ZEP 1:1
The word of the Lord which came to Zephaniah son of
Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of
Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah son of Amon, king of
Judah,
ZEP 1:2 "I will completely remove all things
From the face of the earth," declares the Lord.
ZEP 1:3 "I will remove man and beast; I will
remove the birds of the sky And the fish of the sea,
And the ruins along with the wicked; And I will cut
off man from the face of the earth," declares the
Lord.
ZEP 1:4 "So I will stretch out My hand
against Judah And against all the inhabitants of
Jerusalem. And I will cut off the remnant of Baal
from this place, And the names of the idolatrous
priests along with the priests.
ZEP 1:5 "And those who bow down on the
housetops to the host of heaven, And those who bow
down and swear to the Lord and yet swear by Milcom,
ZEP 1:6 And those who have turned back from
following the Lord, And those who have not sought
the Lord or inquired of Him."
ZEP 1:7 Be silent before the Lord God! For
the day of the Lord is near, For the Lord has
prepared a sacrifice, He has consecrated His guests.
ZEP 1:8 "Then it will come about on the day
of the Lord's sacrifice, That I will punish the
princes, the king's sons, And all who clothe
themselves with foreign garments.
ZEP 1:9 "And I will punish on that day all
who leap on the temple threshold, Who fill the house
of their lord with violence and deceit.
ZEP 1:10 "And on that day," declares the
Lord, "There will be the sound of a cry from the
Fish Gate, A wail from the Second Quarter, And a
loud crash from the hills.
ZEP 1:11 "Wail, O inhabitants of the Mortar,
For all the people of Canaan will be silenced; All
who weigh out silver will be cut off.
ZEP 1:12 "And it will come about at that time
That I will search Jerusalem with lamps, And I will
punish the men Who are stagnant in spirit, Who say
in their hearts, 'The Lord will not do good or
evil!'
ZEP 1:13 "Moreover, their wealth will become
plunder, And their houses desolate; Yes, they will
build houses but not inhabit them, And plant
vineyards but not drink their wine."
ZEP 1:14 Near is the great day of the Lord,
Near and coming very quickly; Listen, the day of the
Lord! In it the warrior cries out bitterly.
ZEP 1:15 A day of wrath is that day, A day of
trouble and distress, A day of destruction and
desolation, A day of darkness and gloom, A day of
clouds and thick darkness,
ZEP 1:16 A day of trumpet and battle cry,
Against the fortified cities And the high corner
towers.
ZEP 1:17 And I will bring distress on men, So
that they will walk like the blind, Because they
have sinned against the Lord; And their blood will
be poured out like dust, And their flesh like dung.
ZEP 1:18 Neither their silver nor their gold
Will be able to deliver them On the day of the
Lord's wrath; And all the earth will be devoured In
the fire of His jealousy, For He will make a
complete end, Indeed a terrifying one, Of all the
inhabitants of the earth.
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ZEP 2:1
Gather yourselves together, yes, gather, O nation
without shame,
ZEP 2:2 Before the decree takes effect - -
The day passes like the chaff - - Before the burning
anger of the Lord comes upon you, Before the day of
the Lord's anger comes upon you.
ZEP 2:3 Seek the Lord, All you humble of the
earth Who have carried out His ordinances; Seek
righteousness, seek humility. Perhaps you will be
hidden In the day of the Lord's anger.
ZEP 2:4 For Gaza will be abandoned, And
Ashkelon a desolation; Ashdod will be driven out at
noon, And Ekron will be uprooted.
ZEP 2:5 Woe to the inhabitants of the
seacoast, The nation of the Cherethites! The word of
the Lord is against you, O Canaan, land of the
Philistines; And I will destroy you, So that there
will be no inhabitant.
ZEP 2:6 So the seacoast will be pastures,
With caves for shepherds and folds for flocks.
ZEP 2:7 And the coast will be For the remnant
of the house of Judah, They will pasture on it. In
the houses of Ashkelon they will lie down at
evening; For the Lord their God will care for them
And restore their fortune.
ZEP 2:8 "I have heard the taunting of Moab
And the revilings of the sons of Ammon, With which
they have taunted My people And become arrogant
against their territory.
ZEP 2:9 "Therefore, as I live," declares the
Lord of hosts, The God of Israel, "Surely Moab will
be like Sodom, And the sons of Ammon like Gomorrah -
- A place possessed by nettles and salt pits, And a
perpetual desolation. The remnant of My people will
plunder them, And the remainder of My nation will
inherit them."
ZEP 2:10 This they will have in return for
their pride, because they have taunted and become
arrogant against the people of the Lord of hosts.
ZEP 2:11 The Lord will be terrifying to them,
for He will starve all the gods of the earth; and
all the coastlands of the nations will bow down to
Him, everyone from his own place.
ZEP 2:12 "You also, O Ethiopians, will be
slain by My sword."
ZEP 2:13 And He will stretch out His hand
against the north And destroy Assyria, And He will
make Nineveh a desolation, Parched like the
wilderness.
ZEP 2:14 And flocks will lie down in her
midst, All beasts which range in herds; Both the
pelican and the hedgehog Will lodge in the tops of
her pillars; Birds will sing in the window,
Desolation will be on the threshold; For He has laid
bare the cedar work.
ZEP 2:15 This is the exultant city Which
dwells securely, Who says in her heart, "I am, and
there is no one besides me." How she has become a
desolation, A resting place for beasts! Everyone who
passes by her will hiss And wave his hand in
contempt.
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ZEP 3:1
Woe to her who is rebellious and defiled, The
tyrannical city!
ZEP 3:2 She heeded no voice; She accepted no
instruction. She did not trust in the Lord; She did
not draw near to her God.
ZEP 3:3 Her princes within her are roaring
lions, Her judges are wolves at evening; They leave
nothing for the morning.
ZEP 3:4 Her prophets are reckless,
treacherous men; Her priests have profaned the
sanctuary. They have done violence to the law.
ZEP 3:5 The Lord is righteous within her; He
will do no injustice. Every morning He brings His
justice to light; He does not fail. But the unjust
knows no shame.
ZEP 3:6 "I have cut off nations; Their corner
towers are in ruins. I have made their streets
desolate, With no one passing by; Their cities are
laid waste, Without a man, without an inhabitant.
ZEP 3:7 "I said, 'Surely you will revere Me,
Accept instruction.' So her dwelling will not be cut
off According to all that I have appointed
concerning her. But they were eager to corrupt all
their deeds.
ZEP 3:8 "Therefore, wait for Me," declares
the Lord, "For the day when I rise up to the prey.
Indeed, My decision is to gather nations, To
assemble kingdoms, To pour out on them My
indignation, All My burning anger; For all the earth
will be devoured By the fire of My zeal.
ZEP 3:9 "For then I will give to the peoples
purified lips, That all of them may call on the name
of the Lord, To serve Him shoulder to shoulder.
ZEP 3:10 "From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia
My worshipers, My dispersed ones, Will bring My
offerings.
ZEP 3:11 "In that day you will feel no shame
Because of all your deeds By which you have rebelled
against Me; For then I will remove from your midst
Your proud, exulting ones, And you will never again
be haughty On My holy mountain.
ZEP 3:12 "But I will leave among you A humble
and lowly people, And they will take refuge in the
name of the Lord.
ZEP 3:13 "The remnant of Israel will do no
wrong And tell no lies, Nor will a deceitful tongue
Be found in their mouths; For they shall feed and
lie down With no one to make them tremble."
ZEP 3:14 Shout for joy, O daughter of Zion!
Shout in triumph, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with
all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem!
ZEP 3:15 The Lord has taken away His
judgments against you, He has cleared away your
enemies. The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your
midst; You will fear disaster no more.
ZEP 3:16 In that day it will be said to
Jerusalem: "Do not be afraid, O Zion; Do not let
your hands fall limp.
ZEP 3:17 "The Lord your God is in your midst,
A victorious warrior. He will exult over you with
joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice
over you with shouts of joy.
ZEP 3:18 "I will gather those who grieve
about the appointed feasts - - They came from you, O
Zion; The reproach of exile is a burden on them.
ZEP 3:19 "Behold, I am going to deal at that
time With all your oppressors, I will save the lame
And gather the outcast, And I will turn their shame
into praise and renown In all the earth.
ZEP 3:20 "At that time I will bring you in,
Even at the time when I gather you together; Indeed,
I will give you renown and praise Among all the
peoples of the earth, When I restore your fortunes
before your eyes," Says the Lord.
