Old/New Testament
Chapter 1
1 This is the word of the Lord that came to Zephaniah, the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, in the days when Josiah, the son of Amon, was king of Judah.
I Extend My Hand over Judah
2 I will completely sweep away everything
from the face of the earth,
says the Lord.
3 I will sweep away both men and animals,
the birds of the air and the fish of the sea.
I will force the wicked to their knees
and wipe out all people from the face of the earth,
says the Lord.
4 I will stretch out my hand against Judah
and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
I will wipe out from this place every remnant of Baal,
the very name of his idolatrous priests:
5 those who bow down on the roofs
to worship the host of the heavens,
and those who prostrate themselves before the Lord
but swear by Milcom,
6 and those who have turned their backs on the Lord,
and those who do not seek him.
7 Keep silent in the presence of the Lord God,
for the day of the Lord is near.
The Lord has prepared a sacrifice;
he has consecrated his guests.
8 On the day of the Lord’s sacrifice,
I will punish the officials and the king’s sons,
and all those who clothe themselves in foreign apparel.
9 On that day I will punish
all who leap over the threshold[a]
and fill the house of their master
with violence and deceit.
10 [b]On that day, says the Lord,
crying will be heard from the Fish Gate,
wailing from the New Quarter,
a loud crash from the hills.
11 Wail, O inhabitants of the Mortar,
for all the merchants will perish,
and all those who weigh out silver will be ruined.
12 At that time
I will search Jerusalem by lantern-light
and punish all those people
who have become complacent,
like wine thickening in its sediment,
and who say in their hearts,
“The Lord will do nothing,
either good or bad.”
13 As a result, their wealth will be plundered
and their houses will lie in ruins.
Though they build houses,
they will not dwell in them;
though they plant vineyards,
they will not drink their wine.
14 The great day of the Lord is near,
near and coming quickly.
The sound of the day of the Lord is bitter
when the warrior shouts his cry of war.
15 That day is a day of wrath,
a day of anguish and distress,
a day of ruin and devastation,
a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and heavy darkness,
16 a day of trumpet blasts and battle cries
against the fortified cities
and against lofty battlements.
17 I will bring such dire distress on the people
that they will walk like the blind
because they have sinned against the Lord.
Their blood will be poured out like dust
and their entrails like dung.
18 Neither their silver nor their gold
will be able to save them
on the day of the Lord’s wrath,
when by the fire of his jealousy
the entire earth will be consumed.
For he will make a sudden and terrible end
of all who dwell on the earth.
Anger Will Strike at the Four Corners of the World
Chapter 2
1 Gather together, gather yourselves together,
O shameless nation,
2 before you are driven away
and disappear like chaff,
before you are forced to confront
the fierce anger of the Lord,
before you are overtaken
by the day of the Lord’s anger.
3 Seek the Lord,
all you humble of the land[c]
who obey his commands.
Seek righteousness, seek humility;
then perhaps you may find shelter
on the day of the Lord’s anger.
4 [d]For Gaza will be deserted
and Ashkelon will be reduced to ruins.
The people of Ashdod will be driven out at midday,
and Ekron will be uprooted.[e]
5 Woe to you inhabitants of the seacoast,
you nation of the Cherethites.
This is the word of the Lord against you:
“I will destroy you, land of the Philistines,
until not a single inhabitant remains.”
6 The coastland of the Cretans
will be reduced to pastures,
to grazing grounds for shepherds
and folds for flocks.
7 And the coastland will become the possession
of the remnant of the house of Judah.
They will pasture their flocks there,
and when evening arrives
they will lie down in the houses at Ashkelon.
For the Lord, their God, will be mindful of them
and restore their fortunes.
8 [f]“I have heard the insults of Moab
and the taunts of the Ammonites
when they reviled my people
and threatened their frontiers.
9 Therefore, as I live,” says the Lord of hosts,
the God of Israel,
“Moab will become like Sodom
and the Ammonites like Gomorrah:
a land filled with nettles and salt pits,
a wasteland forevermore.
The remnant of my people will plunder them,
and the survivors of my nation will dispossess them.”
10 This will be the price they pay for their pride,
inasmuch as they insulted and mocked
the people of the Lord of hosts.
11 The Lord will fill them with fear
when he causes all the gods of the earth
to waste away.
Then all the coasts and the islands of the nations[g]
shall worship him,
each from its own territory.
12 You also, O Ethiopians,
will be killed by the sword of the Lord.
13 And he will stretch out his hand against the north
and destroy Assyria.
He will make Nineveh a wasteland,
as arid as the desert.
14 Flocks and herds will lie down there,
creatures of every kind.
The desert owl and the screech owl
will roost on her columns;
will hoot at the window
while the raven croaks at the doorway.
15 Is this the exultant city
that once took pride in its security,
that said to itself,
“I am supreme, without an equal”?
And what now has it come to?
It is nothing but a desolate waste,
a lair for wild animals,
at which every passer-by
will hiss and shake his fist.
Woe to Jerusalem, the Rebel
Chapter 3
1 Woe to the city of tyrants,
rebellious and defiled.
2 It has not heeded any warning voice,
it has not accepted any correction.
It has not placed its trust in the Lord;
it has not drawn near to its God.
3 The officials within it
are roaring lions;
its judges are wolves of the wasteland
that leave nothing in reserve for the morning.
4 Its prophets are arrogant;
they are treacherous men.
Its priests have profaned what is holy
and done violence to the law.
5 The Lord within this city is just;
he does no wrong.
Morning after morning he renders judgment
unfailingly at dawn.
6 I have cut off nations;
their strongholds lie in ruins.
I have laid waste their streets
so that no one walks along them.
Their cities have been laid waste,
and now they are deserted,
without inhabitants.
7 I thought, “Surely you will now fear me
and be willing to accept correction.
You will not fail to realize
how I have inflicted punishments on you.”
However, they only seemed more eager
to make all their deeds corrupt.
8 Therefore, wait for me, says the Lord;
wait for the day when I stand up to accuse you.
For I am determined to gather nations
and assemble kingdoms
in order to pour forth my wrath upon them,
all the heat of my anger.
The entire earth will be consumed
by the fire of my jealousy.
Toward a Tomorrow of Exultance[h]
9 Then I will purify
the lips of my people,
so that all may call on
the name of the Lord
and serve him with one accord.
10 From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia
my suppliants, my scattered ones,
will bring offerings to me.
11 On that day you will not be put to shame
as a result of all the deeds
by which you have rebelled against me.
For then I will remove from your midst
those who are proud and arrogant,
and then you will never again flaunt your pride
on my holy mountain.
12 For I will leave in your midst
those who are meek and humble;
they will seek refuge in the name of the Lord.
13 This remnant of Israel will do no wrong
and utter no lies.
Nor will a deceitful tongue
be found in their mouths.
They will eat and lie down,
and no one will cause them to be afraid.
14 Cry out with joy, daughter of Zion;
shout aloud, O Israel.
Rejoice and exult with all your heart,
O daughter, Jerusalem.
15 The Lord has canceled the punishments against you;
he has turned away your enemies.
The king of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst;
you need never again fear any harm.
16 On that day it will be said to Jerusalem:
Fear not, O Zion;
do not let your hands grow weak.
17 The Lord, your God, is in your midst,
a warrior and a savior.
He will rejoice over you with gladness
and renew you through his love.
He will exult over you with shouts of joy
18 as on a day of festival.
I will remove your misfortune
so that you no longer will need to endure reproach.
19 At that time I will deal
with all those who oppress you.
I will rescue the lame
and gather the dispersed.
I will win for them praise and renown
throughout the whole world.
20 At that time I will gather you together
and bring you home.
For I will make you renowned and praised
among all the peoples of the earth,
when I restore your fortunes
before your eyes, says the Lord.
Chapter 16
The Seven Bowls of the Wrath of God.[a] 1 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple say to the seven angels, “Go forth and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God.”
2 The first angel went forth and poured out his bowl on the earth. Immediately, foul and malignant sores broke out on those who had the mark of the beast and who worshiped its image.[b]
3 [c]The second angel poured out his bowl on the sea. It turned to blood, like the blood of a dead person, and every living thing in the sea died.
4 The third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and the springs of water, and they turned to blood. 5 Then I heard the angel in charge of the waters say:
“You are just, O Holy One,
who are and who were,
in these your judgments.
6 For they have shed the blood
of the saints and the Prophets,
and you have given them blood to drink,
as they deserve.”
7 And I heard the altar respond:
“Yes, Lord God Almighty,
true and just are your judgments.”
8 The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and the sun was allowed to burn people with its flames. 9 They were scorched by the fierce heat, and they cursed the name of God who had the power to inflict those plagues, but they refused to repent and pay him homage.
10 The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness.[d] People gnawed their tongues in agony 11 and cursed the God of heaven because of their pains and sores, instead of repenting for what they had done.
12 The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the East. 13 I saw three unclean spirits like frogs[e] come forth from the mouth of the dragon, from the mouth of the beast, and from the mouth of the false prophet.
14 These are demonic spirits with the power to work miracles. They were sent to the kings of the entire world to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty.
15 [f]“Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his clothes close by so that he will not have to go naked and be exposed to shame.” 16 These spirits then assembled the kings at the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.[g]
17 The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne, saying, “It is done!” 18 Then there followed flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, and a violent earthquake—so violent that there has never been one like it since the human race has inhabited the earth.
19 The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed in ruin. Babylon the Great was also remembered by God, as he made her drink the cup filled with the wine of his fury and wrath. 20 Every island vanished, and no mountains were to be found. 21 Huge hailstones, each weighing about one hundred pounds, fell from the sky on the people, and they cursed God on account of the plague of hail that turned out to be so terrible.
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