Zephaniah 3

New American Standard Bible

Woe to Jerusalem and the Nations

3 Woe to her who is ^(A)rebellious and ^(B)defiled,
The ^(C)oppressive city!
²She ^(D)obeyed no voice,
She ^(E)accepted no discipline.
She did not ^(F)trust in the Lord,
She did not ^(G)approach her God.
³Her ^(H)leaders within her are roaring lions,
Her judges are ^(I)wolves at evening;
They have no bones to gnaw in the morning.
⁴Her prophets are ^(J)insolent, treacherous men;
Her ^(K)priests have profaned the sanctuary.
They have done violence to the Law.
⁵The Lord is ^(L)righteous ^(M)within her;
He will ^(N)do no injustice.
^(O)Every morning He brings His justice to light;
He ^[a]does not fail.
But the ^[b]criminal ^(P)knows no shame.
⁶“I have eliminated nations;
Their corner towers are deserted.
I have ^(Q)laid waste their streets,
With no one passing by;
Their ^(R)cities have been laid waste,
Without a person, ^(S)without an inhabitant.
⁷I said, ‘You will certainly revere Me,
You will ^(T)accept discipline.’
So her dwelling will ^(U)not be eliminated
In accordance with everything that I have stipulated for her.
Instead, they were eager to ^(V)corrupt all their deeds.

⁸“Therefore ^(W)wait for Me,” declares the Lord,
“For the day when I rise up as a witness.
Indeed, My decision is to ^(X)gather nations,
To assemble kingdoms,
To pour out on them My indignation,
All My burning anger;
For ^(Y)all the earth will be devoured
By the fire of My zeal.
⁹For then I will ^[c]restore to the peoples ^(Z)pure lips,
So that all of them may ^(AA)call on the name of the Lord,
To serve Him ^[d]shoulder to shoulder.
¹⁰From beyond the rivers of ^(AB)Ethiopia
My worshipers, ^[e]My dispersed ones,
Will ^(AC)bring My offerings.
¹¹On that day you will ^(AD)feel no shame
Because of all your deeds
By which you have rebelled against Me;
For then I will remove from your midst
Your ^(AE)proud, arrogant ones,
And you will never again be haughty
On My ^(AF)holy mountain.

A Remnant of Israel

¹²But I will leave among you
A ^(AG)humble and lowly people,
And they will ^(AH)take refuge in the name of the Lord.
¹³The ^(AI)remnant of Israel will ^(AJ)do no wrong
And ^(AK)tell no lies,
Nor will a deceitful tongue
Be found in their mouths;
For they will ^(AL)feed and lie down
With no one to frighten them.”

¹⁴Shout for joy, daughter of Zion!
^(AM)Shout in triumph, Israel!
Rejoice and triumph with all your heart,
Daughter of Jerusalem!
¹⁵The Lord has taken away ^(AN)His judgments against you,
He has cleared away your enemies.
The King of Israel, the Lord, is ^(AO)in your midst;
You will no longer ^(AP)fear disaster.
¹⁶^(AQ)On that day it will be said to Jerusalem:
“^(AR)Do not be afraid, Zion;
^(AS)Do not let your hands fall limp.
¹⁷The Lord your God is ^(AT)in your midst,
A ^[f]^(AU)victorious warrior.
He will ^(AV)rejoice over you with joy,
He will ^[g]be quiet in His love,
He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.
¹⁸I will gather those who are ^(AW)worried about the appointed feasts—
They ^[h]came from you, Zion;
The disgrace of exile is a burden on ^[i]them.
¹⁹Behold, I am going to deal at that time
With all your ^(AX)oppressors;
I will save ^(AY)those who limp
And gather the scattered,
And I will turn their ^(AZ)shame into ^(BA)praise and fame
In all the earth.
²⁰At that time I will ^(BB)bring you in,
Even at the time when I gather you together;
Indeed, I will make you ^(BC)famous and praiseworthy
Among all the peoples of the earth,
When I ^(BD)restore your fortunes before your eyes,”
Says the Lord.