ULT ZEP Chapter 1

1 The word of Yahweh which was to Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the Son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, the king of Judah.

2 “I will utterly take away everything from upon the face of the earth—the declaration of Yahweh.

3 I will take away man and beast. I will take away the birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea and the stumbling blocks along with the wicked,

and I will cut off man from upon the face of the earth—the declaration of Yahweh.

4 I will stretch out with my hand against Judah and against all of those living in Jerusalem.

I will cut off from this place the remnant of Baal, the name of the idol priests along with the priests,

5 those who are bowing down on the housetops to the army of the heavens,

and those who bow down, who swear by Yahweh and also swear upon Milcom,[fn]

6 and those who turn from after Yahweh, and who do not search for Yahweh and do not seek him.”

7 Be silent before the Lord Yahweh! For the day of Yahweh is near.

For Yahweh has prepared the sacrifice and set apart his invited ones.

8 “It will happen on the day of Yahweh’s sacrifice,

I will visit upon the officials and upon the sons of the king,

and upon everyone who dresses in foreign clothes.

9 I will also visit upon all those who leap upon the threshold in that day,

those who fill the house of their master with violence and deceit.

10 It will happen on that day—the declaration of Yahweh—

a sound of a cry from the Fish Gate, a wailing from the Second District,

and a great ruin from the hills.

11 Wail, O inhabitants of the Mortar District,

for all the people of Canaan will be destroyed, all of those who weigh silver will be cut off.

12 And it will happen at that time,

I will search Jerusalem with lamps and visit upon the men

who are thickening on their sediment, who are saying in their heart,

‘Yahweh will not do good and he will not do wrong.’

13 And it will happen, their wealth will be for plunder, and their houses will be for a ruin.

And they will build houses but not reside, and plant vineyards but not drink their wine.

14 The great day of Yahweh is near, near and hurrying quickly!

The sound of the day of Yahweh; bitter is the one crying out there, a warrior!

15 That day is a day of wrath, a day of distress and anguish,

a day of devastation and desolation, a day of darkness and gloom,

a day of clouds and gloomy skies.

16 A day of a trumpet blast and a battle cry

against the fortified cities and against the high towers.

17 For I will bring distress upon mankind, and they will walk like the blind,

for they have sinned against Yahweh.

Their blood will be poured out like dust, and their inner parts like dung.

18 Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to save them

on the day of the wrath of Yahweh. In the fire of his jealousy the whole earth will be consumed.

For, a destruction—surely it will be hastened—he will make all the inhabitants of the earth.”

The Hebrew text has by their king , but some modern versions read by Milcom , the name of a pagan god that many people worshiped.

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