Zephaniah 3

English Standard Version Anglicised

3 Woe to her who is rebellious and defiled,
    ^(A)the oppressing city!
² She listens to no voice;
    ^(B)she accepts no correction.
^(C)She does not trust in the Lord;
    she does not draw near to her God.
^3 (D)Her officials within her
    are roaring lions;
her judges are ^(E)evening wolves
    that leave nothing till the morning.
^4 (F)Her prophets are fickle, treacherous men;
^(G)her priests ^(H)profane what is holy;
    they do violence to the law.
⁵ The Lord within her ^(I)is righteous;
    he does no injustice;
every morning he shows forth his justice;
    each dawn he does not fail;
    but ^(J)the unjust knows no shame.
^6 (K)“I have cut off nations;
    their battlements are in ruins;
I have laid waste their streets
    ^(L)so that no one walks in them;
their cities have been made desolate,
    without a man, without an inhabitant.
^7 (M)I said, ‘Surely you will fear me;
    ^(N)you will accept correction.
Then your^[a] dwelling would not be cut off
    according to all that I have appointed against you.’^[b]
But ^(O)all the more they were eager
    to make all their deeds corrupt.
⁸ “Therefore ^(P)wait for me,” declares the Lord,
    “for the day when I rise up to seize the prey.
For my decision is ^(Q)to gather nations,
    to assemble kingdoms,
to pour out upon them my indignation,
    all my burning anger;
for in the fire of my jealousy
    ^(R)all the earth shall be consumed.

⁹ “For at that time I will change the speech of the peoples
    to ^(S)a pure speech,
that all of them may call upon the name of the Lord
    and serve him with one accord.
^10 (T)From beyond the rivers ^(U)of Cush
    my worshippers, the daughter of my dispersed ones,
    shall bring my offering.
^11 (V)“On that day ^(W)you shall not be put to shame
    because of the deeds by which you have rebelled against me;
for then ^(X)I will remove from your midst
    your proudly exultant ones,
and ^(Y)you shall no longer be haughty
    in my holy mountain.
¹² But I will leave in your midst
    a people ^(Z)humble and lowly.
^(AA)They shall seek refuge in the name of the Lord,
^{13     (AB)}those who are left in Israel;
they ^(AC)shall do no injustice
    and speak no lies,
^(AD)nor shall there be found in their mouth
    a deceitful tongue.
^(AE)For they shall graze and lie down,
    and none shall make them afraid.”

^14 (AF)Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion;
    shout, O Israel!
Rejoice and exult with all your heart,
    O daughter of Jerusalem!
¹⁵ The Lord has taken away the judgements against you;
    he has cleared away your enemies.
^(AG)The King of Israel, ^(AH)the Lord, is in your midst;
    you shall never again fear evil.
^16 (AI)On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:
“Fear not, O Zion;
    ^(AJ)let not your hands grow weak.
^17 (AK)The Lord your God is in your midst,
    ^(AL)a mighty one who will save;
^(AM)he will rejoice over you with gladness;
    he will quiet you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing.
¹⁸ I will gather those of you who mourn ^(AN)for the festival,
    so that you will no longer suffer reproach.^[c]
19 Behold, at that time ^(AO)I will deal
    with all your oppressors.
And ^(AP)I will save the lame
    and gather the outcast,
and I will change ^(AQ)their shame into ^(AR)praise
    and renown in all the earth.
^20 (AS)At that time I will bring you in,
    at the time when I gather you together;
for I will make you renowned and praised
    among all the peoples of the earth,
^(AT)when I restore your fortunes
    before your eyes,” says the Lord.