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 the Lord, which came vnto Zephaniah ye sonne of Cushi, the sonne of Gedaliah, the sonne of Amariah, the sonne of Hizkiah, in the dayes of Iosiah, the sonne of Amon King of Iudah.

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

I will surely destroy all things from off the land, saith the Lord.

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 destroy man and beast: I wil destroy the foules of the heauen, and the fishes of the sea, and ruines shalbe to the wicked, and I will cut off man from off the land, saith the Lord.

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 also stretch out mine hand vpon Iudah, and vpon all the inhabitants of Ierusalem, and I wil cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, and the name of the Chemarims with ye Priestes,

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 them that worship the hoste of heauen vpon the house tops, and them that worship and sweare by the Lord, and sweare by Malcham,

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

And them that are turned backe from the Lord, and those that haue not sought the Lord, nor inquired 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 stil at the presence of the Lord God: for the day of the Lord is at hand: for the Lord hath prepared a sacrifice, and hath sanctified his ghests.

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 it shalbe in the day of the Lords sacrifice, that I will visite the princes and the Kings children, and all such as are clothed with strange apparell.

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 the same day also will I visite all those that dance vpon the threshold so proudly, which fill their masters houses by crueltie and deceite.

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 in that day, saith the Lord, there shall be a noise, and cry from the fishgate, and an howling from the second gate, and a great destruction from the hilles.

11 Howl, you inhabitants of the hollow place, For all the merchant people have been cut off, All carrying silver have been cut off.

Howle ye inhabitants of the lowe place: for the companie of the marchants is destroyed: all they that beare siluer, are 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 will I searche Ierusalem with lightes, and visite the men that are frosen in their dregges, and say in their heartes, The Lord will neither doe good nor doe euill.

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.”

Therefore their goods shall be spoyled, and their houses waste: they shall also build houses, but not inhabite them, and they shall plant vineyards, but not drinke 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 great day of the Lord is neere: it is neere, and hasteth greatly, euen the voyce of the day of the Lord: the strong man shall cry there bitterly.

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 trouble and heauinesse, a day of destruction and desolation, a day of obscuritie and darkenesse, a day of cloudes and blackenesse,

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

A day of the trumpet and alarme against the strong cities, and against the hie towres.

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 bring distresse vpon men, that they shall walke like blind men, because they haue sinned against the Lord, and their blood shall be powred out as dust, and their flesh as the dongue.

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 siluer nor their golde shalbe able to deliuer them in ye day of the Lords wrath, but the whole lande shalbe deuoured by the fire of his ielousie: for hee shall make euen a speedie riddance of all them that dwell in the land.