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.

This is the word of Yahweh that came to Zephaniah son of Cushi son of Gedaliah son of Amariah son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah.

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

“I will utterly destroy everything from off the surface of the earth—this is Yahweh's declaration.

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 destroy man and beast; I will destroy the birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea, the ruins along with the wicked. For I will cut off man from the surface of the earth—this is Yahweh's declaration.

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].

I will reach out with my hand over Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. I will cut off every remnant of Baal from this place and the names of the idolatrous people among 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.

the people who on the housetops worship the heavenly bodies, and the people who worship and swear to Yahweh but who also swear by their king.

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.”]

I will also cut off those who have turned away from following Yahweh, those who neither seek Yahweh nor ask for his guidance.”

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.

Be silent before the Lord Yahweh! For the day of Yahweh is near; Yahweh has prepared the sacrifice and set apart 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].

“It will come about on the day of Yahweh's sacrifice, that I will punish the princes and the king's sons, and everyone dressed in foreign clothes.

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.”

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

So it will be on that day—this is Yahweh's declaration— that a cry of distress will come from the Fish Gate, wailing from the Second District, and a great crashing sound 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, inhabitants of the Market District, for all the merchants will be ruined; all those who weigh out silver will be 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.

It will come about at that time that I will search Jerusalem with lamps and punish the men who have settled into their wine and say in their heart, 'Yahweh will not do anything, either good or 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].”

Their wealth will become plunder, and their houses will be an abandoned devastation! They will build houses but not live in them, and plant vineyards but not drink their wine.

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 Yahweh is near, near and hurrying quickly! The sound of the day of Yahweh will be that of a warrior crying 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 will be a day of fury, a day of distress and anguish, a day of storm and devastation, a day of darkness and gloom, 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].

It will be a day of trumpets and alarms against the fortified cities and 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].

For I will bring distress upon mankind, so that they will walk about like blind men since they have sinned against Yahweh. Their blood will be poured out like dust, and their inner parts like 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 will be able to save them on the day of Yahweh's fury. In the fire of his jealousy the whole earth will be consumed, for he will bring a complete, a terrible end of all the inhabitants of the earth.”