephaniah 1

1 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.

The Lord’s message, which came to Zephaniah, son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, in the time of Josiah of Judah who was son of Amon.

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

I will utterly destroy everything from off the face of the earth, says the Lord.

3 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.

I will sweep away human and animal, the birds of the sky and the fish of the sea. I will cause the wicked to stumble, and I will cut off humanity from the face of the earth, says the Lord.

4 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;

I will stretch out my hand over Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and I will cut off from this place the last remnant of Baal and the name of the heathen priests,

5 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;

and those who worship on the housetops to the stars in the sky, and those worshippers of the Lord who also pay homage to Milcom,

6 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.

and those who turn back from following the Lord, And those who do not seek the Lord nor strive to find him.

7 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.

Be silent before the Lord God, for near is the day of the Lord, for the Lord has prepared a sacrifice, he has sanctified his guests.

8 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.

On the day of the Lord’s sacrifice: I will punish the officers and the royal princes, and all those who clothe themselves in foreign apparel.

9 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.

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

10 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.

Listen on that day, says the Lord: A cry will be heard from the Fish Gate, and a wailing from the New Quarter, and a great din from the hills.

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

Those who live in the Mortar wail, for all the traders are silenced, the money counters wiped out.

12 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.

I will search Jerusalem with a lamp, I will punish those who are at ease, who sit comfortably with their wine, who say to themselves, “the Lord brings neither prosperity nor calamity.”

13 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.

Their wealth will become a prey and their houses a desolation. Though they build houses, they will not inhabit them; though they plant vineyards, they will not drink wine from them.

14 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.

Near is the day of the Lord! Near and rapidly approaching! Near is the bitter day of the Lord, and the scream of the warrior.

15 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,

That day is 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 thick darkness,

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

a day of the trumpet and battle-cry, against the fortified cities and against the high battlements.

17 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.

And I will bring distress upon the people and they will walk as the blind, because they have sinned against the Lord, and their blood will be poured out as dust and their flesh as dung.

18 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.

Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to save them. For in the day of the wrath of the Lord and in the fire of his fury the whole earth will be consumed. For he will make a speedy end of all the inhabitants of the earth.