Zephaniah 1-2
International Standard Version
The Imminent Destruction of Judah
1 This message from the Lord came to Cushi’s son Zephaniah,[a] the grandson of Gedaliah and great-grandson of Hezekiah’s son Amariah, during the reign[b] of Amon’s son Josiah, king of Judah:
2 “I’ll utterly sweep away everything from[c] the land,”
declares the Lord.
3 “I’ll consume both human beings and animals—
I’ll consume the birds of the sky,
the fish in the sea,
and the wicked along with their sin,[d]
when I eliminate human beings from the land,”
declares the Lord.
4 “I will also stretch out my hand against Judah,
and upon all inhabitants of Jerusalem.
I’ll wipe out every trace of Baal from this place,
and the name[e] of the pagan priests[f],
along with my own[g] priests.
5 I’ll wipe out[h] those who worship the stars
that they view[i] from their housetops,
those who bow down and swear to the Lord
and who also swear by Milcom,[j]
6 those who turn away from the Lord,
don’t seek the Lord,
and never ask for his help.[k]”
The Approaching Day of the Lord
7 Remain silent in the presence of the Lord God,
because the Day of the Lord approaches,
and because the Lord has prepared a sacrifice
for those whom he has invited to be consecrated.
8 “It will come about during[l] the Lord’s sacrifice
that I’ll punish the officials,[m] the royal descendants,
and all who wear foreign clothing.[n]
9 At the same time, I’ll punish every idol worshipper,[o]
especially those who are filling their master’s temple with violence and deceit.
10 When all of this happens,”[p] declares the Lord,
“a loud shriek will come[q] from the Fish Gate,
and howling from the Mishneh[r] Quarter,
along with great destruction from the hills.”
Divine Judgment on the Business Community
11 “Wail, you who live in the market district,
because all of the merchants will be crushed
and all of their customers[s] will be eliminated.[t]
12 And it will come about that I will search Jerusalem with candles,[u]
punishing the self-satisfied and complacent,
who say to themselves,
‘The Lord will do neither good nor evil.’
13 Therefore their possessions will be seized as plunder
and their homes left in ruins.
They may build houses,
but they won’t live in them.
They may plant vineyards,
but they won’t drink their wine.”
Zephaniah’s Description of the Day of the Lord
14 “The great Day of the Lord approaches—
How it comes, hurrying faster and faster!
The sound of the Day of the Lord there
includes the bitter cry of the mighty soldier.
15 That day will be filled with wrath,
a day of trouble and tribulation,
a day of desolation and devastation,
a day of doom and gloom,
a day of clouds and shadows,[v]
16 a day of trumpet and battle cry
against fortified cities and watch[w] towers.
17 “And I’ll bring so much distress to people
that they will walk around like the blind.
Because they have sinned against the Lord,
their blood will be poured out like dust
and their intestines will spill out[x] like manure.
18 Neither their silver nor their gold will deliver them
in the Day of the Lord’s wrath;
but the entire land will be consumed
by the fire of his jealousy,
for he will bring the inhabitants of the land to a sudden end.”
A Plea for Repentance to the People
2 “Gather together!
Yes, indeed, gather together,
you shameless nation!
2 Before the decree is carried out,
before the day flies away like chaff,
before the fierce anger of the Lord visits you,
before the Day of the Lord’s wrath surprises[y] you,
3 seek the Lord, all you humble people of the land,
who do what he commands.
Seek righteousness!
Seek humility!
Maybe you will be protected in the Day of the Lord’s anger.”
The Coming Destruction of Philistine Cities
4 “For Gaza will be forsaken,[z]
and Ashkelon deserted—
Ashdod will be emptied at high noon;
even Ekron will be uprooted.[aa]
5 Woe to those who live along the coast,
the people of Philistia![ab]
This message from the Lord is being spoken against you,
Canaan, land of the Philistines:
‘I’ll destroy you until no one lives there!’
6 The Philistine[ac] coast will become meadows
for shepherds and sheep pens.
7 The survivors of Judah will find pasture on it;
at twilight they will lie down in the houses of Ashkelon,
for the Lord their God will visit them,
restoring their prosperity.”[ad]
The Lord’s Rebuke to Moab and Ammon
8 “I’ve heard Moab’s insults
and the curses from those Ammonites[ae]
by which they defame my people
and boast about their territory.
9 Therefore as I’m alive and living,” declares the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel,
“Moab will surely become like Sodom,
and the Ammonites[af] like Gomorrah,
a place overrun by weeds and salty marshes,
unpopulated forever.
The survivors of my people will confiscate their property,
and those who remain of my nation will inherit what was theirs.[ag]
10 This they[ah] will have in lieu of their pride,
because they have insulted and mocked the people of the Lord of the Heavenly Armies.
11 The Lord will incite them to terror,
because he will cause all the gods of the earth to waste away.
They will worship him,
every person in his own home,
including even the coastlands of the nations.”
The Lord’s Rebuke to Cush and Nineveh
13 “And the Lord[ak] will attack[al] the north, destroying Assyria.
He will turn Nineveh into a desolate ruin,
as dry as a desert wilderness.
14 Flocks will lie down in her midst,
along with animals of every kind.
Desert owls and screeching owls will nest at the top of the pillars,
hooting through the vacant[am] windows,
‘Ruin sits at these doorsills,’
for he will expose even the cedar framework.
15 This is that carefree city that lived irresponsibly,
that told herself, ‘Me first!’[an]
and, ‘There will be no one else!’
How ruined she has become—
a habitat for wild animals!
Everyone who passes by her will sneer at her
and make obscene gestures!”[ao]
Footnotes
- Zephaniah 1:1 The Heb. name Zephaniah means The Lord has treasured
- Zephaniah 1:1 Lit. in the days of
- Zephaniah 1:2 Lit. from the face of
- Zephaniah 1:3 Lit. with the heap of rubble
- Zephaniah 1:4 Or authority
- Zephaniah 1:4 Lit. the Chemarim; i.e. idol worshiping priests
- Zephaniah 1:4 The Heb. lacks my own
- Zephaniah 1:5 The Heb. lacks I’ll wipe out
- Zephaniah 1:5 The Heb. lacks that they view
- Zephaniah 1:5 I.e. the national idol of the Ammonites
- Zephaniah 1:6 Lit. and don’t inquire of him
- Zephaniah 1:8 Lit. in the day of
- Zephaniah 1:8 Lit. princes
- Zephaniah 1:8 Or wear cultic vestments
- Zephaniah 1:9 Lit. everyone who leaps over the threshold; cf. 1Sam 5:5
- Zephaniah 1:10 Lit. It will come about in that day
- Zephaniah 1:10 The Heb. lacks will come
- Zephaniah 1:10 Or from The Second; i.e. a section of Jerusalem
- Zephaniah 1:11 Lit. all who carry silver
- Zephaniah 1:11 Lit. be cut off
- Zephaniah 1:12 Or with oil lamps
- Zephaniah 1:15 Cf. Joel 2:2a
- Zephaniah 1:16 Lit. corner
- Zephaniah 1:17 The Heb. lacks will spill out
- Zephaniah 2:2 Lit. wrath comes upon
- Zephaniah 2:4 The Heb. word forsaken sounds like the Heb. name Gaza
- Zephaniah 2:4 The Heb. word uprooted sounds like the Heb. name Ekron
- Zephaniah 2:5 Lit. of the Cherethites
- Zephaniah 2:6 Lit. Cherethite
- Zephaniah 2:7 Or them, turning away their captivity
- Zephaniah 2:8 Lit. the descendants of Ammon; so also in v. 9.
- Zephaniah 2:9 Lit. the descendants of Ammon; so also in v. 9.
- Zephaniah 2:9 Cf. Obad 19-21
- Zephaniah 2:10 I.e. the people of Edom and Moab
- Zephaniah 2:12 I.e. Sudan, Ethiopia, or southern Iraq
- Zephaniah 2:12 Lit. they
- Zephaniah 2:13 Lit. And he
- Zephaniah 2:13 Lit. stretch out his hand toward
- Zephaniah 2:14 The Heb. lacks vacant
- Zephaniah 2:15 Lit. said in her heart, ‘I’
- Zephaniah 2:15 Lit. and wag his hand
Hebrews 9
International Standard Version
The Earthly Sanctuary and Its Ritual
9 Now even the first covenant[a] had regulations for worship and an earthly sanctuary. 2 For a tent was set up, and in the first part were the lamp stand, the table, and the bread of the Presence.[b] This was called the Holy Place. 3 Behind the second curtain was the part of the tent called the Most Holy Place, 4 which had the gold altar for incense and the Ark of the Covenant completely covered with gold. In it were the gold jar holding the manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the Tablets of the Covenant. 5 Above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the place of atonement. (We cannot discuss these things in detail now.)
6 When everything had been arranged like this, the priests always went into the first part of the tent to perform their duties. 7 But only the high priest went[c] into the second part, and then only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins committed by the people in ignorance. 8 The Holy Spirit was indicating by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first part of the tent was still standing. 9 This illustration for today indicates that the gifts and sacrifices being offered could not clear the conscience of a worshiper, 10 since they deal only with food, drink, and various washings, which are required for the body until the time when things would be set right.
The Messiah Has Offered a Superior Sacrifice
11 But when the Messiah[d] came as a high priest of the good things that have come,[e] he went[f] through the greater and more perfect tent that was not made by human[g] hands and that is not a part of this creation. 12 Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with his own blood he went into the Most Holy Place once for all and secured our eternal redemption. 13 For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are unclean purifies them physically, 14 how much more will the blood of the Messiah,[h] who through the eternal Spirit[i] offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our[j] consciences from dead actions so that we may serve the living God!
The Messiah is the Mediator of a New Covenant
15 This is why the Messiah[k] is the mediator of a new covenant; so that those who are called may receive the eternal inheritance promised them, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the offenses committed under the first covenant. 16 For where there is a will, the death of the one who made it must be established. 17 For a will is in force only when somebody has died, since it never takes effect as long as the one who made it is alive. 18 This is why even the first covenant was not put into effect without blood. 19 For after every commandment in the Law had been spoken to all the people by Moses, he took the blood of calves and goats,[l] together with some water, scarlet wool, and branches of hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll and all the people, 20 saying, “This is the blood of the covenant that God ordained for you.”[m] 21 In the same way, he sprinkled with the blood both the tent and everything used in worship. 22 In fact, under the Law almost everything is cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of the blood there is no forgiveness.
The Messiah’s Perfect Sacrifice
23 Thus it was necessary for these earthly[n] copies of the things in heaven to be cleansed by these sacrifices,[o] but the heavenly things themselves are made clean[p] with better sacrifices than these. 24 For the Messiah[q] did not go into a sanctuary made by human[r] hands that is merely a copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, to appear now in God’s presence on our behalf. 25 Nor did he go into heaven[s] to sacrifice himself again and again, the way the high priest goes into the Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. 26 Then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the creation of the world. But now, at the end of the ages, he has appeared once for all to remove sin by his sacrifice. 27 Indeed, just as people are destined to die once and after that to be judged,[t] 28 so the Messiah[u] was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people. And he will appear a second time, not to deal with sin,[v] but to bring salvation to those who eagerly wait for him.
Footnotes
- Hebrews 9:1 The Gk. lacks covenant
- Hebrews 9:2 Lit. the presentation of the bread
- Hebrews 9:7 The Gk. lacks went
- Hebrews 9:11 Or Christ
- Hebrews 9:11 Other mss. read that are to come
- Hebrews 9:11 The Gk. lacks went
- Hebrews 9:11 The Gk. lacks human
- Hebrews 9:14 Or Christ
- Hebrews 9:14 Other mss. read through the Holy Spirit
- Hebrews 9:14 Other mss. read your
- Hebrews 9:15 Lit. why he
- Hebrews 9:19 Other mss. lack and goats
- Hebrews 9:20 Cf. Exod 24:8
- Hebrews 9:23 The Gk. lacks earthly
- Hebrews 9:23 Lit. by these things
- Hebrews 9:23 The Gk. lacks are made clean
- Hebrews 9:24 Or Christ
- Hebrews 9:24 The Gk. lacks human
- Hebrews 9:25 The Gk. lacks did he go into heaven
- Hebrews 9:27 Lit. after that the judgment
- Hebrews 9:28 Or Christ
- Hebrews 9:28 Lit. a second time without sin
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