Zephaniah 1

1The word of the LORD which came unto Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hizkiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.

2I will utterly consume all things from off the land, saith the LORD.footnote afootnote b

3I will consume man and beast; I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumblingblocks with the wicked; and I will cut off man from off the land, saith the LORD.footnote c

4I 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 Chemarims with the priests;

5And them that worship the host of heaven upon the housetops; and them that worship and that swear by the LORD, and that swear by Malcham;footnote d

6And them that are turned back from the LORD; and those that have not sought the LORD, nor enquired for him.

7Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord GOD: for the day of the LORD is at hand: for the LORD hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath bid his guests.footnote e

8And it shall come to pass in the day of the LORD’s sacrifice, that I will punish the princes, and the king’s children, and all such as are clothed with strange apparel.footnote f

9In the same day also will I punish all those that leap on the threshold, which fill their masters’ houses with violence and deceit.

10And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD, that there shall be the noise of a cry from the fish gate, and an howling from the second, and a great crashing from the hills.

11Howl, ye inhabitants of Maktesh, for all the merchant people are cut down; all they that bear silver are cut off.

12And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men that are settled on their lees: that say in their heart, The LORD will not do good, neither will he do evil.footnote g

13Therefore their goods shall become a booty, and their houses a desolation: they shall also build houses, but not inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, but not drink the wine thereof.

14The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly.

15That 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,

16A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers.

17And 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.

18Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD’s wrath; but the 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.

Zephaniah Prophesies Judgment on Judah

1This is the word of the LORD that came to Zephaniah 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 completely sweep awayeverything from the face of the earth,”declares the LORD. 3“I will sweep away man and beast;I will sweep away the birds of the air,and the fish of the sea,and the idols with their wicked worshipers.footnote aI will cut off mankindfrom the face of the earth,”declares the LORD. 4“I will stretch out My hand against Judahand against all who dwell in Jerusalem.I will cut off from this place every remnant of Baal,the names of the idolatrous and pagan priests— 5those who bow on the rooftopsto worship the host of heaven,those who bow down and swear by the LORDbut also swear by Milcom,footnote b 6and those who turn backfrom following the LORD,neither seeking the LORDnor inquiring of Him.”

The Day of the LORD

7Be silent in the presence of the Lord GOD,for the Day of the LORD is near.Indeed, the LORD has prepared a sacrifice;He has consecrated His guests.

8“On the Day of the LORD’s sacrificeI will punish the princes,the sons of the king,and all who are dressed in foreign apparel. 9On that day I will punishall who leap over the threshold,footnote cwho fill the house of their masterfootnote dwith violence and deceit. 10On that day,” declares the LORD,“a cry will go up from the Fish Gate,a wail from the Second District,footnote eand a loud crashing from the hills. 11Wail, O dwellers of the Hollow,footnote ffor all your merchantsfootnote gwill be silenced;all who weigh out silver will be cut off.

12And at that time I will search Jerusalem with lampsand punish the men settled in complacency,footnote hwho say to themselves,‘The LORD will do nothing,either good or bad.’ 13Their wealth will be plunderedand their houses laid waste.They will build houses but not inhabit them,and plant vineyards but never drink their wine.

14The great Day of the LORD is near—near and coming quickly.Listen, the Day of the LORD!Then the cry of the mighty will be bitter. 15That day will bea day of wrath,a day of trouble and distress,a day of destruction and desolation,a day of darkness and gloom,a day of clouds and blackness, 16a day of horn blast and battle cryagainst the fortified cities,and against the high corner towers. 17I will bring such distress on mankindthat they will walk like the blind,because they have sinned against the LORD.Their blood will be poured out like dustand their flesh like dung. 18Neither their silver nor their goldwill be able to deliver themon the Day of the LORD’s wrath.The whole earth will be consumedby the fire of His jealousy.”For indeed, He will make a sudden endof all who dwell on the earth.footnote i