Zephaniah 1

Revised Geneva Translation

1 The Word of the LORD which came to Zephaniah, the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah, the son of Amon, king of Judah:

² “I will surely destroy all things from off the land,” says the LORD.

³ “I will destroy man and beast. I will destroy the birds of the heaven and the fish of the sea and ruins with the wicked. And I will cut man off from the land,” says the LORD.

⁴ “I will also stretch out My 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 those who worship the host of heaven upon the housetops, and those who worship and swear by the LORD, and swear by Milcam,

⁶ “and those who have turned back from the LORD, and those who have neither sought the LORD nor inquired of Him.”

⁷ Be still at the presence of the LORD God! For the day of the LORD is at hand. For the LORD has prepared a Sacrifice and has sanctified His guests.

⁸ “And it shall be, on the day of the LORD’s Sacrifice, that I will visit the prince’s and the king’s children, and all who are clothed with strange apparel.

⁹ “At that same time, I will also visit all those who dance upon the threshold so proudly, who fill their masters’ houses by cruelty and deceit.

¹⁰ “And at that time,” says the LORD, “there shall be a noise and cry from the fish gate, and a howling from the second gate, and a great destruction from the hills.

¹¹ “Howl you inhabitants of the low place! For the company of the merchants is destroyed! All those who bear silver are cut off!

¹² “And at that time, I will search Jerusalem with lights and visit the men who are frozen in their dregs, and say in their hearts, ‘The LORD will neither do good nor do evil.’

¹³ “Therefore, their goods shall be plundered, and their houses desolate. They shall also build houses, but not inhabit them. And they shall plant vineyards, but not drink their wine.”

¹⁴ The great Day of the LORD is near! It is near and hurries greatly, the voice of the Day of the LORD! The strong man shall cry there bitterly.

¹⁵ 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, so 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 “Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them on the Day of the LORD’s wrath. But the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of His jealousy. For He shall make a speedy riddance of all those who dwell in the land.”