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Zephaniah 1
Lexham English Bible

Judah’s Impending Judgment

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

2 “I will surely destroy everything
    from the face of the earth”—a declaration of Yahweh.
3 “I will destroy humanity and beast;
    I will destroy the birds of the sky
    and the fish of the sea,
    and the stumbling blocks[a] with the wicked.
And I will cut off humankind
    from the face of the earth”—a declaration of Yahweh.
4 “And I will stretch out my hand against Judah
    and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
And I will cut off from this place
    the remnant of Baal,
    and the name of idolatrous priests with the priests,[b]
5 and those who bow down on the rooftops
    to the host of heaven,
and those who bow down, swearing to Yahweh
    but also swearing by Milkom,[c]
6 and those who turned back from following[d] Yahweh,
    and who did not seek Yahweh,
    and did not inquire of him.”
7 Be silent before the Lord Yahweh,
    for the day of Yahweh draws near,
for Yahweh has provided a sacrifice
    and has consecrated his guests.
8 And it shall be that on the day of the sacrifice of Yahweh,
I will punish the officials
    and the sons of the king
    and those who dress in foreign clothing.
9 And on that day I will punish
    all who leap over the threshold,
who fill up the house of their master
    with violence and deceit.
10 “And there shall be on that day”—a declaration of Yahweh—
    “a loud outcry[e] from the Fish Gate,
and a wailing from the Second District,
    and a loud[f] crashing from the hills.
11 The inhabitants of the Mortar shall wail,
    for all the traders have perished;
    all who trade with silver have been cut off.
12 And it shall be that at that time
I will search Jerusalem with lamps,
and I will punish the men
    whose senses are dulled from drinking,[g]
who say in their hearts,
    ‘Yahweh will not do good, nor will he do evil.’
13 Then their wealth shall be as plunder,
    and their homes as desolation.
And they shall build their houses and not inhabit them,
    and they shall plant vineyards and not drink their wine.”
14 The great day of Yahweh draws near;
    it is near and coming very swiftly.
The sound of the day of Yahweh is bitterness;
    there, a warrior cries out!
15 That day will be a day of wrath,
    a day of trouble and distress,
    a day of disaster and ruination,
    a day of darkness and deep gloom,
    a day of clouds[h] and thick clouds,[i]
16 a day of trumpet and trumpet blast
    against the fortified cities
    and against the high corner towers.
17 And I will bring distress to all humankind,
    and they shall walk about like the blind,
for they sinned against Yahweh;
    their blood shall be poured out like dust
    and their entrails like dung.
18 Moreover, their silver and their gold
    will not be able to save them
    on the day of the wrath of Yahweh.
And in the fire of his zeal,
    the whole land shall be consumed,
for a terrifying end he shall make
    for all the inhabitants of the land.

Footnotes

  1. Zephaniah 1:3 A reference to idols
  2. Zephaniah 1:4 The last phrase, “with the priests,” may be a later explanatory gloss
  3. Zephaniah 1:5 Or “their king”
  4. Zephaniah 1:6 Literally “after”
  5. Zephaniah 1:10 Literally “voice of a cry of distress”
  6. Zephaniah 1:10 Or “great”
  7. Zephaniah 1:12 Literally “who are thickened with their dregs”
  8. Zephaniah 1:15 Hebrew “cloud”
  9. Zephaniah 1:15 Hebrew “cloud”
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Zephaniah 1
New International Version

1 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

2 “I will sweep away everything
    from the face of the earth,”(C)
declares the Lord.
3 “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)
4 “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)—
5 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)
6 those who turn back from following(M) the Lord
    and neither seek(N) the Lord nor inquire(O) of him.”

7 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.

8 “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.
9 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
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Zephaniah 2
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