
Zephaniah

   {1:1} The word of Jehovah which came unto 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, king of Judah. {1:2} I will utterly
consume all things from off the face of the ground, saith Jehovah.
{1:3} I will consume man and beast; I will consume the birds of the
heavens, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumblingblocks with the
wicked; and I will cut off man from off the face of the ground, saith
Jehovah. {1:4} And I will stretch out my hand upon Judah, and upon all
the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off the remnant of Baal
from this place, [and] the name of the Chemarim with the priests; {1:5}
and them that worship the host of heaven upon the housetops; and them
that worship, that swear to Jehovah and swear by Malcam; {1:6} and them
that are turned back from following Jehovah; and those that have not
sought Jehovah, nor inquired after him. {1:7} Hold thy peace at the
presence of the Lord Jehovah; for the day of Jehovah is at hand: for
Jehovah hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath consecrated his guests.
{1:8} And it shall come to pass in the day of Jehovah's sacrifice, that
I will punish the princes, and the king's sons, and all such as are
clothed with foreign apparel. {1:9} And in that day I will punish all
those that leap over the threshold, that fill their master's house with
violence and deceit. {1:10} And in that day, saith Jehovah, there shall
be the noise of a cry from the fish gate, and a wailing from the second
quarter, and a great crashing from the hills. {1:11} Wail, ye
inhabitants of Maktesh; for all the people of Canaan are undone; all
they that were laden with silver are cut off. {1:12} 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
heart, Jehovah will not do good, neither will he do evil. {1:13} And
their wealth shall become a spoil, and their houses a desolation: yea,
they shall build houses, but shall not inhabit them; and they shall
plant vineyards, but shall not drink the wine thereof. {1:14} The great
day of Jehovah is near, it is near and hasteth greatly, [even] the
voice of the day of Jehovah; the mighty man crieth there bitterly.
{1:15} That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day
of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of
clouds and thick darkness, {1:16} a day of the trumpet and alarm,
against the fortified cities, and against the high battlements. {1:17}
And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind
men, because they have sinned against Jehovah; and their blood shall be
poured out as dust, and their flesh as dung. {1:18} Neither their
silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of
Jehovah's wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of
his jealousy: for he will make an end, yea, a terrible end, of all them
that dwell in the land.



   {2:1} Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation
that hath no shame; {2:2} before the decree bring forth, [before] the
day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of Jehovah come upon
you, before the day of Jehovah's anger come upon you. {2:3} Seek ye
Jehovah, all ye meek of the earth, that have kept his ordinances; seek
righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye will be hid in the day of
Jehovah's anger. {2:4} For Gaza shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon a
desolation; they shall drive out Ashdod at noonday, and Ekron shall be
rooted up. {2:5} Woe unto the inhabitants of the sea-coast, the nation
of the Cherethites! The word of Jehovah is against you, O Canaan, the
land of the Philistines; I will destroy thee, that there shall be no
inhabitant. {2:6} And the sea-coast shall be pastures, with cottages
for shepherds and folds for flocks. {2:7} And the coast shall be for
the remnant of the house of Judah; they shall feed [their flocks]
thereupon; in the houses of Ashkelon shall they lie down in the
evening; for Jehovah their God will visit them, and bring back their
captivity. {2:8} I have heard the reproach of Moab, and the revilings
of the children of Ammon, wherewith they have reproached my people, and
magnified themselves against their border. {2:9} Therefore as I live,
saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, Surely Moab shall be as
Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, a possession of nettles,
and saltpits, and a perpetual desolation: the residue of my people
shall make a prey of them, and the remnant of my nation shall inherit
them. {2:10} This shall they have for their pride, because they have
reproached and magnified themselves against the people of Jehovah of
hosts. {2:11} Jehovah will be terrible unto them; for he will famish
all the gods of the earth; and men shall worship him, every one from
his place, even all the isles of the nations. {2:12} Ye Ethiopians
also, ye shall be slain by my sword. {2:13} And he will stretch out his
hand against the north, and destroy Assyria, and will make Nineveh a
desolation, and dry like the wilderness. {2:14} And herds shall lie
down in the midst of her, all the beasts of the nations: both the
pelican and the porcupine shall lodge in the capitals thereof; [their]
voice shall sing in the windows; desolation shall be in the thresholds:
for he hath laid bare the cedar-work. {2:15} This is the joyous city
that dwelt carelessly, that said in her heart, I am, and there is none
besides me: how is she become a desolation, a place for beasts to lie
down in! every one that passeth by her shall hiss, and wag his hand.



   {3:1} Woe to her that is rebellious and polluted! to the oppressing
city! {3:2} She obeyed not the voice; she received not correction; she
trusted not in Jehovah; she drew not near to her God. {3:3} Her princes
in the midst of her are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves;
they leave nothing till the morrow. {3:4} Her prophets are light and
treacherous persons; her priests have profaned the sanctuary, they have
done violence to the law. {3:5} Jehovah in the midst of her is
righteous; he will not do iniquity; every morning doth he bring his
justice to light, he faileth not; but the unjust knoweth no shame.
{3:6} I have cut off nations; their battlements are desolate; I have
made their streets waste, so that none passeth by; their cities are
destroyed, so that there is no man, so that there is no inhabitant.
{3:7} I said, Only fear thou me; receive correction; so her dwelling
shall not be cut off, [according to] all that I have appointed
concerning her: but they rose early and corrupted all their doings.
{3:8} Therefore wait ye for me, saith Jehovah, until the day that I
rise up to the prey; for my determination is to gather the nations,
that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation,
even all my fierce anger; for all the earth shall be devoured with the
fire of my jealousy. {3:9} For then will I turn to the peoples of a
pure language, that they may all call upon the name of Jehovah, to
serve him with one consent. {3:10} From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia
my suppliants, even the daughter of my dispersed, shall bring mine
offering. {3:11} In that day shalt thou not be put to shame for all thy
doings, wherein thou hast transgressed against me; for then I will take
away out of the midst of thee thy proudly exulting ones, and thou shalt
no more be haughty in my holy mountain. {3:12} But I will leave in the
midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall take refuge
in the name of Jehovah. {3:13} The remnant of Israel shall not do
iniquity, nor speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in
their mouth; for they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them
afraid. {3:14} Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and
rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. {3:15} Jehovah
hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy: the King
of Israel, even Jehovah, is in the midst of thee; thou shalt not fear
evil any more. {3:16} In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear
thou not; O Zion, let not thy hands be slack. {3:17} Jehovah thy God is
in the midst of thee, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over
thee with joy; he will rest in his love; he will joy over thee with
singing. {3:18} I will gather them that sorrow for the solemn assembly,
who were of thee; [to whom] the burden upon her was a reproach. {3:19}
Behold, at that time I will deal with all them that afflict thee; and I
will save that which is lame, and gather that which was driven away;
and I will make them a praise and a name, whose shame hath been in all
the earth. {3:20} At that time will I bring you in, and at that time
will I gather you; for I will make you a name and a praise among all
the peoples of the earth, when I bring back your captivity before your
eyes, saith Jehovah.




