Zephaniah 1

1 A word of YHWH that has been to Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezikiah, in the days of Josiah son of Amoz, king of Judah:

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 “I utterly consume all from off the face of the ground,” A declaration of YHWH.

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

3 “I consume man and beast, I consume bird of the heavens, and fishes of the sea, And the stumbling-blocks—the wicked, And I have cut off man from the face of the ground,” A declaration of YHWH,

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 have stretched out My hand against Judah, And against all inhabiting Jerusalem, And cut off from this place the remnant of Ba‘al, The name of the idolatrous priests, with 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 those bowing themselves On the roofs to the host of the heavens, And those bowing themselves, Swearing to YHWH, and swearing by Malcham,

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 those removing from after YHWH, And who have not sought YHWH, nor implored Him.”

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

7 Hush! Because of Lord YHWH, For near [is the] Day of YHWH, For YHWH has prepared a sacrifice, He has sanctified His invited ones.

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 has come to pass, In the day of the sacrifice of YHWH, That I have laid a charge on the heads, And on sons of the king, And on all putting on strange clothing.

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 have laid a charge on everyone Who is leaping over the threshold in that day, Who are filling the house of their masters [With] violence 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 has been in that day,” A declaration of YHWH, “The noise of a cry from the Fish Gate, And of a howling from the Second [Quarter], And of great destruction 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 Howl, you inhabitants of the hollow place, For all the merchant people have been cut off, All carrying silver have been cut off.

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

12 And it has come to pass at that time, I search Jerusalem with lights, And I have laid a charge on the men Who are hardened on their preserved things, Who are saying in their heart: YHWH does no good, nor does He do 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 wealth has been for a spoil, And their houses for desolation, And they have built houses, and do not inhabit, And they have planted vineyards, And they do not drink their wine.”

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 Near [is] the Great Day of YHWH, Near, and hastening exceedingly, The noise of the Day of YHWH, There a mighty one bitterly shrieks.

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 day of wrath [is] that day, A day of adversity and distress, A day of devastation and desolation, A day of darkness and gloominess, A day of cloud and thick darkness,

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 horn and shouting against the fortified cities, And against the high corners.

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

17 “And I have sent distress to men, And they have walked as the blind, For against YHWH they have sinned, And poured out is their blood as dust, And their flesh [is] 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 Even their silver, even their gold, is not able to deliver them in a day of the wrath of YHWH, and in the fire of His jealousy is the whole land consumed, for He makes only a hurried end of all the inhabitants of 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.