Zephaniah 1-3

New International Version

1 The word of the Lord that came to Zephaniah son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, during the reign of Josiah^(A) son of Amon^(B) king of Judah:

Judgment on the Whole Earth in the Day of the Lord

²“I will sweep away everything
    from the face of the earth,”^(C)
declares the Lord.
³“I will sweep away both man and beast;^(D)
    I will sweep away the birds in the sky^(E)
    and the fish in the sea—
    and the idols that cause the wicked to stumble.”^[a]

“When I destroy all mankind
    on the face of the earth,”^(F)
declares the Lord,^(G)
⁴“I will stretch out my hand^(H) against Judah
    and against all who live in Jerusalem.
I will destroy every remnant of Baal worship in this place,^(I)
    the very names of the idolatrous priests^(J)—
⁵those who bow down on the roofs
    to worship the starry host,^(K)
those who bow down and swear by the Lord
    and who also swear by Molek,^[b]^(L)
⁶those who turn back from following^(M) the Lord
    and neither seek^(N) the Lord nor inquire^(O) of him.”

⁷Be silent^(P) before the Sovereign Lord,
for the day of the Lord^(Q) is near.
The Lord has prepared a sacrifice;^(R)
he has consecrated those he has invited.

⁸“On the day of the Lord’s sacrifice
    I will punish^(S) the officials
    and the king’s sons^(T)
and all those clad
    in foreign clothes.
⁹On that day I will punish
    all who avoid stepping on the threshold,^[c]^(U)
who fill the temple of their gods
    with violence and deceit.^(V)

¹⁰“On that day,^(W)”
    declares the Lord,
“a cry will go up from the Fish Gate,^(X)
    wailing^(Y) from the New Quarter,
    and a loud crash from the hills.
¹¹Wail,^(Z) you who live in the market district^[d];
    all your merchants will be wiped out,
    all who trade with^[e] silver will be destroyed.^(AA)
¹²At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps
    and punish those who are complacent,^(AB)
    who are like wine left on its dregs,^(AC)
who think, ‘The Lord will do nothing,^(AD)
    either good or bad.’^(AE)
¹³Their wealth will be plundered,^(AF)
    their houses demolished.
Though they build houses,
    they will not live in them;
though they plant vineyards,
    they will not drink the wine.”^(AG)

¹⁴The great day of the Lord^(AH) is near^(AI)—
    near and coming quickly.
The cry on the day of the Lord is bitter;
    the Mighty Warrior shouts his battle cry.
¹⁵That day will be a day of wrath—
    a day of distress and anguish,
        a day of trouble and ruin,
    a day of darkness^(AJ) and gloom,
        a day of clouds and blackness^(AK)—
¹⁶    a day of trumpet and battle cry^(AL)
against the fortified cities
    and against the corner towers.^(AM)

¹⁷“I will bring such distress^(AN) on all people
    that they will grope about like those who are blind,^(AO)
    because they have sinned against the Lord.
Their blood will be poured out^(AP) like dust
    and their entrails like dung.^(AQ)
¹⁸Neither their silver nor their gold
    will be able to save them
    on the day of the Lord’s wrath.”^(AR)

In the fire of his jealousy^(AS)
the whole earth will be consumed,^(AT)
for he will make a sudden end
of all who live on the earth.^(AU)

Judah and Jerusalem Judged Along With the Nations

Judah Summoned to Repent

2 Gather together,^(AV) gather yourselves together,
    you shameful^(AW) nation,
²before the decree takes effect
    and that day passes like windblown chaff,^(AX)
before the Lord’s fierce anger^(AY)
    comes upon you,
before the day of the Lord’s wrath^(AZ)
    comes upon you.
³Seek^(BA) the Lord, all you humble of the land,
    you who do what he commands.
Seek righteousness,^(BB) seek humility;^(BC)
    perhaps you will be sheltered^(BD)
    on the day of the Lord’s anger.

Philistia

⁴Gaza^(BE) will be abandoned
    and Ashkelon^(BF) left in ruins.
At midday Ashdod will be emptied
    and Ekron uprooted.
⁵Woe to you who live by the sea,
    you Kerethite^(BG) people;
the word of the Lord is against you,^(BH)
    Canaan, land of the Philistines.
He says, “I will destroy you,
    and none will be left.”^(BI)
⁶The land by the sea will become pastures
    having wells for shepherds
    and pens for flocks.^(BJ)
⁷That land will belong
    to the remnant^(BK) of the people of Judah;
    there they will find pasture.
In the evening they will lie down
    in the houses of Ashkelon.
The Lord their God will care for them;
    he will restore their fortunes.^[f]^(BL)

Moab and Ammon

⁸“I have heard the insults^(BM) of Moab^(BN)
    and the taunts of the Ammonites,^(BO)
who insulted^(BP) my people
    and made threats against their land.^(BQ)
⁹Therefore, as surely as I live,”
    declares the Lord Almighty,
    the God of Israel,
“surely Moab^(BR) will become like Sodom,^(BS)
    the Ammonites^(BT) like Gomorrah—
a place of weeds and salt pits,
    a wasteland forever.
The remnant of my people will plunder^(BU) them;
    the survivors^(BV) of my nation will inherit their land.^(BW)”

¹⁰This is what they will get in return for their pride,^(BX)
    for insulting^(BY) and mocking
    the people of the Lord Almighty.^(BZ)
¹¹The Lord will be awesome^(CA) to them
    when he destroys all the gods^(CB) of the earth.^(CC)
Distant nations will bow down to him,^(CD)
    all of them in their own lands.

Cush

¹²“You Cushites,^[g]^(CE) too,
will be slain by my sword.^(CF)”

Assyria

¹³He will stretch out his hand against the north
    and destroy Assyria,^(CG)
leaving Nineveh^(CH) utterly desolate
    and dry as the desert.^(CI)
¹⁴Flocks and herds^(CJ) will lie down there,
    creatures of every kind.
The desert owl^(CK) and the screech owl^(CL)
    will roost on her columns.
Their hooting will echo through the windows,
    rubble will fill the doorways,
    the beams of cedar will be exposed.
¹⁵This is the city of revelry^(CM)
    that lived in safety.^(CN)
She said to herself,
    “I am the one! And there is none besides me.”^(CO)
What a ruin she has become,
    a lair for wild beasts!^(CP)
All who pass by her scoff^(CQ)
    and shake their fists.^(CR)

Jerusalem

3 Woe to the city of oppressors,^(CS)
    rebellious^(CT) and defiled!^(CU)
²She obeys^(CV) no one,
    she accepts no correction.^(CW)
She does not trust^(CX) in the Lord,
    she does not draw near^(CY) to her God.
³Her officials within her
    are roaring lions;^(CZ)
her rulers are evening wolves,^(DA)
    who leave nothing for the morning.^(DB)
⁴Her prophets are unprincipled;
    they are treacherous people.^(DC)
Her priests profane the sanctuary
    and do violence to the law.^(DD)
⁵The Lord within her is righteous;^(DE)
    he does no wrong.^(DF)
Morning by morning^(DG) he dispenses his justice,
    and every new day he does not fail,^(DH)
    yet the unrighteous know no shame.^(DI)

Jerusalem Remains Unrepentant

⁶“I have destroyed nations;
    their strongholds are demolished.
I have left their streets deserted,
    with no one passing through.
Their cities are laid waste;^(DJ)
    they are deserted and empty.
⁷Of Jerusalem I thought,
    ‘Surely you will fear me
    and accept correction!’^(DK)
Then her place of refuge^[h] would not be destroyed,
    nor all my punishments come upon^[i] her.
But they were still eager
    to act corruptly^(DL) in all they did.
⁸Therefore wait^(DM) for me,”
    declares the Lord,
    “for the day I will stand up to testify.^[j]
I have decided to assemble^(DN) the nations,^(DO)
    to gather the kingdoms
and to pour out my wrath^(DP) on them—
    all my fierce anger.^(DQ)
The whole world will be consumed^(DR)
    by the fire of my jealous anger.

Restoration of Israel’s Remnant

⁹“Then I will purify the lips of the peoples,
    that all of them may call^(DS) on the name of the Lord^(DT)
    and serve^(DU) him shoulder to shoulder.
¹⁰From beyond the rivers of Cush^[k]^(DV)
    my worshipers, my scattered people,
    will bring me offerings.^(DW)
¹¹On that day you, Jerusalem, will not be put to shame^(DX)
    for all the wrongs you have done to me,^(DY)
because I will remove from you
    your arrogant boasters.^(DZ)
Never again will you be haughty
    on my holy hill.^(EA)
¹²But I will leave within you
    the meek^(EB) and humble.
The remnant of Israel
    will trust^(EC) in the name of the Lord.
¹³They^(ED) will do no wrong;^(EE)
    they will tell no lies.^(EF)
A deceitful tongue
    will not be found in their mouths.^(EG)
They will eat and lie down^(EH)
    and no one will make them afraid.^(EI)”

¹⁴Sing, Daughter Zion;^(EJ)
    shout aloud,^(EK) Israel!
Be glad and rejoice^(EL) with all your heart,
    Daughter Jerusalem!
¹⁵The Lord has taken away your punishment,
    he has turned back your enemy.
The Lord, the King of Israel, is with you;^(EM)
    never again will you fear^(EN) any harm.^(EO)
¹⁶On that day
    they will say to Jerusalem,
“Do not fear, Zion;
    do not let your hands hang limp.^(EP)
¹⁷The Lord your God is with you,
    the Mighty Warrior who saves.^(EQ)
He will take great delight^(ER) in you;
    in his love he will no longer rebuke you,^(ES)
    but will rejoice over you with singing.”^(ET)

¹⁸“I will remove from you
    all who mourn over the loss of your appointed festivals,
    which is a burden and reproach for you.
¹⁹At that time I will deal
    with all who oppressed^(EU) you.
I will rescue the lame;
    I will gather the exiles.^(EV)
I will give them praise^(EW) and honor
    in every land where they have suffered shame.
²⁰At that time I will gather you;
    at that time I will bring^(EX) you home.
I will give you honor^(EY) and praise^(EZ)
    among all the peoples of the earth
when I restore your fortunes^[l]^(FA)
    before your very eyes,”
says the Lord.