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Zephaniah

1The word of the Lord that came to Zephaniah son of Cushi son of Gedaliah son of Amariah son of Hezekiah, in the days of King Josiah son of Amon of Judah.

The Coming Judgement on Judah

² I will utterly sweep away everything
   from the face of the earth, says the Lord.
³ I will sweep away humans and animals;
   I will sweep away the birds of the air
   and the fish of the sea.
I will make the wicked stumble.^*
   I will cut off humanity
   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;
and I will cut off from this place every remnant of Baal
   and the name of the idolatrous priests;^*
5 those who bow down on the roofs
   to the host of the heavens;
those who bow down and swear to the Lord,
   but also swear by Milcom;^*
6 those who have turned back from following the Lord,
   who have not sought the Lord or inquired of him.

⁷ Be silent before the Lord God!
   For the day of the Lord is at hand;
the Lord has prepared a sacrifice,
   he has consecrated his guests.
⁸ And on the day of the Lord’s sacrifice
I will punish the officials and the king’s sons
   and all who dress themselves in foreign attire.
⁹ On that day I will punish
   all who leap over the threshold,
who fill their master’s house
   with violence and fraud.

¹⁰ On that day, says the Lord,
   a cry will be heard from the Fish Gate,
a wail from the Second Quarter,
   a loud crash from the hills.
¹¹ The inhabitants of the Mortar wail,
   for all the traders have perished;
   all who weigh out silver are cut off.
¹² At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps,
   and I will punish the people
who rest complacently^* on their dregs,
   those who say in their hearts,
‘The Lord will not do good,
   nor will he do harm.’
¹³ Their wealth shall be plundered,
   and their houses laid waste.
Though they build houses,
   they shall not inhabit them;
though they plant vineyards,
   they shall not drink wine from them.

The Great Day of the Lord

¹⁴ The great day of the Lord is near,
   near and hastening fast;
the sound of the day of the Lord is bitter,
   the warrior cries aloud there.
¹⁵ That day will be a day of wrath,
   a day of distress and anguish,
a day of ruin and devastation,
   a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and thick darkness,
¹⁶   a day of trumpet blast and battle cry
against the fortified cities
   and against the lofty battlements.

¹⁷ I will bring such distress upon people
   that they shall walk like the blind;
   because they have sinned against the Lord,
their blood shall be poured out like dust,
   and their flesh like dung.
¹⁸ Neither their silver nor their gold
   will be able to save them
   on the day of the Lord’s wrath;
in the fire of his passion
   the whole earth shall be consumed;
for a full, a terrible end
   he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth.

Judgement on Israel’s Enemies

2Gather together, gather,
   O shameless nation,
² before you are driven away
   like the drifting chaff,^*
before there comes upon you
   the fierce anger of the Lord,
before there comes upon you
   the day of the Lord’s wrath.
³ Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land,
   who do his commands;
seek righteousness, seek humility;
   perhaps you may be hidden
   on the day of the Lord’s wrath.
⁴ For Gaza shall be deserted,
   and Ashkelon shall become a desolation;
Ashdod’s people shall be driven out at noon,
   and Ekron shall be uprooted.

⁵ Ah, inhabitants of the sea coast,
   you nation of the Cherethites!
The word of the Lord is against you,
   O Canaan, land of the Philistines;
   and I will destroy you until no inhabitant is left.
⁶ And you, O sea coast, shall be pastures,
   meadows for shepherds
   and folds for flocks.
⁷ The sea coast shall become the possession
   of the remnant of the house of Judah,
   on which they shall pasture,
and in the houses of Ashkelon
   they shall lie down at evening.
For the Lord their God will be mindful of them
   and restore their fortunes.

⁸ I have heard the taunts of Moab
   and the revilings of the Ammonites,
how they have taunted my people
   and made boasts against their territory.