Zephaniah 1
1599 Geneva Bible
Zephaniah
1 4 Threatenings against Judah and Jerusalem, because of their idolatry.
1 The word of the Lord, which came unto Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, in the days of (A)Josiah, the son of (B)Amon king of Judah.
2 I will surely destroy all things from off the land, saith the Lord.
3 I will destroy man and beast: I will destroy the [a]fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and ruins shall be to the wicked, and I will cut off man from off the land, saith the Lord.
4 I will also stretch out mine 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 [b]Chemarims with the Priests,
5 And them that worship the host of heaven upon the housetops, and them that worship and swear by the Lord, and swear by [c]Milcam.
6 And them that are turned back from the Lord, and those that have not sought the Lord, nor inquired for him.
7 Be still 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 guests.
8 And it shall be in the day of the Lord’s sacrifice, that I will visit the princes and the king’s children, and all such as are clothed with [d]strange apparel.
9 In the same day also will I visit all those that [e]dance upon the threshold so proudly, which fill their masters’ houses by cruelty and deceit.
10 And in that day, saith the Lord, there shall be a noise, and cry from the [f]fish gate, and an howling from the second gate, and a great destruction from the hills.
11 Howl ye inhabitants of [g]the low place: for the company of the merchants is destroyed: all they that bear silver, are cut off.
12 And at that time will I search Jerusalem with [h]lights, and visit the men that are frozen [i]in their dregs, and say in their hearts, The Lord will neither do good nor do evil.
13 Therefore their goods shall be spoiled, and their houses waste: (C)they shall also build houses, but not inhabit them, and they shall plant vineyards, but not drink the wine thereof.
14 The great day of the Lord is near: it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the Lord: [j]the strong man shall cry there bitterly.
15 (D)That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and heaviness, a day of destruction and desolation, a day of obscurity and darkness, a day of clouds and blackness,
16 A day of the trumpet and alarm against the strong cities, and against the high towers.
17 And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the Lord, and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung.
18 (E)Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord’s wrath, but the (F)whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.
Footnotes
- Zephaniah 1:3 Not that God was angry with these dumb creatures, but because man was so wicked for whose cause they were created, God maketh them to take part of the punishments with him.
- Zephaniah 1:4 Which were an order of superstitious priests appointed to minister in the service of Baal, and were as his peculiar chaplains, read 2 Kings 23:5; Hos. 10:5.
- Zephaniah 1:5 He alludeth to their idol Molech which was forbidden, Lev. 20:2, yet they called him, their king, and made him as a god: therefore he here noteth them that will both say they worship God, and yet will swear by idols and serve them: which halting is here condemned, as Ezek. 20:39; 1 Kings 18:21; 2 Kings 17:33.
- Zephaniah 1:8 Meaning, the courtiers, which did imitate the strange apparel of other nations to win their favor thereby, and to appear glorious in the eyes of all others, read Ezek. 23:14, 15.
- Zephaniah 1:9 He meaneth the servants of the rulers which invade other men’s houses, and rejoice and leap for joy, when they can get any prey to please their master withall.
- Zephaniah 1:10 Signifying, that all the corners of the city of Jerusalem should be full of trouble.
- Zephaniah 1:11 This is meant of the street of the merchants which was lower than the rest of the place about it.
- Zephaniah 1:12 So that nothing shall escape me.
- Zephaniah 1:12 By their prosperity they are hardened in their wickedness.
- Zephaniah 1:14 They that trusted in their own strength and contemned the Prophets of God.
Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.
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