1 1 The word of Jehovah, which came to Zephaniah, the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hizkiah, in the days of Josiah, the son of Amon, king of Judah. 2 I will utterly consume all things from the face of the land, saith Jehovah; 3 I will consume man and beast; I will consume the birds of heaven, and the fishes of the sea, And the stumbling-blocks with the wicked; And I will cut off man from the face of the land, saith Jehovah. 4 I will stretch out my hand over Judah, And over all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, And I will cut off from this place the residue of Baal, The name of the idol-sacrificers with the priests, 5 And those who bow themselves on the house-tops to the host of heaven, And those who bow themselves and swear by Jehovah, And also swear by their idol, 6 And those that turn back from Jehovah, And those that seek not Jehovah, nor inquire for him. 7 Be silent before the Lord Jehovah! For the day of Jehovah is near; For Jehovah hath prepared a sacrifice; He hath appointed his guests. 8 And in the day of the sacrifice of Jehovah it shall come to pass That I will punish the princes and the sons of the king, And all that are clothed with foreign apparel. 9 In that day also will I punish all that leap over the threshold, That fill the houses of their master with violence and deceit. 10 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith Jehovah, That there shall be the noise of a cry from the fish-gate, And of a howling from the other part of the city, And of great destruction from the hills. 11 Howl, ye inhabitants of Maktesh! For all the trafficking people are cut down; All they that bear silver are destroyed. 12 And it shall come to pass at that time, That I will search Jerusalem with lamps, And I will punish the men that are settled on their lees; That say in their hearts, “Jehovah doeth neither good nor evil.” 13 Their substance shall become a spoil, And their houses a desolation; They shall also build houses, but not inhabit them; And shall plant vineyards, but not drink the wine thereof. 14 The day of Jehovah is near, the great day; It is near, and hasteth greatly; The day of Jehovah shall resound; Bitterly shall the mighty man cry for help. 15 That day is a day of wrath, A day of distress and anguish, A day of destruction and desolation, A day of darkness and gloominess, A day of clouds and thick darkness, 16 A day of the trumpet and the war-shout, Against the fenced cities, And against the high towers. 17 And I will distress the men, so that they shall walk like the blind, Because they have sinned against Jehovah. And their blood shall be poured out as dust, And their flesh as dung. 18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of Jehovah, But by the fire of his indignation shall the whole land be devoured; For destruction, and that a speedy one, will he bring Upon all that dwell in the land.
2 1 Search yourselves; yea, search, O nation without shame! 2 Before the decree bring forth, Before the day come upon you like chaff; Before the fierce anger of Jehovah come upon you, Before the day of the anger of Jehovah come upon you. 3 Seek ye Jehovah, all ye lowly of the land, Ye, who obey his commands! Seek righteousness; seek lowliness; It may be that ye shall be hid in the day of the anger of Jehovah. 4 For Gaza shall be forsaken, And Askelon a desolation; Ashdod shall be driven out at noonday, And Ekron shall be rooted up. 5 Woe to the inhabitants of the sea-coasts, the nation of the Cherethites! This is the word of Jehovah against you, O Canaan, land of the Philistines: “I will destroy thee, that there shall be no inhabitant.” 6 And the sea-coast shall be pastures full of habitations for shepherds, and folds for flocks. 7 The coast shall be for the residue of the house of Judah; Thereon shall they feed; In the houses of Askelon shall they lie down in the evening; For Jehovah their God will look upon them, and bring back their captives. 8 I have heard the reproach of Moab, And the revilings of the sons of Ammon, With which they have reproached my people, And exalted themselves against their borders. 9 Therefore, as I live, saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, Moab shall be as Sodom, And the sons of Ammon as Gomorrah, A possession for thorns, and a pit for salt, and a perpetual desolation. The residue of my people shall spoil them, And the remainder of my nation shall possess them. 10 This shall come upon them for their pride, Because they have uttered reproaches, and exalted themselves against the people of Jehovah of hosts. 11 Jehovah will be terrible against them; For he will destroy all the gods of the earth; And before him shall worship, every one from his place, All the islands of the nations. 12 Ye, also, O Ethiopians! Ye shall be slain by my sword! 13 He will also stretch out his hand against the North, And destroy Assyria, And make Nineveh a desolation, Even dry like a desert. 14 And flocks shall lie down in the midst of her, Yea, all the tribes of wild beasts; The pelican and the hedgehog shall lodge in the capitals of her pillars; A cry shall resound in the window; Desolation shall be upon the threshold; For her cedar-work shall be laid bare. 15 This is the rejoicing city that dwelt in security, That said in her heart, “I, and none besides me!” Now is she become a desolation, a resting-place for wild beasts! Every one that passeth by her shall hiss, and wag his hand.
3 1 Woe to her that is rebellious and polluted, The oppressing city! 2 She listeneth to no voice, She receiveth not admonition; She trusteth not in Jehovah, She draweth not near to her God. 3 Her princes within her are roaring lions; Her judges are evening wolves; They reserve nothing for the morning. 4 Her prophets are vainglorious, Men of treachery; Her priests pollute the sanctuary, They violate the law. 5 But Jehovah is just in the midst of her; He doeth no iniquity. Every morning bringeth he his righteousness to light; he faileth not; Yet the wicked knoweth not shame. 6 I have cut off nations; their towers are destroyed; I have laid waste their streets so that none passeth through; Their cities are made desolate, without a man, without an inhabitant. 7 Then I said, “Surely thou wilt fear me; thou wilt receive admonition, That thy habitation may not be cut off, As I have commanded concerning thee.” But they were diligent to commit iniquity In all their doings. 8 Therefore wait for me, saith Jehovah. Until the day when I rise up to the prey. For my purpose is to gather the nations, to assemble the kingdoms, To pour upon them my indignation, Even all the heat of my wrath. For with the fire of mine anger shall all the earth be devoured. 9 Then will I again bestow upon the nations pure lips, So that they shall all of them call upon the name of Jehovah, And serve him with one consent. 10 From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia My suppliants, the sons of my dispersed ones, shall bring my offering. 11 In that day thou shalt not be ashamed For all thy doings, wherein thou hast transgressed against me; For I will take away from the midst of thee thy proud exulters, And thou shalt no more exalt thyself upon my holy mountain. 12 I will leave in the midst of thee a humble and lowly people, Who trust in the name of Jehovah. 13 The residue of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak falsehood; Neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth; Therefore shall they feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid. 14 Sing, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all thy heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! 15 Jehovah hath taken away thy punishments; He hath removed thine enemies. The king of Israel, Jehovah, is in the midst of thee; Thou shalt see evil no more. 16 In that day shall it be said to Jerusalem, Fear not! And to Zion, Let not thy hands hang down! 17 Jehovah thy God will be in the midst of thee; The mighty one will save thee. He will rejoice over thee with gladness; He will pardon thee in his love; He will exult over thee with singing. 18 I will gather them that mourn, far from the solemn assembly, They were far from thee; the reproach was a burden upon thee. 19 Behold, at that time I will destroy all that afflict thee; And I will save the halting, and gather the scattered, And I will make them a praise and a name In every land where they have been put to shame. 20 At that time I will bring you back, And at that time I will gather you; For I will make you a name and a praise among all the nations of the earth, When I bring back your captives before your eyes, saith Jehovah.