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:

For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments. This is the word of the LORD that came to Zephaniah son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah:

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

“I will completely sweep away everything from the face of the earth,”

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 sweep away man and beast; I will sweep away the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, and the idols with their wicked worshipers. I will cut off mankind from the face of the earth,”

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 against Judah and against all who dwell in Jerusalem. I will cut off from this place every remnant of Baal, the names of the idolatrous and pagan 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,

those who bow on the rooftops to worship the host of heaven, those who bow down and swear by the LORD but also swear by Milcom,

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

and those who turn back from following the LORD, neither seeking the LORD nor inquiring of 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 in the presence of the Lord GOD, for the Day of the LORD is near. Indeed, the LORD has prepared a sacrifice; He has consecrated 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.

“On the Day of the LORD’s sacrifice I will punish the princes, the sons of the king, and all who are dressed in 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.

On that day I will punish all who leap over the threshold, who fill the house 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.

On that day,” declares the LORD, “a cry will go up from the Fish Gate, a wail from the Second District, and a loud crashing 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.

Wail, O dwellers of the Hollow, for all your merchants will be silenced; all who weigh out silver will be cut off.

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 at that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps and punish the men settled in complacency, who say to themselves, ‘The LORD will do nothing, either good or bad.’

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 wealth will be plundered and their houses laid waste. They will build houses but not inhabit them, and plant vineyards but never drink their wine.

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 great Day of the LORD is near— near and coming quickly. Listen, the Day of the LORD! Then the cry of the mighty will be bitter.

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 will be 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 blackness,

16 A day of horn and shouting against the fortified cities, And against the high corners.

a day of horn blast and battle cry against the fortified cities, and against the high corner 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.”

I will bring such distress on mankind that they will walk like the blind, because they have sinned against the LORD. Their blood will be poured out like dust and their flesh like 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 will be able to deliver them on the Day of the LORD’s wrath. The whole earth will be consumed by the fire of His jealousy.” For indeed, He will make a sudden end of all who dwell on the earth.