Zephaniah 1

1 [I am] Zephaniah, the son of Cushi, the grandson of Gedaliah, and the great-grandson of Amariah, whose father was [King] Hezekiah. Yahweh gave this message to me during the time when [King] Amon’s son Josiah was the 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 Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.

2 Yahweh says, “I will (sweep away/destroy) everything [HYP] that is on the earth.

I will utterly consume all things from off the face of the ground, says Jehovah.

3 I will sweep away people and animals. I will sweep away birds and fish. I will get rid of wicked people; there will be no more [wicked] [HYP] people on the earth.”

I will consume man and beast. I will consume the birds of the heavens, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumbling blocks with the wicked. And I will cut off man from off the face of the ground, says Jehovah.

4 “[These are some of the things that I will do]: I will punish the people who live in Jerusalem and [other places in] Judah. I will destroy everything that has been used in the worship of Baal. I will cause [people] to no longer remember the names of the pagan priests or the [other] priests [who have turned away from me].

And I will stretch out my hand upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, and the name of the Chemarim with the priests,

5 [I will get rid of] those who go up on the roofs [of their houses] and worship the sun and moon and stars, those who claim that they worship me but [also] worship [their god] Molech.

and those who worship the host of heaven upon the housetops, and those who worship, who swear to Jehovah and swear by Malcam,

6 I will get rid of all those who previously worshiped me but no longer do, those who no [longer] seek my [help or ask me to tell them what they should do.”]

and those who are turned back from following Jehovah, and those who have not sought Jehovah, nor inquired after him.

7 Be silent in front of Yahweh the Lord, because it will soon be the time/day when Yahweh [will judge and punish people]. Yahweh has prepared to get rid of [the people of Judah]; they will be like [MET] animals that are slaughtered for sacrifices, and he has chosen [their enemies] to be the ones who will get rid of them.

Hold thy peace at the presence of the lord Jehovah, for the day of Jehovah is at hand. For Jehovah has prepared a sacrifice. He has consecrated his guests.

8 Yahweh says, “On that day when I will get rid of [the people of Judah], [I will punish] their officials and the king’s sons, and [I will punish] all those who worship foreign gods [MTY].

And it shall come to pass in the day of Jehovah's sacrifice, that I will punish the rulers, and the king's sons, and all such as are clothed with foreign apparel.

9 I will punish those who [show that they revere their god Dagan] by avoiding stepping on the threshold [of his temple], and those who do violent things and tell lies in the temples of their gods.”

And in that day I will punish all those who leap over the threshold, who fill their master's house with violence and deceit.

10 Yahweh [also] says, “On that day, people will cry [out] at the Fish Gate [of Jerusalem]. People will wail in the newer part of the city, and [people will hear] a loud crash [of buildings collapsing] in the hills.

And in that day, says Jehovah, there shall be the noise of a cry from the fish gate, and a wailing from the second quarter, and a great crashing from the hills.

11 [So, all you] people who live in the market area [of Jerusalem] should wail, because all those who sell goods and weigh out silver will be slaughtered.

Wail, ye inhabitants of Maktesh, for all the people of Canaan are undone. All those who were laden with silver are cut off.

12 [It will be as though] I will light lanterns to search in [dark places in] Jerusalem for those who have become very satisfied with their behavior and complacent [about their sins]. They think that [I], Yahweh, will do nothing to them, neither good things nor bad things.

And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the men who are settled on their lees, who say in their heart, Jehovah will not do good, nor will he do evil.

13 [But I say that] their valuable possessions will be plundered/stolen [by their enemies], and their houses will be destroyed. They will build [new] homes, but they will not live in them; they will plant vineyards, but they will never drink [any] wine [made from grapes that grow there].”

And their wealth shall become a spoil, and their houses a desolation. Yea, they shall build houses, but shall not inhabit them, and they shall plant vineyards, but shall not drink the wine of it.

14 It will soon be the day/time when Yahweh [will punish people]. It will be here quickly. It will be a time [when people cry] bitterly, a time when [even] brave soldiers will cry loudly.

The great day of Jehovah is near. It is near and hastens greatly, the voice of the day of Jehovah. The mighty man cries there bitterly.

15 It will be a time when [God shows that he is] very angry, a time when [people experience much] distress/suffering and trouble. [It will be] a time [when many things are] ruined and destroyed [DOU]. It will be a time when it is very gloomy and dark [DOU], when the clouds are very black.

That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness,

16 It will be a time when [soldiers] will blow trumpets [to call other soldiers] to battle. [Your enemies] will tear down the walls around your cities and the high towers [at the corners of those walls].

a day of the trumpet and alarm, against the fortified cities, and against the high battlements.

17 Because you sinned against Yahweh, he will cause you to experience great distress; you will walk [around groping] like [SIM] blind people do. Your blood will flow [from your bodies] like [SIM] water, and your corpses will lie on the ground and rot [SIM].

And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against Jehovah, and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as dung.

18 At the time that [Yahweh shows that he] is very angry [with you], you will not be able to save yourselves by [giving] silver or gold [to your enemies]. Because Yahweh (is very jealous/does not want people to worship any other god), he will send a fire to burn up the entire world, and he will suddenly get rid of all the [wicked] people who live on the earth.

Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of Jehovah's wrath, but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy. For he will make an end, yea, a terrible end, of all those who dwell in the land.