1 The word of 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.
2 I will utterly consume all things from off the land, saith .
3 I 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 .
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 Chemarims with the priests;
5 And them that worship the host of heaven upon the housetops; and them that
worship and that swear by , and that swear by Malcham;
6 And them that are turned back from ; and those that have not
sought , nor enquired for .
7 Hold thy peace at the presence of ADONAI : for the day of is
at hand: for hath prepared a sacrifice, hath bid guests.
8 And it shall come to pass in the day of 's sacrifice, that I will
punish the princes, and the king's children, and all such as are clothed with
strange apparel.
9 In the same day also will I punish all those that leap on the threshold, which
fill their masters' houses with violence and deceit.
10 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith , 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.
11 Howl, ye inhabitants of Maktesh, for all the merchant people are cut down;
all they that bear silver are cut off.
12 And 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, will not do good, neither will do evil.
13 Therefore 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.
14 The great day of is near, it is near, and hasteth
greatly, even the voice of the day of : the mighty man shall cry
there bitterly.
15 That 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,
16 A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced 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 : and their blood shall be poured out as
dust, and their flesh as the dung.
18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day
of 's wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of
jealousy: for shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the
land.
~ Zephaniah 2 ~
1 Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not desired;
2 Before the decree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff,
before the fierce anger of come upon you, before the day of 's
anger come upon you.
3 Seek ye , all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought judgment;
seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of
's anger.
4 For Gaza shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon a desolation: they shall drive out
Ashdod at the noon day, and Ekron shall be rooted up.
5 Woe unto the inhabitants of the sea coast, the nation of the Cherethites! the
word of is against you; O Canaan, the land of the Philistines,
I will even destroy thee, that there shall be no inhabitant.
6 And the sea coast shall be dwellings and cottages for shepherds, and
folds for flocks.
7 And the coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Judah; they shall feed
thereupon: in the houses of Ashkelon shall they lie down in the evening: for
their shall visit them, and turn away their captivity.
8 I have heard the reproach of Moab, and the revilings of the children of Ammon,
whereby they have reproached MY people, and magnified themselves
against their border.
9 Therefore as I live, saith YAHUVEH of HOSTS, the ELOHIM of Israel,
Surely Moab shall be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, even
the breeding of nettles, and saltpits, and a perpetual desolation: the residue
of MY people shall spoil them, and the remnant of MY people shall possess them.
10 This shall they have for their pride, because they have reproached and
magnified themselves against the people of YAHUVEH of HOSTS.' ' ');
11 YAHUVEHwill be terrible unto them: for HE will famish all the
Elohims of the earth; and men shall worship HIM, every one from his
place, even all the isles of the heathen.
12 Ye Ethiopians also, ye shall be slain by MY sword.
13 And HE will stretch out HIS hand against the north, and destroy Assyria; and
will make Nineveh a desolation, and dry like a wilderness.
14 And flocks shall lie down in the midst of her, all the beasts of the nations:
both the cormorant and the bittern shall lodge in the upper lintels of it; their
voice shall sing in the windows; desolation shall be in the thresholds:
for HE shall uncover the cedar work.
15 This is the rejoicing city that dwelt carelessly, that said in her
heart, I am, and there is none beside me: how is she become a
desolation, a place for beasts to lie down in! every one that passeth by her
shall hiss, and wag his hand.
~ Zephaniah 3 ~
1 Woe to her that is filthy and polluted, to the oppressing city!
2 She obeyed not the voice; she received not correction; she trusted not in
YAHUVEH; she drew not near to her ELOHIM.
3 Her princes within her are roaring lions; her judges are
evening wolves; they gnaw not the bones till the morrow.
4 Her prophets are light and treacherous persons: her priests
have polluted the sanctuary, they have done violence to the law.
5 The just YAHUVEHis in the midst thereof; HE will not do iniquity:
every morning doth HE bring HIS judgment to light, HE faileth not; but the
unjust knoweth no shame.
6 I have cut off the nations: their towers are desolate; I made their streets
waste, that none passeth by: their cities are destroyed, so that there is no
man, that there is none inhabitant.
7 I said, Surely thou wilt fear ME, thou wilt receive instruction; so their
dwelling should not be cut off, howsoever I punished them: but they rose early,
and corrupted all their doings.
8 Therefore wait ye upon ME, saith YAHUVEH, until the day that I rise up to the
prey: for MY determination is to gather the nations, that I may
assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them MINE indignation, even all MY
fierce anger: for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of MY jealousy.
9 For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call
upon the NAME of YAHUVEH, to serve HIM with one consent.
10 From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia MY suppliants, even the daughter
of MY dispersed, shall bring MINE offering.
11 In that day shalt thou not be ashamed for all thy doings, wherein thou hast
transgressed against ME: for then I will take away out of the midst of thee them
that rejoice in thy pride, and thou shalt no more be haughty because of MY holy
mountain.
12 I will also leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they
shall trust in the NAME of YAHUVEH.
13 The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies; neither shall a
deceitful tongue be found in their mouth: for they shall feed and lie down, and
none shall make them afraid.
14 Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the
heart, O daughter of Jerusalem.
15 YAHUVEH hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy: the king
of Israel, evenYAHUVEH, is in the midst of thee: thou shalt
not see evil any more.
16 In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear thou not: and to
Zion, Let not thine hands be slack.
17 YAHUVEH thy ELOHIM in the midst of thee is mighty; HE will save, HE
will rejoice over thee with joy; HE will rest in HIS love, HE will joy over thee
with singing.
18 I will gather them that are sorrowful for the solemn assembly, who
are of thee, to whom the reproach of it was a burden.
19 Behold, at that time I will undo all that afflict thee: and I will save her
that halteth, and gather her that was driven out; and I will get them praise and
fame in every land where they have been put to shame.
20 At that time will I bring you again, even in the time that I gather
you: for I will make you a name and a praise among all people of the earth, when
I turn back your captivity before your eyes, saith YAHUVEH.