Zephaniah

4 Threatenings against Judah and Jerusalem, because of their idolatry.

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.

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

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.

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,

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.

And them that are turned back from the Lord, and those that have not sought the Lord, nor inquired for him.

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.

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.

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

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. Zephaniah 1:10 Signifying, that all the corners of the city of Jerusalem should be full of trouble.
  7. Zephaniah 1:11 This is meant of the street of the merchants which was lower than the rest of the place about it.
  8. Zephaniah 1:12 So that nothing shall escape me.
  9. Zephaniah 1:12 By their prosperity they are hardened in their wickedness.
  10. Zephaniah 1:14 They that trusted in their own strength and contemned the Prophets of God.

The word of the Lord that came to Zephaniah son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, during the reign of Josiah(A) son of Amon(B) king of Judah:

Judgment on the Whole Earth in the Day of the Lord

“I will sweep away everything
    from the face of the earth,”(C)
declares the Lord.
“I will sweep away both man and beast;(D)
    I will sweep away the birds in the sky(E)
    and the fish in the sea—
    and the idols that cause the wicked to stumble.”[a]

“When I destroy all mankind
    on the face of the earth,”(F)
declares the Lord,(G)
“I will stretch out my hand(H) against Judah
    and against all who live in Jerusalem.
I will destroy every remnant of Baal worship in this place,(I)
    the very names of the idolatrous priests(J)
those who bow down on the roofs
    to worship the starry host,(K)
those who bow down and swear by the Lord
    and who also swear by Molek,[b](L)
those who turn back from following(M) the Lord
    and neither seek(N) the Lord nor inquire(O) of him.”

Be silent(P) before the Sovereign Lord,
    for the day of the Lord(Q) is near.
The Lord has prepared a sacrifice;(R)
    he has consecrated those he has invited.

“On the day of the Lord’s sacrifice
    I will punish(S) the officials
    and the king’s sons(T)
and all those clad
    in foreign clothes.
On that day I will punish
    all who avoid stepping on the threshold,[c](U)
who fill the temple of their gods
    with violence and deceit.(V)

10 “On that day,(W)
    declares the Lord,
“a cry will go up from the Fish Gate,(X)
    wailing(Y) from the New Quarter,
    and a loud crash from the hills.
11 Wail,(Z) you who live in the market district[d];
    all your merchants will be wiped out,
    all who trade with[e] silver will be destroyed.(AA)
12 At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps
    and punish those who are complacent,(AB)
    who are like wine left on its dregs,(AC)
who think, ‘The Lord will do nothing,(AD)
    either good or bad.’(AE)
13 Their wealth will be plundered,(AF)
    their houses demolished.
Though they build houses,
    they will not live in them;
though they plant vineyards,
    they will not drink the wine.”(AG)

14 The great day of the Lord(AH) is near(AI)
    near and coming quickly.
The cry on the day of the Lord is bitter;
    the Mighty Warrior shouts his battle cry.
15 That day will be a day of wrath—
    a day of distress and anguish,
        a day of trouble and ruin,
    a day of darkness(AJ) and gloom,
        a day of clouds and blackness(AK)
16     a day of trumpet and battle cry(AL)
against the fortified cities
    and against the corner towers.(AM)

17 “I will bring such distress(AN) on all people
    that they will grope about like those who are blind,(AO)
    because they have sinned against the Lord.
Their blood will be poured out(AP) like dust
    and their entrails like dung.(AQ)
18 Neither their silver nor their gold
    will be able to save them
    on the day of the Lord’s wrath.”(AR)

In the fire of his jealousy(AS)
    the whole earth will be consumed,(AT)
for he will make a sudden end
    of all who live on the earth.(AU)

Footnotes

  1. Zephaniah 1:3 The meaning of the Hebrew for this line is uncertain.
  2. Zephaniah 1:5 Hebrew Malkam
  3. Zephaniah 1:9 See 1 Samuel 5:5.
  4. Zephaniah 1:11 Or the Mortar
  5. Zephaniah 1:11 Or in